Alloy wheel cleaner

obi_waynne

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Do you use an alloy wheel cleaner and finish with an alloy wheel wax?

As the brake dust corrodes the wheels (or is this a myth) do you or should you clean the wheels more frequently than the rest of the car?
 
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Re: Alloly wheel cleaner

An alloy wheel cleaner usually makes for easier cleaning but it's not necessary. A normal wax will also suffice. I use Bilberry wheel cleaner as it comes concentrated so you can mix it to whatever strenght you like depending on the state of the wheels and it's awesome.
 
Re: Alloly wheel cleaner

I've used Astonish glass cleaner or Tar Bug and Sap remover for years to loosen the brake dust. At 99p for 3/4 litre it's cheap.
Then just plain water with a bit of Halfords' cheap car shampoo to clean them up.

I've never used specialist wheel cleaners
 
Re: Alloly wheel cleaner

I tried Turtle Wax Foam wheel cleaner and that was a waste of time and money, sure it "cleaned" the wheels as in it made the baked on brake dust shine instead of removing it,

So I tried wonder wheels and it worked a treat, it's been awhile since they have been so clean, however it isn't perfect because there are some really stubborn areas that won't clean up, I think refurb is next up but I will most likely replace the wheels anyway so it isn't worth me messing with them,
 
Re: Alloly wheel cleaner

best stuff for brake dust is brick cleaner buy it from wicks or b&q only about 2 quid for 5liters of it
but do it out side when i did the wheels on my old trans am i took the wheels off and did it inside stuff does give off some gasses

but works a treat
 
Re: Alloly wheel cleaner

An alloy wheel cleaner usually makes for easier cleaning but it's not necessary. A normal wax will also suffice. I use Bilberry wheel cleaner as it comes concentrated so you can mix it to whatever strenght you like depending on the state of the wheels and it's awesome.

where can i get this product ? is it in ur average parts shop ? online ?
 
Re: Alloly wheel cleaner

when i did my wheels i left it on the wheels until i did all 4 and did not stain the laquer or paint

but it is best to spray it on give it a good clean wearing safty glasses you dont want that stuff getting in your eyes i can tell you it does sting lol

then a good washing off remember them glasses when washing it off still has a sting to that as well as i found out again on the same i eye lol
 
i use some stuff called traffic from auto smart its designed to clean everthing of your car soon is it goes on my wheels the brakedust just runs off
 
i use some stuff called traffic from auto smart its designed to clean everthing of your car soon is it goes on my wheels the brakedust just runs off

Brake dust is a by-product of the prohibition of asbestos in brake pads. Prior to the late 1980s it was not banned.

Then again, asbestos pads did suffer some serious fade when wet.

It's better to wash or rinse off the brake dust from your wheels every week or two and avoid having to use savage acidic cleaners.
 
Little and often eh HDI? Prevention is better than cure.

My wheels got so bad that I have decided to give them a good clean every couple of weeks.

Is brake dust corrosive then? A lot of people say that it is brake dust that blisters the alloy wheels.
 
I would say no acutally, I guess the reason there alloys bilster is they probebly use those acidic cleaners to get it of,

But I agree with P, just a hose of once a week should be enough for it to just run off,
 
most acid based wheel cleaners as phosphoric acid from what ive seen.

i use AG clean wheels which does not do a bad job but doesnt seem strong enough to remove the stubborn staining. looking at bilberry as MA has said you can use it concentrated of dilute it down.
i just use a normal wax now did have a bottle of wheel wax but there doesnt seem to be any difference between it and the normal stuff. makes cleaning them with just soap and water next time much easier
 
YOu could use coca cola on your wheels,

myth busters did some tests of it's cleaning ability and overall it was very good, a bottle of cheap coke could be used to clean wheel, I might even give it a try, obviously though you need to wash it all off afterwards :)
 
YOu could use coca cola on your wheels,

myth busters did some tests of it's cleaning ability and overall it was very good, a bottle of cheap coke could be used to clean wheel, I might even give it a try, obviously though you need to wash it all off afterwards :)

I've heard the same thing. Apparently the contents of coca-cola eat through dirt. Might have to try this as my wheels are rather dirty atm.
 
I think brake dust is quite aggressive on aluminium and aluminium derived alloys. It does, of course, depend on pad formulations as well.

I find that the front pads on the BMW generate lots of dust (especially with my wife's own special driving technique!!) but it virtually falls off. The rear's generate very little but it is nowhere near as easy to remove. With the 406 and Primera all wheels were equally difficult to clean.

Those bloody awful EBC Green 'things' were supposedly low dust. I didn't notice. The wheels always wound up black in no time. Perhaps this was because of the Green things' propensity to smoke with virtually no provocation.
 
I don't like using the savage acid cleaners. They can corrode surrounding bodywork and are not ideal in contact with skien either.

Strangely some of the 'professional' products, industrial strength ones, if you like, are much much kinder. Perhap because someone working with something all day for 5 days a week does not want to be in constant contact with agressive chemicals.
 
i used wonder wheels on the rados old wheels the same morning as i cut my index finger on the rad cowling.... lets just say it hurts, A LOT.

But as has already been said, the best way to make your wheels easy to clean is to clean them properly once, then seal them with a couple layers wax. just wipes off then :)
 
I'll keep that in mind,

no this is something that as bugged me,

you have polish, wax and paint renovator, even reading the description on the bottle I can never tell the real differences and what order to apply, I know the paint renovator goes on first if it needs it but most people have a polish and no wax,
I'm totally confused :S
 
A paint renovator will just be a cutting polish by any other name most likely. You polish to "clean" or "restore" the paint and then wax to protect it. Maybe I should write a quick detailing guide for the forum?
 
A paint renovator will just be a cutting polish by any other name most likely. You polish to "clean" or "restore" the paint and then wax to protect it. Maybe I should write a quick detailing guide for the forum?

Go for it. You can use my car as a real world example. I can take loads of pictures whilst you do the clever stuff :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Go for it. You can use my car as a real world example. I can take loads of pictures whilst you do the clever stuff :lol: :lol: :lol:

LOL nice try HDi! Do you need to change your username to straight-6 fun now? :lol:

I'll see what I can knock up while the misses is at a gig and someone can sticky it perhaps?
 
So really what you are saying is that paint renovator is an aggressive polish, then a normal polish will take care of whirls in the paint then wax to protect,

But really I guess if you use a paint renovator then you don't need polish?
 
LOL nice try HDi! Do you need to change your username to straight-6 fun now? :lol:

I'll see what I can knock up while the misses is at a gig and someone can sticky it perhaps?

Possibly for a while, but I still like the remapped diesel muscle. The E39 was an emergency purchase - money is very very tight at the moment due to family circumstances.

I did, however, avoid diesel because the long term running costs (especially with older cars) can escalate. NASP petrols are far more mature in terms of reliability.

It's not especially quick (2.8, not a V8 model), but it's not exactly underpowered in fairness, and it does a good job as a family all round car.

It's not especially dirty yet, either. Still not interested??? :lol: I've got a very good camera. Takes nice pics.

Oh sod it HDi, quit whilst you're behind.

I'll sticky the thread right away

kind rgds,

P.
 
So really what you are saying is that paint renovator is an aggressive polish, then a normal polish will take care of whirls in the paint then wax to protect,

But really I guess if you use a paint renovator then you don't need polish?

Actually yes you normally do. You need to refine the finish with a milder polish. Use something like G3 or AG Paint Renovator on a car and it will come up nice and shiny but the paint will still feel quite rough to touch. Go over it again with a milder cutting polish and it will become a lot smoother and even shinier still. There's no need to use a "Paint Renovator" unless the damage is quite severe though.
 
go for it MA save me doing it. wished i had taken before and after pics when i did my parents car as it showed a big difference in getting rid of the swiral marks. could still take some of my lil sis car as its badly oxidised to the point when the purple is more a sky blue in colour

paint renovator as said is a more aggressive cutting polished. depending on the paint type it might be needed to get rid of swiral marks on some paint where as a mild polish might work on softer paints such as hondas
 
so different cars have different types of paint then ? whats the difference btween a hard paint and a soft paint.
this sounds like a minefield lol.
 
go for it MA save me doing it. wished i had taken before and after pics when i did my parents car as it showed a big difference in getting rid of the swiral marks. could still take some of my lil sis car as its badly oxidised to the point when the purple is more a sky blue in colour

paint renovator as said is a more aggressive cutting polished. depending on the paint type it might be needed to get rid of swiral marks on some paint where as a mild polish might work on softer paints such as hondas

Please do. Those pictures are plundered from google image so if you could get some of our own to include in the guide instead. Wish I'd have taken proper pictures of the Corsa too, but it's all time isn't it.

Soft and hard paints...I'll try and include something on that too.
 
Actually, that said you're right.

there are actually a couple of places where there is rust growing, and both places have been an insurance repair job (niether of which were my fault, i just thought I would through that in there ;) ) but everywhere else that has 12 year old paint is mint....
 

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