For one, Normal car wash will work fine. If you have more of a problem to tackle, use SG.

For 2, Why did you ressurect a thread from 2003??? (The year my truck was made...)

 

Guys guys, this is simple. Heres my advice for keeping up your OWN cars, detailing cars is a different story.

You want something safe with no acid. There should be absolutley no reason to use something acid based unless you only wash your car once or twice a month.

P21S wheel cleaners are great, both gel and spray. They are my go to wheel cleaners on customer cars. Its strong and safe, hell, I can leave it on a wheel for 2 hours if I wanted, as long as it doesnt dry. The only downside is, its slightly expensive.

DP Wheel Gel is also a very good wheel cleaner and can be used to clean your tires too. Its very safe and clings onto the wheel well. It isnt quite as strong as the P21S cleaners though. But its not as expensive either.

HOWEVER, if you wash your car once a week or even once every two weeks, then you dont NEED a wheel cleaner. All you need is a wheel sponge, and regular car soap. Then once a month or so you can use the wheel cleaner if you'd like. But it probably wont be necessary if you keep them up.

Now aside from washing your wheels once a week. You need to protect them. There is a right and wrong way to protect them. A lot of people will stick the same wax on the wheel that they use on their paint. This is a complete waste of money, unless the car is a garage queen I guess. Reason is because as soon as those wheels heat up, the wax will melt right off. You NEED to be using a wheel specific protectant such as DP Wheel Glaze or Poorboys Wheel Sealant. Some paint sealants will also work on the wheels quite well such as Chemical Guys Jetseal. This should be done once or twice a month. After this layer of protection is on, you'll only need regular car soap and water to clean the wheels. MAYBE even just a strong stream of water.

I use various brushes to clean the wheel, tire, and wheel wells. Just go to your local Advance Auto and see what they have. But you must use a separate sponge for wheels and paint. I even use separate buckets, 2 for wheels, 2 for paint. The most important brush for me when cleaning wheels is the EZ Detail Brush. I dont know how I would get the inside of rims without it. http://www.autogeek.net/ezdebrfca.html

So review...

Starting from scratch- wash with P21S or DP cleaner (car soap if your rims are pretty clean right now). Remember to use separate sponge.

After wash, protect with a wheel specific protectant (DP or PB). Reapply once a month.

From then on, wash with just water and regular car soap, nothing more.

 

well put, bud. I would normally have more to say, but you pretty much got it all. I choose different products, but then again, I have a VERY limited budget, so I havent tried several that you have mentioned....

 

Thanks man.

Forgot one more very important thing. BE CAREFUL what polish you use on your wheels. Majority of wheels are clear coated. Majority of wheel polishes arent meant to be used on wheels that are clear coated.

If you've got wheels that wont come clean even with an acid based cleaner, then get some Klasse All In One Polish. This "polish" contains NO abrsives, so it wont remove the coating on your wheels. So use some of that along with the Mothers Power Ball if necessary.

Dont know if your wheels are coated or not? Well if you look close enough then you'll be able to see the coating. Another way to tell is by putting some polish on a cloth, something like Mothers Aluminum polish, rub in on the rim. If the cloth doesnt turn black, then stop immediatley. Your rims are coated and you should only use certain polishes/ protectants.

Here are some good reads, http://www.detailguide.com/DetailGuideCh5.html http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/myths.html

Now if you insist on using something acid based. Then I HIGHLY recommend Poorboys Spray and Rinse wheel cleaner. This truly is a spray and rinse cleaner for MOST wheels. Obviously some wheels will still require scrubbing. But this cleaner is VERY strong, and should only be used on certain wheels. You also MUST follow the directions exactly or you risk ruining your rims.

 

i have yet to come across a rim that this stuff will not get cleaned. i would also guess that poorboys stuff is the same stuff as texbrite...just packaged diffrent. but yes it is a spray and rinse....i like to agitate it with a 1 inch paint brush around the lip and around the lugs or areas with little rivits and in the tite spots on more ornate rims....this stuff kills the rims on the late 80's mustangs....texbrite is a local shop with good discount with tax #, free shipping (picked up locally..they will deliver free on large orders), and great customer service....texbrite=poorboys=chemical guys for what i would guess about 80% of the products if not more.

 

CG makes a lot of PB products.

 

yes thats what i meant....they are all the same products just packaged different...there are prob 100 more company's out there selling the same products too...

here are some rims that this stuff really shows it stuff





factory rims are a snap...i think that most people that really get down and look at thier rims...would easy tell the diffrence with anything else and this stuff..the wheel weights look brand new again, the gaps around the lugs are pristine, around the valve stem is like you took the stem off and put it back....yes this stuff is that good.