I just put on my 18's and I wanna get a wheel cleaner for inside the wheel....do the wheel cleaners work ?? the ones you spray on and let sit, then spray off ?? I dont wanna be reaching in every time to clean off the dust

-matt

 

as long as you dont let the brake dust sit in there too long then yes they will work. You let it sit in there for awhile and you will have to scrub it off it wont just hose off.

 

+1 for above comments ..

i washed my car only once during winter and there was lot of road-grim and brake-dust, what not ... i tried meguair's Hot Rims last weekend and I was totally disappointed ... hardly anything came out after I washed/sprayed/rinsed ... i had to manually do all the wheels @ 27 spokes per wheel and then the result was good ... but i'd say the wheels now shine much better than before ...

Before cleaning:


don't know how my fellow I30ers are cleaning their wheels ..

i did notice though that the brake calipers have white deposits now on the area where i sprayed Hot Rims on it ...

 

I switched to Eagle One A-Z wheel and tire cleaner and it workek much better than meguair's hot rims. I just need to do some lite scrubbing around the little trouble spots. Other than that I love the stuff.

 

I'll agree that the Wheel Cleaners don't really work if you just spray them on and then hose it off. I normally wash my wheels by hand, rinse, and then spray on the wheel cleaner and leaves my wheels with an amazing shine. Oh by the way, I normally use Megs hot shine.



Ben

 

The acid based commercial stuff works. Spray it on, hose it off and the inside of just about ANY black wheel comes up spotless. You can't buy stuff like that at the store, you need to find a commercial distributor. The stuff I buy comes in 5 gallon containers and it's called JACK wheel cleaner. You have to mix it 70/30 with water or it will actually eat the clear coat off the wheel. It's probably the most powerfull wheel cleaner out there.

Thats how us detailers get your wheels spotless.

 

Hey Tom, Ill stop by and get some ???

 

Acid based wheel cleaners shouldnt be used by inexperienced users...or else bye-bye clearcoat. Best thing to do, get a wheel sealant or some klasse, and put a coat on. Then use a detergent based cleaner or just plain water and watch ur wheels come clean.

 

what kind of wheel sealant would you recommend?

 

Klasse AIO and SG on your wheels works well. Also poorboys wheel sealant is quite effective as well. Also, to clean the wheels, Dupont Teflon wheel cleaner (it doesnt leave a teflon layer) because it leaves behind a nice poly wax which aids the sealant/klasse in keeping the wheels clean. Also they get easier to clean each time you do it.

 

i like the orange lightning wheel cleaner- works well for store bought stuff

 

It does, ive used it before. however the Dupont wheel cleaner works better and you can get it at advance autoparts

 

This isn't really on topic, but I found the best way to clean my BBS rims is to do it while they are dry, before I wash my car. I just sit down on the driveway and use shop rags to clean out those spokes. The dust comes off a lot easier when it's dry.

 

You dont realize it, but that dust is abrasive to the clearcoat on your wheels. Wiping it off w/o water and/or wheel cleaner puts fine scratches in the clearcoat that eventually lead to peeling.

 

That's a good point. My I-30t is ten years old. This weekend the plan is to take each tire off the car, clean it individually on both sides, then put a sealant on the rims. (So many spokes!) I hope that will fill in any scratches and make the wheels easier to clean in the future.