What Cleans the Alloy Rims Best?
 

Today after I washed my car, I noticed my rims (Stock) are starting to get a dull finish on them and was wondering what would be best to clean them with. I just want to know what works good so I dont buy a bottle of crap and waste money. Thanx.. Peace

My MP5 Pictures:
http://photos.yahoo.com/messenjah00

Mods:
-15% Tint
-3A Racing Pedals (Alloy/Carbon Fiber)
-Full Front Bra
-PBM Shoulder Pads

Mods on the Way:
-Red Hose Kit
-Mazdaspeed Exaust

Q: "What Cleans Alloy Rims Best?"
A: A Leggy Blonde in Daisy Dukes...


(Sorry I couldn't resist!)

I use "Simple Green Foamer" on my rims. It cleaned my stock alloy rims real good. I still use it on my aftermarket wheels, everytime i wash my car. Just spray it on and leave it for a minute or 2.

Mequirs hot rims is very good, spray on and wait 2 min and then spray of. It is clearcoat safe

Im pissed off about the finnish on my rims. I took mine in to get new tires put on(im sure we all have our woes about the stock ones) and when i got the car back with new tires i guess they put new weights on the rims and where the old weights were on EVERY rim there was a scratch out of the finnish. EVERY rim has a scratch on it....AUGH. Anyway, just venting.

I use Eagle One A to Z...I think thats the name anyway....I think it works really good on the alloys...plus it remove the brake dust well...:D

any sort of degreaser should work fine.. hrmm wd-40 would work well and leave a finish that repels dirt/water

Anyone else want to volunteer to spray a lubricant around their wheels?
Stocker.

Personally I use Simple green automotive degreaser. Non toxic, enviro safe. Don't even need to use gloves.

Castrols Wheel Cleaner does a good job on my rims. Not a big cleaning brand but does the job good for me



2002 Protege ES

hrm.. i went out and had to see if it cleans well and it does! =)
it worked better than this eagle-one wheel cleaner stuff i used.

i doubt lubricant will affect the wheel negatively; just don't
overspray like mad (a given i hope)

I have tried everything that you just spray on and then rinse it off, none of them work that great. Simple green works the best, then the Castrols. However my car gets A LOT of brake dust, etc on the front wheels so usually When I am washing my car I spray the rims with that Amor All (SP?) all purpose cleaner and wipe them off. It works great!! Do not use the wipes they make though, they just don't seem to work as well.;)

Are you talking about the stock PAINTED wheels on a P5?

I have found the best thing to do is treat the wheels as you would the rest of the car.

Here is what I did:

1-Wash wheels with liquid car soap, using a wash mit.
2-Dry them.
3-Meguiars Paint cleaner.
4-Meguiars Polish. (This REALLY brightened up my wheels!)
5-Meguiars wax.
6-Dress the tires using Eagle-One.

They look great, and break dust (or other dirt) won't stick very easily. Now I just do steps 1,2 and 5 as part of washing my car. Probably do the whole procedure a couple times a year (I don't drive on these wheels in the winter).

What I have to ask is why in hell would you use a degreaser? I've yet to see grease on my wheels. The wheels are painted/clearcoated, why would you treat them any differently than other painted surfaces on you car?

Jay

elbow grease with soap and water. i also wax the wheels, it keeps stuff from sticking and keeps them shiny

if you use a strong cleaner, such as regular castrol superclean, it will mess up any finished surface, rims and aluminum especially.

Same here. I wax my wheels about once a month. When I go to wash them I just use soap, water and a soft brush or mitt and they clean up very quickly. Never needed to spray any sort of cleaner on them.

A similar situation for us as well...
we did the 10K mi service @ the dealership (yeah, I know, I could do it myself, but I am paranoid about being within the warranty). At these services, we get a free tire rotation
I noticed that in removing the lug nuts the mechanics scoured/scratched each of the rims (inside the "wells' where the nuts reside)
we went back to the dealer and complained that they scratched the rims - and to our surprise, we are getting 4 new rims as a replacement!!!
Unfortunately, though, the won't let us buy one of the 'old" rims; I had wanted to use it as a real spare to replace the tiny one, but..
Mazda, it seems, has done everything we have ever requested - resealing the windshield, etc.; adjust headlights and now this...
I cannot complain at all about our treatment
just thought you guys would like too know