Problems with black staining on rims?

Sunshine

Sunshine

New member
We have a customer where every time we wash their new rims (or newly polished) we are getting a ugly black type of stain that needs to be polished out again.

We have tried multiple different soaps, the supplier has been out to look at them and I have contacted the rims manufacturer.

Nothing we have done has provided a solution to this problem.

We no longer use a degreaser at all on the trucks unless we are cleaning an engine in case that was the problem. These are just regular truck wash soaps! It was happening with our Zep cleaners before this suppliers.

The manufacturer tells me that these are not polished, just buffed and has never heard of this problem happening before.

Have any of you had this problem before?

I believe the manufacturer is Forgitron Technologies or something like that.
 
I would imagine you know the difference, but I've got to ask...
Could it be break dust or any other contaminants that just aren't getting completely flushed?
Is the stain indiscriminately splotchy, or does it run from the center down with gravity only?
Has tire shine been recently used on the tires?
 
It does not seem to be an issue with any of the trucks components leaking down afterward and it is only happening on the trucks that have the polished/buffed aluminum.

I'm not sure on the tire shine, have you encountered a problem with this?
 
M.Hinderliter said:
Do the black streaks originate at the lug nuts?
Click to expand...

It does not look like it. Due to the fact that it is specific to these rims, we are thinking it must have something to do with them..
 
Tire shine is just meant to stick, and it does that pretty well. Your soaps can move it from the tire to the rim and then it will follow the water down from the last rinse and leave a residue that will collect anything, but it's likely not your problem.
You still haven't listed if it is splotchy or just a line from the center down. If a line from the center down, it sounds like you need to rinse well with hot water.
If splotchy, you are likely having a reaction with your soap and may need to lessen your your dilution or pick another soap.
If you have the man power, try to chamois the rims after cleaning and see if that stops the stain from forming.
I know this is stressful stuff, having a driver that actually cares and manufacturers without a clue, but if you get it right, you could be in for life!
 
I would describe it as splotchy and it is on there good.

This is not just a rinsing issue and we have tried a variety of soaps, trying to eliminate as we go.

Jerry has been washing trucks for 8 years now and has not come across this (at least that's been brought to his attention) and neither has the boss out there and he has been working in and around trucks for 20 years.

The black is not there when they complete the wash, they have also been extra careful to do extra rinsing on those rims and are not even applying soap directly to them anymore. In fact Jerry made a point of going out there and washing these himself this past weekend.
This shows up later on, only on these rims and it's there no matter what product we have used.

There is no acid in our wash either, but you would almost assume that we are using some?
 
I agree Ron, unfortunately Jerry did not think to take photos and we haven't been returning every time it happens as it is the same thing over and over.

To be honest, we thought this would be cleared up pretty quickly. Assumed it had something to do with our soap:shrug: but no..
 
Not in the truck wash business but I have a few questions.

1st, Has this been happening to these wheels since you started to clean them the first time? Was there a PWer before you that cleaned these trucks? Maybe a previous cleaner used the wrong product and now, after cleaning these wheels, the previous bad job is showing through? And you are getting stuck with it?

2nd, Do your soap products use any caustics as a active ingredient?

Aluminum brightener is acid based.

Caustics kill aluminum.
 
Is the stain a brown or black stain leaking down from the lug nuts
I have a few trucks and some of the rims after the rinse will stain the rim
but I use a acid base cleaner so my mix might be to strong some times and burns them but if I hit it with a weak mix the rim still streaks some times I think the cleaner gets in the lug nut caps and after the rinse it slowly leaks out and the heat drys it up hope I was on the same page as the post
 
welder said:
Was there a PWer before you that cleaned these trucks? Maybe a previous cleaner used the wrong product and now, after cleaning these wheels, the previous bad job is showing through? And you are getting stuck with it?
Click to expand...

You can test this theory by checking if the stains reappear in the exact same place and pattern every time. Again, pictures would be your best test...
I have had this happen. The fleet decided to paint their rims. Not nearly as pretty as buffed or polished!
It was caused by soaps in their wash bay.
 
welder said:
Not in the truck wash business but I have a few questions.

1st, Has this been happening to these wheels since you started to clean them the first time? Was there a PWer before you that cleaned these trucks? Maybe a previous cleaner used the wrong product and now, after cleaning these wheels, the previous bad job is showing through? And you are getting stuck with it?

2nd, Do your soap products use any caustics as a active ingredient?

Aluminum brightener is acid based.

Caustics kill aluminum.
Click to expand...

We have been cleaning these trucks since we opened our doors a year and a half ago. It has only started happening on these specific rims, not on all of the trucks. Once it has happened it does not happen again until a) rims are polished or b) they buy new rims.
We were also thinking that maybe the driver was getting a wash in the US somewhere during his trip. This was shown to be wrong as it happened on brand new out of the box rims.

Caustic is in degreasers right? if so, we have stopped using any degreaser on the vehicles except on the engines in case this was the cause. Jerry used to mix a little in his soap for added kick with the bugs. This has not helped.
 
I appreciate you guys trying to help and I'm sorry I do not have any picks. This is an out of town customer so we are not right around the corner Monday morning when it happens and then the truck is usually pulling out.

Jerry and our supplier set up a time to come and see these a few weeks ago and did not get any pics.

We really are stumped on this...it's probably going to turn out to be something really simple too. I just hate having this happen, whatever is causing it, it is making us look bad.
 
I have seen some wheels where someone used the wrong kind of wheel cleaner or let it sit on the wheels too long and it left black streaks into the aluminum, very bad streaks.

Maybe some of the drivers bought some over-the-counter wheel cleaner and when out, cleaning up their own rims and maybe causing the damage?

Or

What kind of acid are you using? If it is a strong HF type, for that account or those kind of wheels use the milder citric based or the safe for glass and polished aluminum wheel acids and see if the problem goes away. I know guys that have the strong and weak acid on the trucks and trailers for different kinds of cleaning.
 
I would take a close look at the soap your using, alot of truck wash soaps are very high in PH and can cause issues with aluminum. I have turned wheels black before with using too strong of a soap (not diluted enough) The next option you have is to try and look into a soap that is non-caustic or a more neutral PH (8-10) soap for washing these trucks one time and see if the problem persists. Michael has some of these at Delux and others around these boards can sell you something similar. Your best option to look for is a RED powdered soap as mostly these are less harsh soaps. They can come in a variety of colors but will usually have the same MSDS sheets listing no hazardous chemicals on them.
 
@ Christopher - We do not use Aluminum bright unless we are specifically doing an acid wash so it cannot be that. I am interested in this wheel cleaner theory, however the theory doesn't fit on the brand new wheels...

@ Chris - We are using pink, we have changed the soap 3 times now as well and this is not a problem we have had anywhere else:confused:. I personally am starting to think that this is specific to this brand of rims?
 
If you can, find out the brand of rims that are turning black, maybe more info can be found.

Maybe their alloys are not pure enough or has something in the metal that is reacting with the soap.

Any way that the people there could take some pictures and email them to you then you could post them?
 
Christopher said:
If you can, find out the brand of rims that are turning black, maybe more info can be found.

Maybe their alloys are not pure enough or has something in the metal that is reacting with the soap.

Any way that the people there could take some pictures and email them to you then you could post them?
Click to expand...

The brand is Forgitron Technologies and they are a buffed aluminum. When I spoke with them they conferred with the plant mgr and said that they had never heard of this happening before. They offered to have a rim shipped down to them to analyze.

As for the pic, we are waiting for the truck to come back to town and we are hoping he hasn't polished them up yet.
 
That will be interesting to see what happens and what you find out.

Is that a reputable brand or are they like a substandard brand?

Good Luck.
 
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