MINI2 Header Logo

MINI2

Fuel for your MINI obsession

Mini Pirate
Welcome to MINI2.
You are currently viewing MINI2 as a guest.
Please register by clicking this link or login:
       
Search forums: Show: Advanced: Forums or Members or Tags
Tags: , ,

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread
Old Jan 18th, 2008, 09:49 AM   #1
Streeters
ECMC Addict
 
Streeters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Essex
Local Time: 10:48 PM
Posts: 462
Offline
Problem with cleaning Sidewalk Alloys

Hi I recently aquired a set of Night spoke alloys from a sidewalk for my Cooper, They've been on for nearly 2 months now (the wifes not even scuffed them yet) but I have noticed that they are increasingly difficult to clean for 2 reasons

1 - The Matt finish never looks really clean
2 - I have ingrained dirt in the brushed alloy parts particularly on the rims

Can any sidewalk owners give me any advice / recommendations to help??

Also the plastic wheel centres are more grey than black but I'm hesitatant to use a "blacking" product as most of these are glossy and that may make the car look even worse

Hope some of you guys can help, thanks in advance
Mark



JCW Sound Kit No. D0641
England Male View Streeters's Astro Black & Body Color 1st Gen MINI Cooper Profile   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Sponsors

Sponsored Links


Registered members do not see Google Ads posts, they can also post messages, pictures, and classified adverts.
Register your free account today and become a member of MINI2 - MINI Forum
   
Old Jan 18th, 2008, 10:02 AM   #2 (permalink)
minicabrio
MINI2 Privilege Member Has met Quack Quack Jack
Back in a MINI
 
minicabrio's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Hampshire
Local Time: 10:48 PM
Posts: 15,022
Offline
What wheel cleaner are you using at the minute? Use a good wheel cleaner (Meguires Hot Rims) and a soft brush (paint brush) to agitate the dirt... rinse well and dry off with a microfibre so there are no watermarks.

For the brushed alloy, use a tar remover, or non-abrasive polish to remove the spots, then wax these areas to prevent dirt clinging again.

United Kingdom Visit my Blog at the Motorcade Male View minicabrio's Space Blue & Silver 1st Gen MINI Cooper S Profile   Reply With Quote
Thanks for this post from:
Old Jan 18th, 2008, 10:30 AM   #3 (permalink)
sef
Affinity to 1320 Autos
 
sef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: A dark Corner
Local Time: 10:48 PM
Posts: 674
Offline
Mark, I've left mine dirty... They now blend in with the rest of the car

I might give Meguiars a go on mine too...
United Kingdom Male View sef's Hyper Blue & Black 1st Gen MINI Cooper S Profile   Reply With Quote
Thanks for this post from:
Old Jan 18th, 2008, 10:32 AM   #4 (permalink)
Ant FR
MINI2 Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Local Time: 10:48 PM
Posts: 1,843
Offline
i have a set of burnished JCW R105's so have the same polished finish.

Personally i remove mine from november till march to avoid winter dirt as its a killer. i stick the boggo standard 17's back on.

But one thing i ensure, never ever use any abrasives on them, never use alloy wheel cleaner, and clean them off weekly sto stop the build up of dirt,. Then polish them with regular car polish. i have also started applying wheel protector by T wax, really does seem to make the removal of dirt a lot easier.

As for the mat finish, only thing you do with that i suppose is to makesure yo fully dry it so no water marks etc. Unfortunately that seems to be the look of those wheels, a bit like GP alloys, they never ever look 100% clean. But they still look nice though
United Kingdom   Reply With Quote
Thanks for this post from:
Old Jan 19th, 2008, 02:20 PM   #5 (permalink)
Streeters
ECMC Addict
 
Streeters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Essex
Local Time: 10:48 PM
Posts: 462
Offline
NIce One Sef,lol

Thanks for the input guys, I'll try waxing first to see if that works, Another forum has also suggested hot rims, So I might try that if option 1 fails, If all else fails, i'll get them stripped and laquered so they have a gloss finish cos that is really gonna irritate me i think.



JCW Sound Kit No. D0641
England Male View Streeters's Astro Black & Body Color 1st Gen MINI Cooper Profile   Reply With Quote
Old Mar 22nd, 2008, 11:28 AM   #6 (permalink)
Streeters
ECMC Addict
 
Streeters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Essex
Local Time: 10:48 PM
Posts: 462
Offline
Just as an update to this in case any sidewalk owners are interested, the other day I gave the car the full bifta wash & megs 3 step jobby, and when i'd finished i used the carnuba wax to clean the wheels(after washing and drying first) which actually worked a treat. so i gave them another coat of wax which brought a lovely sheen to the wheels. well chuffed, would have taken some pics as it took me all day to clean it, but within 10 minutes of finishing it was chucking it down with rain dontcha just love our weather in the UK lol



JCW Sound Kit No. D0641
England Male View Streeters's Astro Black & Body Color 1st Gen MINI Cooper Profile   Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Sponsors

Sponsored Links


Registered members do not see Ads posts, they can also post messages, pictures, and classified adverts.
Register your free account today and become a member of MINI2 - MINI Forum
   
Reply
More is car insurance



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
sidewalk onredmin General Discussion 6 Sep 25th, 2007 02:05 PM
Sidewalk now on Configurator Jordan210 MINI Convertible 12 Feb 23rd, 2007 01:23 AM
Best product for cleaning alloys? Roofas Maintenance & MINI Care 24 Mar 24th, 2006 11:53 PM
Problem with Mini Alloys JamesK1975 Wheels, Tyres & Brakes 15 Mar 8th, 2006 12:12 PM
Cleaning white alloys eayscm Wheels, Tyres & Brakes 12 Dec 10th, 2002 09:12 AM