I was going thru the P21S product guide and they have this paint cleanser which they describe as pretty much a substitute for clay baring.

is that what it is?


also, how good is the rest of the P21S stuff (wheel gel, finish restorer, etc?)

i need stuff for the wheels that will last for freaking ever since the pads on my car seem to disintegrate and i drive the thing in all kinds of bad weather, it needs to be able to go at least a month.

 

now way .. I have both ..

the paint clenser is more of a polish than anything else

 

Hey Omar,

I bought the P21S gel for my audi wheels which are in bad shape from brake dust. I out the gel on in a cool shady place and left it for 2 hours as suggested. I was expecting to go out and just rince the dirt away. To my amazement, the product appeared to do absolutly nothing to clean the wheels. Maybe my wheels are permanentlly damaged, but my experience was very unfulfilling.

 

justin,
i was under the impression that the gel gave it a sort of protective film against future dirt, but still required cleaning up the initial layer.

 

That's not the way the ad red. It said you could use the gel if you had tough grime to clean. The gel would actually stick to the wheel and work its cleaning magic. No such luck for me.

BTW did you get my PM from a week ago?

 

Omar,
nothing will last for weeks on your wheels as far as repelling dirt and brake dust. You need to pull them off, clay bar them, polish them with the same stuff you would use on your paint, throw on some wax and you're done. Do your brake calipers at the same time. (I use Optimum PoliSeal, but Rejex is also good) They will still get dusty, but the dirt will simply rinse away. P21S is good, but I hardly ever have to use it because regular car shampoo cleans them now.
You could always spend $15K and get PCCBs if the cleaning part bugs you too much!

 

Hey Phil,

I never thought of a clay bar. I should try that on my Audi wheels.

 

Yeah, I use the leftover clay bars for my wheels. To get the really tough tar and rubber pieces off the insides, I use Stoner's Tarminator.

 

I bought some wheel wax at the Shift into Spring event at Pfaff... I was hoping it would be that simple.

 

i clayed my Passat today... wow never looked to clean since OCT 2003... tomorow i am goign to Polish and Wax it...

Clay is teh best, you paint feels like glass...

 

I have not personally used clay but the p21s cleaner is incredible at removing evrything (dirt, wax etc) from the paint in prep for wax. I still have the price tag on mine $25.

 

I use Wheel Wax on my cars, picked up at Shift into Spring, as well. It's easy to apply (don't let it harden) and gives a great shine. Helps prevent brake dust from gluing itself on, much easier to clean the rims later, but it ceraintly won't last a month, like Phil said. It also appears to have a moderate amount of cleaning effect if the grime is not caked on.

 

Thanks Peter for the feedback I was hoping it would last a little longer than a month.

EDIT: ... now I'm thinking I shoulda bought that wheel brush at the same time.

 

Rejex, Optimum PoliSeal or OptiSeal do last longer than a month, but you do need to clean the dust off regularly...these products just make it harder for the grime to stick so you can simply wash them off with regular carwash solution. I think that if you always use stronger cleaning products like P21S or other wheel cleaners, you end up striping off the polish/wax much faster.