ryano

what is better about Rejex than regular wax? I was under the impression that if your wheels are clear coated you wax them like you would a painted surface

V

Ask Jim Dorociak, he is the best resource for speedlines (building and cleaning). AFAIK, Jim finished his wheels off with a special coat of some sort. It's a sort of clear coat but it holds much better and doesn't flake like a normal clear coat. Can't remember the name of it though..

The Germans sometimes treats their wheels with the "verdichtung" method. It basically involves removing the clear coat and then closing the pores of the aluminum chemically. If done correctly, you will never have to clean your wheels again . Just rinse them off and everything comes off. Nothing sticks to the treated surface.

Matt Lane

Alcoa wheels (on pickups and rigs) are polished, not coated, AFAIK. Hence this system with the polish/buffing step. Don't think you'd want to be subjecting painted wheels to this process. The sealant itself would probably be ok though. But again, polished raw aluminum is not the same as a painted aluminum finish.

The longevity. Rejex is not a wax, it is a synthetic coating that bonds to the finish (including your car paint in lieu of wax, if you're so inclined) and lasts a LONG time. Ideal for areas that gets heavy soils - wheels, front bumpers, etc.

Good luck, look after those RS's!

Matt

timothymoffat

Thanks for posting this Matt. I was going to post something similar but best laid plans and all....

I run a fleet of a dozen or so trucks (big rigs), the vast majority of which are equipped with Alcoa aluminum wheels. The process we use to maintain these wheels is NOT a process I'd use on a Speedline or any other "finished" aluminum wheel (painted, clearcoated etc). The truck wheels, "raw" aluminum like Matt says, need constant attention to maintain their super-shiny appearance. The wheels are regularly polished/buffed and even subjected to various levels of sanding 1/year (sometimes more!) when subjected to sand blasting, salt, and other materials used on winter roads. Not something you'd want to do on your coveted/rare Porsche wheels. Heck, I've even learned that you can actually wear-out an aluminum wheel: @1.2million miles, the tire shop phoned me to say they wouldn't put tires on my steer-axle wheels......too sharp!

Wheel cleaning can be overdone resulting in damaging the very wheels you were trying to protect. Regular cleaning and some form of protection (wheel wax, rejex etc) is great. I think the problems arise when people wait too long to clean wheels and end up using overly-harsh chemicals in an attempt to get rid of built-up brake dust.

H.H.Chinn

Tim's absolutely correct! I made the mistake and had a set of 8" and 9" Fuch wheels for my SC polished to a mirror like gleam, buying myself hours of cleaning and polishing to maintain the finish. Don't do anything that will harm the factory anodize and stay well away from the keycard reader curb!