Buy a good Quality alloy wheel cleaner such as Meguiars Hot Rims if you have time take the wheel off and fully clean it inside and out with the cleaner, when dry use either a dedicated alloy wheel wax or even the wax you use on your paintwork (if you do) i use the wax i use on my paintwork!
and then keep them clean by regular washing! you dont need to use the Cleaner everytime if you clean them regular just every few washes maybe!
any black spots that dont come off with the clener can be taken off with Autoglym Tar Remover etc! then clean that off and dry then wax!
Chemical guys WHEEL GUARD, Poorboys WHEEL SEALANT, there is too many different products really it all comes down to personel choice and how much you wanna spend on products!
most people do actually use there dedicated paintwork wax because it will do exactly the same job and when you spending £20 on wax for your paintwork and then £20 on wheel wax it can be expensive!
check this place out this is the place to look for product information is a good read aswel!
As the mini is really bad for brake dust welding itself to the lacquer on the front wheels, I found the following made a huge difference and now I clean them once a week rather than twice.
Clean using water and meguiars shampoo only, no wheel cleaner. Dry off wheel and apply BMW mini liquid wax ( this stuff is like water ) allow to dry then buff to a high shine. Now use Autoglym wheel wax spray. Spray evenly over alloy and leave to dry, no need to polish.
No need to use the BMW wax each time, but use 2 coats of the Autoglym spray stuff. This makes it a very quick and easy task.
I have just bought some P21s wheel cleaner form UK Car Care and Accessories, brilliant no corrosive stuff.. better and easier to use than the megs stuff i had before...
I then put swissol autobahn wheel wax on to prevent build up...
Using a non-wheel dedicated wax/sealant (ie using the same wax as on your bodywork) is no good for your wheels. The brakedust will melt the wax leaving you with bare wheels as thry were before you applied.
Im afraid that the Boy's of detailing world will disagree there and me, as if you click on the link provided on the first post of mine and go to the section on wheels and tires there you will find a wealth of Beginners and enthusiasts and who do use there normal wax on the wheels!
read this it'll leak the truth in what im saying, of course a dedicated wheel wax/ sealent is obviously better but there is many Cleaning Enthusiasts including me who dont use them, many people use Autoglym Super Resin Polish (SRP) topped with Autpglym Extra Gloss Protection (EGP) and that works perfectly fine!
Nothing on the wheel will melt at all it will just wear away with time and washing! thats why you will need to top it up once a month etc!
the main reason i wont buy a wheel sealent is, when you start to buy products it becomes very expensive ive spent at least £100 in a week on decent cleaning products and to buy more for my wheels when the wax i have works fine is stupid!
Tried out Wheel Seal and Shine from Planet Polish recently and I was blown away with it for the price. Absolutely stunning finish and left the wheels looking like new.
Very easy to apply and take off and even with just one coat beads lovely, also makes removing brake dust as easy as blasting it with the pressure washer and a wipe over with a microfibre cloth to get any left overs! Another coat has gone on now so protection/cleaning should be even better!
I honestly cant recommend this enough....Brilliant!
I've got the Planet Polish stuff to try and their alloy wheel repair kit to sort some light scuffs on a wheel. Their stuff is quite highly rated.
I find cleaning wheels need the wheel taking off which is good way of cleaning wheel and tyre and checking they tyre for anything stuck in it that could end up in a puncture.
Lots of people use wheel cleaners acidic like wonder wheels or non acidic. One of the best things I have found is APC which people like meguiars make but you can get supermarket own much cheaper and just dilute 4:1 in a spray bottle and use on wheels, wheel arches, bumpers, generally anywhere that gets dirtiest.
My wheels take a lot of cleaning being white and I have used Smart Wax Rim Wax, a dedicated wheel wax before and Tardis from Autosmart to remove tar spots.
Next time I am trying the Planet Polish sealant I have. On some testing on Detailing World it came top of a few products for durability and ease of use.
i set about my alloys last weekend, i was a man on a mission,
i had autoglym alloy wheel cleaner, autoglym tar remover, meguirers clay kit, microfibre clothes, sponges ect, and a halfords mini steamer kit which i bought especially for the job, was about £30,
i took the wheels off (sad i know!)
blasted them with autoglym alloy cleaner, left it for a few minutes, blasted it off with a pressure washer,
then warmed the steamer up, using the brush attachment, worked on the stubborn marks, then got the tar remover on once the steamer had loosened them.
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