How do you remove the rubber

Now that I've given you reprobates an opportunity for a smart response, the real question is how do I get the rubber from the Kenworth tire off my MINI Cooper wheel? Rota RB and the finish seems intact, just black smeared all over multiple spokes. Is there a non-abrasive removal method?

I would give this a try:

Mother's R3 -- Racing Rubber Remover

Lacquer thinner and a Teflon safe blue scrubby pad from the Walmarts

You might try a 3M decal wheel and see if it will roll the rubber off of it like a decal. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

I would give this a try:

Mother's R3 -- Racing Rubber Remover

This stuff is great.

Lighter fluid works pretty well.

magic eraser and goof off

Another vote for Mother's R3. 

glyn ellis said:

Another vote for Mother's R3. 

Yet another, that stuff is amazing. 

I found an old bottle of Goo-Gone and it did the trick. The wheel cleaned up good. Now all I have to do it mount the wheel on one of the cars and give it a spin to see if it's still straight.

In future, I often find that WD40 does a better job than GooGone for the things GooGone is meant for.  I am a lot more likely to have WD40 around at any given time.

Gimp (Forum Supporter) said:

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

I would give this a try:

Mother's R3 -- Racing Rubber Remover

This stuff is great.

I watched it remove a lot of rubber from a slightly bent car at Nelson Ledges when the driver inadvertently took a line that included a tire wall.  I was deeply impressed.

Apexcarver said:

In future, I often find that WD40 does a better job than GooGone for the things GooGone is meant for.  I am a lot more likely to have WD40 around at any given time.

And it's $25 per gallon at Auto Zone, usually right next to the $1.99 spray bottles.  That and some small amount of transmission fluid gets you a remarkably good general purpose light oil.

Apexcarver said:

In future, I often find that WD40 does a better job than GooGone for the things GooGone is meant for.  I am a lot more likely to have WD40 around at any given time.

I second using WD-40 for removing rubber residue from paint and rims.

In reply to Apexcarver :

2nd vote for WD-40

Apexcarver said:

In future, I often find that WD40 does a better job than GooGone for the things GooGone is meant for.  I am a lot more likely to have WD40 around at any given time.

We clean the stock car with WD40 and it does a good job removing pretty much everything. 

glyn ellis said:

Another vote for Mother's R3. 

This is what I always use. Works great. 

gsettle said:

magic eraser and goof off

Magic erasers are abrasive and will dull the finish.

Stupid question, not sure how the impact occurred, but not worried enough about it that it may have induced enough force to weaken the wheel?

I know semi tires run high pressures, and are quite heavy in their own right, would seem to be quite the giant rubber mallet.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery....

Start with lighter solvents. Strong alcohol to acetone carefully. I wouldnt go straight to paint thinner.  Too easy to damage the finish. 
 

maybe heat the area up first with a heat gun to soften it. 

In reply to ГУЛАГ мальчик УР следующий :

I share your concerns, and I'll mount it to one of the cars to see if it is straight, or not. I've cleaned it up and inspected it, and can't see any cracks or other damage. The suspension arms are bent, so maybe they absorbed the blow, and it was a glancing blow. 

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

If you want to come put it on the balancer, I'm around all weekend and next week.  It's a really convenient way to do what you're looking for.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

I once used a welded crank on a motor (and I had a good spare, so who knows why I did that...), the machine shop x-rayed the crank and found it ok.

Maybe a machine shop can x-ray the wheel?

I do tend to overthink things, as well, so there's that...

Wheel is probably just fine....