IRON OXIDE & ADHESIVE RESIDUE

1 The paintwork on our Alfa GT isn’t too bad for a 15-year-old car. After a thorough wash, we noticed several blobs of dried residue (possibly adhesive) on the bonnet, so we applied a little white spirit to soften and pick them off.

2 All the residue was successfully removed (it also helped to leave the Alfa in the sunlight to warm up the body), then we applied a polish and buffed it by hand.

3 The alloys are in reasonable condition, but had lots of ingrained dirt, so we decided to try a wheel cleaning mousse from Autoglym. First, they were washed and rinsed.

4 The mousse was then sprayed over one wheel at a time, working from the bottom upwards. A foam quickly formed and we left this to do its work for a few minutes.

5 The instructions on the aerosol can of mousse recommended agitating the foam with a brush, so we used an old brush that came with a wheel-cleaning kit.

6 Within a minute or two, red/pink residue appeared. This indicates the presence of iron oxide deposits, usually from the brakes, but also from air pollution and other vehicles. We then rinsed the wheel.

7 The cleaning mousse can be applied again if required or, if there are some stubborn deposits, a more aggressive cleaner can be used. For now, this quick method of cleaning the wheels was sufficient.