I want to reuse my original wheel lip moldings, but they are covered with almost 50 years of tar, asphalt and road grime. I have tried all the usual solvents with poor results. Paint stripper seems to work the best, but it still takes a lot of time to clean a small spot. Does anyone have a better system?

Are they aluminum or stainless steel? What car? Is the screw flange ribbed like challenger ones?

I would use some paint reducer, not as potent as lacquer thinner and has always worked good for me.

Try some WD-40. Otherwise just replace them as they are pretty inexpensive.

The inexpensive replacements can fit like garbage. The factory stuff is always better.

If it is stainless steel you can clean them well with Castrol super clean. Clean one at a time, use on a dry surface, let is sit a few minutes, don't let it dry, agitate with a toothbrush, rinse. The tar will be left behind, but much of the grime will be gone. Tar comes off with carb cleaner or gasoline. If you need to clean it again get them dry, water will not help anything.

If they are aluminum you must be careful with the Casteol super clean, it will eat the finish so spray it on and start with the toothbrush and rinse before one minute.

They are aluminum. Paint thinner and carb cleaner does nothing. Acetone does not even work. Paint stripper works on the asphalt slowly, but not the dark stain. I used repops on my Challenger, and they fit terrible. A-body repops run around $350 for a set, which seems like a lot. I can use a buffing wheel, but am afraid I will snag an edge and destroy it. Still looking for a chemical solution.

Follow super clean instructions above, melts the grime right off, be careful on aluminum don't let it sit on there very long.

Just a suggestion- try oven cleaner- after it sits for a few minutes rinse, if unhappy repeat. It will Polish to a mirror shine when you're done. If the part is anodized, the oven cleaner will remove that too, just an FYI.

Yeah no! Don't use oven cleaner on aluminum.

I always buff them out with my balder pedestal buffer and they shine up like new. Have to be
Super careful and experienced at it though. Really easy to snag one out of your hand. tight grip helps to.

I wouldn't recommend it if you have never done it before.

Im only speaking from my experiences, all the trim ive used it on has turned out very nicely. You just cant spray it on the part and walk away from it for an hour. But to each his own.

Ok how long do you leave it on? How long does it take to eat the anodizing off? Tell us more.

Best chrome/trim polish I have found - AUTOSOL . . . may take several applications, but that stuff cleans and polishes to great finish . . .

Well, depending on the severity of the piece in question, I've never had to leave it on for over 15 minutes. The o.p. is looking for a solution to reuse his original trim, and while everyone's ideas would work for most, it sounds like this is slightly beyond just a quick touch with the creme. As a lot of folks know, a buffing wheel can be a godsend if its used properly, if you don't know what you're doing it can destroy what it touches very quickly. Same could be said about the oven cleaner, which is why I threw caution up. I saw gasoline previously posted, that also is an effective method of removing embedded tar.

I got the job done with paint stripper to soften up the asphalt and a soft wire wheel in a drill to scrub off all the rest. They don't look like new, but plenty good enough for a nice driver. The best part is they fit perfectly! Thanks to all.

Well done!