thanks to oldskoolcool i've got my hands on a set of vektar mags    

however, i want to clean them up and am not sure on the best method.  i checked out the thread in the "how to" section about bleaching which looks pretty comprehensive but i was talking to some bloke in a bike shop and he was saying it could weaken the wheels?!?  other ideas which various associates have had include cleaning with white spirit, using rust remover and even sand blasting!!

would probably opt for the bleaching method although haven't at present got a container big enough to submerge the whole wheel at once.  also was wondering whether this would hurt the sturmey hub in anyway?

any advice or comments would be much appreciated  

Have you tried the basic hot water and degreaser method yet?
Sometimes the simple options get overlooked  

Have you tried Thompsons UPVC window frame cleaner. You can buy it from B&Q. I've tried it on a few plastics and they come up well.

Bleach them, all the burner chaps do it to there mags,
see www.raleighburner.com

cheers for the suggestions guys!  haven't tried the hot water and degreaser method, so think i'll give that a whirl, then have a go with the thompsons upvc cleaner and finally go for bleaching as the last resort!  meant to have a good go at the wheels today but enjoyed a few to many beers last night and spent most of today lying on the couch  

quick questions on bleaching the mags - i'm thinking to soak them in some sort of large container with (watered down) bleach, will fully submerging them hurt the hubs at all?  i'm especially worried about the sturmey gearbox.  also any handy hints on a cheapy container big enough for the wheels (current best thought is a small kiddies paddling pool)

haven't tried the hot water and degreaser or thompsons method yet though, had a quick go with white spirit which worked quite well on some of the lighter dirt but is refusing to lift the "rusty stains" i caused when cleaning out the sturmey hub with lashings of wd40 and then not wiping the resulting dirty liquid off the wheels quick enough   this is now the worst bit of the wheels and i caused it all by myself  

try getting an old oil drum & slicing it????

Utilize your bath to bleach them and shower at your local leisure centre for a couple of days.  

Quote :

Supergrip wrote : Utilize your bath to bleach them and shower at your local leisure centre for a couple of days.

yes this is the answer, go for it!!  

Why not get a cheap kiddies paddling pool and use that for the wheels?

my mates a plasterer and had a foldable bucket type thingy ( i can't explain arrgh ), and he said you get them from most diy stores , perfect for filling up with cheap bleach and immersing two wheels in , take some pics and let us know how they looked before and after , i'd love to know if this method works ...

P.S. use loads of cheap 21p thin bleach the cheapest u can find and not the thick stuff .... what i've read anyway ...

cheers for the advice guys - the kiddies paddling pool idea was one i'd had in mind and also checked out the prices of the mixing buckets (£12ish) last weekend.  being a bit of a cheapskate i'm trying to spend no money on the container, got one idea left so i'm going to give that a go, hopefully next week .  will post up some before and after pics.  the biggest lesson learnt so far is:

DON'T LET THE RUSTY LIQUID THAT COMES OUT OF THE STURMEY HUB WHEN CLEANING SIT ON THE WHEELS FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME - WIPE IT OFF STRAIGHT AWAY!  these stains are by far the worst and to top it off they're self inflicted!!  

i just got a set of the same mags from oldskoolcool, cleaned a lot with JIZZER degreaser!!, but i think they will need some bleach to get them a lot brighter, mibee just run with them as they are!!!

don't suppose you took any before/after pictures?  here's mine before:



and after cleaning with a combination of "industrial wipes," scrubbing with watered down bleach and thompsons upvc cleaner

ma 1's were a lot cleaner to start with, i will take a photo & let u see!!!!

cheers mate - how's the sturmey hub in yours? mine was pretty much seized up when i got them, but caning near on a whole tin of wd40 in helped!

wheels soaking in bleach - pics of the results soon to follow.  someone suggested using coca cola to clean them also, something to do with the acid in it or something?

very interested in how these turn out .. keep us posted !

GLI, here are my after cleaning pictures, they look a little bit better in the photo than they are, goin to see how yours come out after bleching, then maybe try it!!!!

i'd say yours look considerably cleaner than mine so you're off to a good start! had mine soaking in a big bucket for a couple of days (1 part think bleach to 2 parts water) and given them a bit of a scrub.  the marks left by the brakes came off really well without much elbow grease which was nice!  weather has been pretty poor here this weekend (plus was distracted by the pub yesterday) so didn't do as much scrubbing as i'd hoped.  my rear wheel is much worse than the front so reckon its still going to need some hard work  

so far i'd say its worth a go but not too sure how well the sturmey hub will be working after soaking... i'll get some pics up as soon as poss to show you progress so far