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Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:34 pm

Does anyone have a clever way to get rust off of hub caps? I don't want to scratch them up with sand paper...

Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:54 am

Chrome polish....steel wool. Why would you sand them? Find yourself some good OG German hubcaps...you won't have the rusting problem.

Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:59 am

Use chrome polish with a cotton buffer & mandrel on a drill. If it's real extensive surface rust, soak it first, for a couple of days in diesel fuel, kerosene, or jet fuel, then spray clean that off with brake cleaner before using the buffer.

Bronze wool, available at many marine supply stores, is often useful. It also does a great job on cleaning 'junk of unknown origin' off glass windows, without scratching.

J.R.
68 Westy
(+ others)

Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:43 am

I f you use 000 steel wool and a product called Autosol you will be amazed at the results.After that process i then use an american product called Brite Shine to really highlight them.Another combo that my father has used for protecting chrome or stainless once cleaned is a 50/50 mix of WD40 and new clean engine oil,you can mix it and then spray it on or use it from a jar with a rag.With his vintage and veteran cars their use is fairly minimal so it really acts as a barrier to the elements.Come show time he simply wipes it all off and polishes with a nice clean rag.You may ask why the weird mix,apparently a percentage of the wd40 evaporates and leaves a nice thin film of oil,and also helps it run down into crevices that we cant see,try it you will be amazed.

Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:47 am

What crevices are there that you can't see on a hubcap? I don't think I'll be washing my hubcaps or any other chrome down with motor oil and WD40 thanks, a good coat of wax works for me just fine.

Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:04 am

If you have ever looked at any other type of hubcap you may notice that some of them have a rolled edge on the inside,oh and by the way some of us kombi owners do have other cars apart from VW.Some of us also listen to others who have many more years of restoration experience under their belt and have usually tried most products with some degree of sucess or failure.Can i also add that it was just a suggestion that i have used and may not be everyones cup of tea.I do like your wax idea but i was talking about cars that rarely see the light of day one being a 1904 oldsmobile and a father who is reaching 85 years of age and has owned and driven more cars than i can remember,his large but nimble hands find it much easier to wipe than rub....cheers from your mates down under...paul viner

Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:31 am

What exactly is so bad about wd-40 and motor oil that warranted a response like that? It sounds perfectly reasonable and no one is forcing you to try it. There's no need to be rude.

Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:51 am

Apply CLR to the rusty areas. That will remove it. I'd take the hubcaps off the rim first though, and dont leave it on very long.

Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:56 am

quick and easy is a Brillo or SOS pad

Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:24 pm

barrysmith wrote: quick and easy is a Brillo or SOS pad

'Good-by', rust... and 'hello', scratches.

J.R.
68 Westy
(+ others)

Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:41 am

TimGud wrote: Apply CLR to the rusty areas. That will remove it. I'd take the hubcaps off the rim first though, and dont leave it on very long.

I have some original dome hub caps I got at the swap meet. They had on a heavy "patina" that soap and a kitchen scrubber didn't do anything on. I had some CLR laying around, so I sprayed the CLR on the hub caps and waited a few hours, bam, they cleaned up like magic.

Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:55 am

i cleaned up original hubcaps on the 59 bug i had with 000 steel wool and diet coke as the wetter. fantastic job on them!