Not to be totally nuts and **** but...

I just got a set of great BBS alloy wheels, but they need a good cleaning. Can I just use Maguire's carwash stuff, or do I need a special cleaner for alloy wheels?

Thanks!

 

Maguires works well, I personally use P21S on my cars! Its awesome!

 

Start with warm soap and water. Clay bar if needed to remove surface junk. Tar and Bug remover might help. Eagle One makes some decent wheel specific cleaners also. Then after that wax of your choice.

There are some wheel specific waxs that are supposed to hold up better and attract less brake dust. I believe Rejex might fall in that category.

 

This stuff rocks on neglected rims
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks

Then after clay them (throw away the clay after, or use only on wheels) then use a mild polish to bring out some luster.

 

I just ordered some of that stuff Stealth! I'll tell you how it works ahhprods

 

Best to have the wheels off the car. I use soap (Adam's) and water. RejeX wax is great. I've also been testing the Armorall Wheel Protectant spray with excellent results.

http://www.armorall.com/products/vie...?product_id=33

 

Thanks GT3 Racer RS and all! I used soapy water and a ton of elbow grease, then waxed with maguire's. I couldn't get some stubborn tar off, but it was all on the inside of the wheel (I had the wheels off). I having the wheels mounted and put on today. I should be patient, leave the wheels off, and clean the interior wheels with that Griot's stuff, but she's been out of commission for 2 weeks and I can't wait to drive again!

Who cares about the interior of the wheel right? Or wrong?

 

Well, once you get the wheel's barrel cleaned, and RejeX'ed, the next time you go to clean them, it will BE SO MUCH EASIER and faster. The Armorall product will help to keep them brake-dust-free for a lot longer too.

Simple Green will get the tar off, as will a quality citus degreaser like Wurth (also stripes off all your wax/sealant). For small tar marks, I just rub hard with RejeX.

 

The secret is in the DWELL. Get a one-quart pump flower sprayer at your favorite lawn and garden isle. Mix it 30% Simple Green and water. NO STRONGER, as it gets caustic in higher concentrations. Spray it on your wheels. Let it sit 5 minutes. Spray it again. Let it sit some more. After that the dirt should come off. Anything else a clay bar works great on. A $10 gallon of concentrate gives you wheel cleaner all summer.

 

I have been very happy with Autoglym custom wheel cleaner with the blue label not orange. It leaves a nice shine on the wheel when your done and gets dirt out of the tires extremely well. I also used P21S for years before I tried the Autoglym.

 

I've been using P21S Wheel Gel for years and have been very happy. Keep in mind that using a sponge is still required. Tried Griots alleged BBS approved wheel cleaner once and was not happy. Even on a cool, cloudy day that stuff would dry on the wheels so fast it was a PITA to use.

I'd be wary of any spray on spray off formulas.

 

Another cleaner that I am using now is Sonax full effect wheel cleaner. It's a bit spendy ($15 for a half liter spray bottle, better pricing in bulk). It does a very good job on my FM-10s. When you spray it on, it is a mountain-dew color, like radioactive tank waste, then as it reacts with iron (from brake dust) it turns a blood red. Cool to watch, but it also does do a good job cleaning. When I finish this bottle, I'm going to try the Griots that Mike recommended to see how it compares.

 

+1 on the Sonax, it works very well, worth the money. For in between or on not so dirty wheels I also got the Adams Green wheel cleaner. Both available through www.detailersdomain.com

 

I wax the wheels with Rejex and clean them with Simple Green and water.

 

How long do you guys go between cleaning your wheels?

I use my standard gold class car wash on my wheels and they look fine.

I never got the need for all this fancy wheel cleaner stuff.