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      03-20-2013, 02:58 AM   #10
kiwi29
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Drives: 09 M-Tech 328i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psnt1ol View Post
If your wheels are chrome then you still might be okay. I just find CG Diablo and Amazing Roll-off to be safe for all wheels. Meguire's D140 wheel brightener will also work on chrome with a dilution of 8 part water to 1 part product.

Polish Aluminum and Anodized wheels are the ones you have to watch out for.

You should call the manufacturer and ask.....

Soap and water might work as a maintenance routine but you will need something stronger to get the baked on stuff off. A safe wheel cleaner like CG Diablo will only do so much. Most of the work will be done by hand with some good brushes like the Wheel Woolies and I say every 2 weeks instead of waiting for the full month. The longer that stuff stay on the wheels, the harder it is to clean.

http://www.detailedimage.com/DI-Pack...iece-Kit-P651/

I would use a metal sealant (if your wheels are bare metal with no coating) instead of a sealant designed for paint. Collinite Metal Wax is what I use for bare metal.

http://www.detailedimage.com/Collini...P662/16-oz-S1/

Since you have mesh wheels, another product you might consider is Permanon Platinum finish protection. This is a spray on/ rinse off sealant for all hard finishes. Permanon Platinum is resistant to temperatures up to 572 degrees farenheit so this should keep the brake dust at bay. It is pricey but the ease of application and the durability (when correctly applied) is well worth it. Once it is on, most if not all of the crud will just rinse off with a hose. Easy Cleaning.

http://www.autogeek.net/permanon-platinum-coating1.html
Thanks for all of this very useful information! Ill definitely check out these products that you've mentioned. 1 question though, the last product, can you use it in place of sealants such as jetseal 109?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rogers08m3 View Post
Wait, what? I am so confused - you're avoiding Sonax and IronX now?

Sonax Full Effect and IronX use the exact same active ingredient as CG Diablo Wheel Gel. All three are perfectly save for uncoated aluminum. Amazing Roll Off is caustic; it can be safe on alum, but it would need to be removed almost immediately. If you want a list of the safest stuff to clean uncoated alum wheels I'd say, from safest to least, it'd be something like this:

1) Water (although even water can oxidize uncoated aluminum if you let it dry on the wheels)
2) Soap and water
3) Sonax Full Effect
4) IronX (never SFE or ironx will damage aluminum... think about it, both are 100% safe on all automotive surfaces, if they damaged alum they would damage trim, older bumpers, etc).
5) P21S wheel Gel
6) Autoglym All Wheel Cleaner
7) everything else (since almost everything else is caustic or acidic).

On a separate note; waxing the wheels will do nothing. Carnuaba has a meting temp way below the temp a wheel will reach. Jetseal is a better option although I still wouldn't bother. Go with a wheel specific product, or even better, opti coat them. Opti Coat *will* stop alum from oxidizing.
From what I've been hearing, iron x and sonax sounded very harsh and will dull shines. That's the only reason but since you've posted on here about the safeness of products from safest to least, ill definitely reconsider! I bought rim wax from chemical guys a while back, how often should I use it? It seems to do a decent job of not letting the dust stick
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The HACK View Post
I'm going to use a very simple analogy, I hope you'll understand.
Driving is like having sex.
It really is. You can read up all you want about how to please a woman, you can look at all the diagrams in the world, but just like the clitoris, you won't know what the hell an apex is before you actually find it.
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