to all of you with stock wheels i remeber the many hours spent on scrubbing those little nooks and crannies. And to others who have nice wheels here is what i recommend. get one of these two products! i back them 100%.

1)Meguiar's Hot Rims (G-9524) (you can get it at a local auto zone for like 4.00) http://www.meguiars.com/product_show...cfm?SrcLine=CW

2)Castrol super clean (use degreaser for tough old wheels http://www.castrolusa.com/products/p...uct_category=6)( or the actual wheel cleaner for a safer approach http://www.castrolusa.com/products/p...&product_id=46)

Or get that steam buggy off the tv that thing makes my wheels shine like new and wipe off laot easier because steam get all of those old chemicals off your wheels! http://www.asontv.com/products/983320669.html

let me know what you recommend or what you think after trying these products!

 

personally the castrol is possibly a bit too strong for some clear coated rims. the rim cleaner ok.

i use P21S gel...netural PH so it won't harm clears.

 

if your oem wheels are peeling i dont recommend castrol degreaser thats why i recommended the second all purpose wheel cleaner, its a little milder but people really need to get the grime out of there wheels then reclear them. thats what i did to mine and they lasted longer and look almost brand new. just mmy opinion though.

 

I use Mothers wheel polish or Extreme wheel polish. It's the kind that comes in a little tub. The Mothers brand is a cream that you wipe on until the entire rim turns black and then wipe it off. The Extreme polish is in a tub but is more or less a type of material that resembles the texture of cotton candy. That stuff will remove anything. The cool thing is that I was playing around with it one day, and it even removed the water spots on my windows.

Does anyone have any other methods for removing water spots or hard water stains?

 

How did you go about reclearing your wheels. I am interested in doing that to my 16" Reflex Rohs in which the clearcoat was completely removed by using that car wash acid stuff (thats way I am still a "newbie".

 

its been a while but i know i used the steam buggy on my friends wheels about 3 months ago to make sure the rest fo the clear was gone. even kinda used a steel wool but very lightly, then used some of that neverdul. then whiped all of it back off.it was gleaming clean. then we just taped it off and applied thin coats of clear coat from a professional spray gun my friend has. it came out quit nice because we didnt drive on them for about 3 days. had plenty of time to set. you can do what you like we were experimenting. i would try spray clear coat if you cant get a gun. let me know what you think.

 

Once the clear coat wore off it was impossible to keep them clean. So I used (of all things) oven cleaner. They looked great however there was nothing protecting them. They are off the car now so I will try to refurbish them so I could use them this winter. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

Thanks for the tips man... does the rim cleaner actually make it so I won't be spending an hour trying to clean my rims with a rag and water? I gotta do that every week right now, and it kinda sucks now that it's freezing outside...

 

BUMP

 

well i love the hot wheel cleaner for my after market wheels, i just let them soak for like 30 seconds to a minute and spray them out with a hose or the car wash sprayer and over 99% of all brake dust and grime are gone. i used to have to get down on my knees and wipe inbetween the 5 spokes to get it all, but no more! Super clean is great for factory wheels it definatly worked also. try both its a 8 dollar test, why not see which works best for you. also here is another tip make sure your brakes are cooled before doing any kind of wheel cleaning, when you brakes get hot your wheels get hot too, which makes the product dry onto the wheel. if kool it can actually penatrate it. i have never tried the hot wheel cleaner on factory wheels but your more than welcome to try. i have been a professional detailer for 5 years so i have nothing to gain from lying. let me know how it turns out!

 

Okay, thanks.. I don't have factory wheels either though, prolly shoulda mentioned that (grumbles about no sigs..) I have Konig Imagines.. they're those kind of rims that branch out into little wishbone shapes.. have pics on my website.. they're a real bish to clean, though.. cuz you gotta clean the "top" of them and then you gotta clean all of the little wishbone shaped things on the tops inside lip and the outside lips... takes forever! 5 spokes would be a LOT easier to clean.

 

n/m

 

Yeah that's what I've been using.. but it's a BICH to sit there for that long doing rim cleaning. It literally takes me over an hour and I have to do it 1-2 times a week

 

At one point, I was using Espree's wheel cleaner (green stuff) that can be bought for $2.99. However, I have switched to Eimann Fabrik's Hi Intensity which works very well for brake dust but will not damage the rim. Also, this can be used on tires, dash (dilute it with water before using it on the dash and interior).

Too bad we don't have sig pics otherwise, you would see how effective this stuff is.

 

I just wash them with the car soap I use, then give them a good coat of wax. Keeps them shiny and the brake dust wipes off with a paper towel.

 

You wax em? Like with the wax you use on your car's body? Are your rims silver finish? I've never even waxed my car.. but maybe I should get some wax and try it on my body and rims

 

Yeah, I wax every outside surface of my car except for the windows, including taillights and headlights. You should definitely wax your car, it's very easy and doesn't take much time at all. I have 98 SE wheels, which are a silver finish. Think of the wax on the wheels like just a protective coating that makes them easier to clean later.

 

Okay, thanks for the tip man... I'll have to try that out when I get some actual $!