Cleaning Painted Alloy Wheels

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 27, 2013
Messages
1,558
Location
MO USA
Hello Everyone,

I have three cars with painted alloy wheels. I always wash them last during the wash process and use a "Gerbil Brush" on them to clean the majority of the road dirt and brake dust, using the same suds left over from the initial car wash. Yes, I clean the bucket and the brush thoroughly afterwards to prevent contamination before the next wash.

After I dry the car, I then go back over each wheel with window cleaner (use the cheapest solution I can find) and then hit them with a spray wax.

My question is, what I am missing? In other words I have never found the need to use any kind of harsh wheel cleaner on any these wheel types to get the brake dust off. It seems that the cheap window cleaner gets rid of any of the left over fine dirt and the spray wax keeps the brake dust and road dirt from accumulating to any noticeable volume between washes.

Does anyone else use this method or is there a better way to do this?

Thanks
 
I use the same carwash soap that I use for the paint. When I do an oil change and rotate the tires as part of that I will roll the wheels to my front yard and give them a good elbow grease cleaning. I will sometimes use Iron-X or Sonax Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner if the brake dust doesn't come off easy.
 
I've found car wash shampoo to work reasonably well with modern ceramic pads. Just picked up a gallon of Meguiars D143 wheel clearer which works very well on non-neglected wheels.
 
bdcardinal: You roll your wheels into the front yard then bombard the poor grass with soaps and brake dust?

It's your lawn and all that but.....doesn't that hurt the grass? I don't like washing my car in the drive as the soapy water hits grass.

Also, I know I'm nuts but I'm thinking about the grass.
 
Originally Posted by Kira
bdcardinal: You roll your wheels into the front yard then bombard the poor grass with soaps and brake dust?

It's your lawn and all that but.....doesn't that hurt the grass? I don't like washing my car in the drive as the soapy water hits grass.

Also, I know I'm nuts but I'm thinking about the grass.


My grass grows better where the water runs off, so I'm pretty sure some soap and brake dust doesn't really cause issues with it.
 
I used this product when my son got his new to him rims last year. The previous owner used them as winter rims (???) so they were neglected. I gave this Meguiar's product a try and was pleasantly surprised with it.
In the creases/corners, I used a small hand held scrub brush and all the brake dust came off very easily. A quick dry then a coat of Collinite 845 made them turn out great, imo.
Now with them all clean and with a coat of wax on them, just a regular wash with car soap will easily remove the dust and dirt. In the coming fall, I'll likely repeat this procedure as I like to clean in behind as well.
[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/CspYCVpEh48?t=87[/video]

WP_20180908_08_34_01_Pro (2).jpg


rim cleaner 1.png
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Kira
bdcardinal: You roll your wheels into the front yard then bombard the poor grass with soaps and brake dust?

It's your lawn and all that but.....doesn't that hurt the grass? I don't like washing my car in the drive as the soapy water hits grass.

Also, I know I'm nuts but I'm thinking about the grass.


It is pretty much all dead anyway, we are not allowed to water the grass here due to drought restrictions.
 
Many Thanks for all of the replies. Reading between the lines here, I would say that most of us who regularly clean our wheels means that we don't have to rely on specialty or harsh cleaners for removing built up brake dust and road grime. That is a good thing - A little effort now, saves a lot more effort in the future.
 
Originally Posted by Wrenchturner44
Many Thanks for all of the replies. Reading between the lines here, I would say that most of us who regularly clean our wheels means that we don't have to rely on specialty or harsh cleaners for removing built up brake dust and road grime. That is a good thing - A little effort now, saves a lot more effort in the future.



I don't know with a 100% certainty, but I would bet the window cleaner likely strips the wax off your rims and might possibly eventually wear your painted rims paint off or fade it?
Personally, like I mentioned, give them a good cleaning using what ever product you have too then give them a good coat of wax (Collinite 845 for me) then just use regular car wash soap/mitt and reapply some wax when you notice the wax wearing out or you feel like waxing them again. Collinite's lasts about 6 months so mine get a treatment twice a year but I also change to winter tires in the fall so having them off makes things a lot easier, especially cleaning the backside of the rim.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top