# Please Help: ********** Answer on my Wheel Care



## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Hi Guys,

Long-time lurker. I've just joined up to ask this question because I am a bit worried about the new car, and want just a ********** answer from those in the know - i.e. you chaps.

I've bought an Audi A6 S-line - with chrome wheels that I would originally have guessed the previous owner had refurbished himself and changed them to a chrome paint type. After getting up close I am more certain that they are a polished metal.

Here is a pic of the wheel:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/699ssy2jffnixby/Screen Shot 227.png?m

The reason I am getting so worried is that he's told me later after the sale only to clean them with water and a sponge, and then use Meg's NXT Generation All Metal Polish on them once a week or so.

He says that if I use any cleaning chemicals I will discolor and darken the wheels.

But if I only use a sponge, there is no way of getting off these wee dark marks which I have tried to show here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jynelau2jwj1pr5/2012-07-21 15.30.43.jpg?m

If you use the rough side of a kitchen sponge scourer, they come off with the lightest of touches - but you can still see little discolorations and I feel like there is another level of cleanliness I could take them to with a proper cleaning product. If they were perfect and cleaned up perfect with just water I'd understand it. But they are probably 95% perfect and I don't want to damage them!

Plus, the back of the wheels that are not polished are getting more dirty and I can't clean those without a cleaning product, and I don't know if I am risking damage to the fronts of these wheels by trying to clean the backs.

I've ordered some of the polysh and cleaned the fronts with a microfibre cloth and water.

I've got loads of detailing products lying about and have just bought a set of Wheel Woolies as they seem like they'd be helpful.

Up til now I've presumed that you can use any cleaner on any wheel within reason, and as long as you don't put them on for more than a minute its fine. However I've had problems with the Turtle Wax Nano Tech wheel cleaner taking the lacquer off my van wheels, I just assumed it was a bad job and plan to re-paint and re-lacquer these anyway.

So I'm just really wondering if somebody could tell me what products are safe to use, and what a good cleaning regime for these wheels would be; trying to balance getting the best finish and protection without damaging the finish.

What I would have planned to do is use Meguiars Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner, or Autoglym Custom Alloy Cleaner, with an Ultra Safe wheel brush, and/or little paintbrush, to get them clean. Maybe use a sponge scourer for very stubborn discolored dots. Then seal with Poorboys or Autoglym Alloy Wheel Seal. I was then going to try and get the Meg's Brake Dust Barrier but it never seems to be coming out in the UK.

I've got the following lying around at the moment:

Autoglym Alloy Wheel Seal
Meg's Endurance Tyre Gloss & Applicator Pad
Poorboys Wheel Sealant
Meg's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner
Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner
Wonder Wheels (wouldn't use on these but I have it)
Turtle Wax Nano Tech Wheel Cleaner, and Wheel Wax

That all I can remember. I also have some Simoniz, other Turtle Wax, lying around.

Be great to get a rundown of what is safe to do here.


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

I think before any answer could be posted you would have to find out for 100% certain what the finish is on the wheels. i.e. polished, chromed, chrome paint etc


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Hmmm. I was hoping that you'd be able to tell just by looking. There's a performance car valeter nearby, maybe they can help and I'll buy the products from them to say thanks!

I wouldn't know where to start in identification; I think they are polished alloys, they don't have the bright nickel whiteness of chrome plating and where there is damage it leaves a small black pit/dot rather than flaking away like a chrome paint would.

Although the previous owner is mailing me daily with tips and hints on how to care for what was clearly his absolute pride and joy, his English is not good so I wouldn't be confident in an answer he gave on the wheel type.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

OK, I've been to a bodyshop and seen my valeter, both of whom confirm they are polished alloys.

The former says just use soap and water, the latter says he has a specialist product that is all organic, its non-damaging, and the Ferrari owners don't complain. That sounds great, but when I asked about sealant, he thought I meant lacquer.

I also saw a guy who works on lots of cars and says that the metal polish itself is what you use; clean with water to dilute the corrosive brake dust every day or two, wipe it dry after rain in case any nastiness has run out of the wheel interior or somewhere, and then polish with the metal polish once a week or longer once you get the sealant built up. He recommends Autosol, I've already bought 2 of the Megs NXT polysh.

Finally seal. Not sure what to use for this. I've got the Autoglym, the Poorboys, a Turtle Wax Alloy Wheel Protective Seal (or some such) I found, and the Nano-tech wheel wax.

Can I presume that any seal is fine as they are non-damaging? Or what else do you guys recommend? Am I on the right lines with the cleaning now?

Cheers in advance,

Jamie


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

The Autoglym custom wheel cleaner is safe to use on polished wheels. But you always will have the problem of discolouration. Polished wheels are great to look at but really, are only for show cars. 

There is a process I have found called Aerocoat, the company is called Aeromax, if I remember correctly. Which gives a deeply polished finish, yet is actually a powdercoat, for excellent durability. I have seen shots when new and after 3 years, and the shine is still the same.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Whats an APC? Washing up liquid? Thats what my bodyshop guy said.

I shall avoid all acid and alkali products.

I have Gtechniq stuff that I keep for special occasions and apparently C5 is the damage, so I am 99% going to use it as I love the Gtechniq marque and its not *that* much more expensive than the Planet Polish WS&S which is the other one people have recommended.

And see how that goes til Autumn, and then when the winter tyres go on, if they've suffered, consider a colour change or the Aerocoat. Hopefully they will be solid.


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

If they are polished alloys, do they have a lacquer coating? seems you need to find that out first.
If they are lacquered, then a decent wheel cleaner like autobtrites very cherry to give them a good first clean, then a light polish with something like SRP and then a decent wheel sealant, planet polish wheel seal and shine, FK1000P, to name but a few.
After the initial clean and seal, then just a wash with a mitt with normal car shampoo will bring them up like new.
You will not need to carry out a full clean for around three months

Kev


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Ok, how to establish if lacquered? If the previous owner was polishing with meg nxt would he have thinned or taen off the lacquer?


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Well, I am 99.9% certain they aren't lacquered. They don't appear to have any protective coating and having left them for 3-4 days because I knew my valeter was coming, they have deteriorated substantially. His cleaning product didn't really do anything - it made them shiny again, but up close there was new marking from rain drops, and the same black dotting. Really quite disheartening.

I went over them after he left with the Megs NXT and with a LOT of elbow grease the rain marks started coming out, as did some of the black dots. They looked no more shiny, in fact I'd say they looked a bit more cloudy than the ones that had just been cleaned, but they were visibly cleaner from up close. From over a metre away, don't get me wrong, you can't tell a difference but they have hardly polished up like glass.

I keep forgetting to see if I have the C5 in town, I bought some of the PPWS&S and it got sent to town too, so I'm just going to keep wiping down with water for 48 hours if it rains, and then polish them again, perhaps with Autosol to see if its any better, and really put my back into it, try to get them as good as possible, and then seal them.

If anybody has any tips based on this information, as to how to get them to the best condition possible, and then how best to seal them, I'd be hugely grateful.

Thanks again for help so far,

Jamie


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## waxy (Feb 27, 2006)

They are polished aluminium alloy,no clear coat.You can easily confirm this by polishing a small area with the NXT,or Autosol,and seeing if the cloth turns black.They require a lot more frequent care to keep them looking good.I would invest in some Mother's Billet polish,and their powerball system,as it works very well with great results.If you have visible marks/stains,i would start polishing with microfibre cloths,then move to foam,or the powerball,and finish the polishing by applying the billet polish using a latex glove,time consuming,but worth it.Finish by sealing the wheel with any wheel sealant,or hi temp wax.You only really need a wheel cleaner for the first initial cleaning,thereafter any good car shampoo and a variety of brushes will keep them clean,and maintain the finish if cleaned regularly.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Absolutely cloth turns black. I will look into the product you suggest. Thanks so much!


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Well, Autosol is no better than the Megs. Did a test polish with it today and very little visible difference to a wheel done with Megs 2 days ago.

I then gave a quick coat of Wheel Seal & Shine, but the applicator was still picking up a lot of black despite having wiped thoroughly with a microfibre cloth before applying.

Again, no better in terms of shine, in fact maybe it slightly dulls the polished coating.

So I am now wondering whether as the Autoglym Custom Wheel cleaner is safe, whether the best plan is:

1) Polish with Megs & Microfibre
2) Heavy polish with Mothers Billet and Powerball (on its way)
3) Clean wheel with custom wheel cleaner, rinse and thoroughly dry to remove all remaining traces of polish.
4) Wheel Seal & Shine or C5

Do you see any problems with doing this? When you say apply the polish using a latex glove; do you mean using a latex glove to wipe it off? Does this give a really good finish? I feel sure I am misunderstanding this part and you just mean a final hand polish.


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

If towels turn black , it s sign it s working , need to polish . Be certain they are alloys , if not you ll screw them big time , as some truck drivers do , if cleared .


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

waxy said:


> They are polished aluminium alloy,no clear coat.You can easily confirm this by polishing a small area with the NXT,or Autosol,and seeing if the cloth turns black.They require a lot more frequent care to keep them looking good.I would invest in some Mother's Billet polish,and their powerball system,as it works very well with great results.If you have visible marks/stains,i would start polishing with microfibre cloths,then move to foam,or the powerball,and finish the polishing by applying the billet polish using a latex glove,time consuming,but worth it.Finish by sealing the wheel with any wheel sealant,or hi temp wax.You only really need a wheel cleaner for the first initial cleaning,thereafter any good car shampoo and a variety of brushes will keep them clean,and maintain the finish if cleaned regularly.


+1 on thet buddy , I guess GTechniq T1 would be good , but not sure if it can be applied to uncleared wheels


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## Nally (May 30, 2012)

Verry nice never seen them in crome. 
Stick with mild apc and a sold mitt or wheel woolies


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Jeemy said:


> Whats an APC? Washing up liquid? Thats what my bodyshop guy said.
> 
> *I shall avoid all acid and alkali products.*
> 
> ...


In your original post you also mentioned "Autoglym Alloy Wheel Seal
Meg's Endurance Tyre Gloss & Applicator Pad
Poorboys Wheel Sealant
Meg's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner
Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner
Wonder Wheels (wouldn't use on these but I have it)
Turtle Wax Nano Tech Wheel Cleaner, and Wheel Wax

That all I can remember. I also have some Simoniz, other Turtle Wax, lying around. "

You tell us which of those are neither acid or alkali?


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## waxy (Feb 27, 2006)

Jeemy said:


> Well, Autosol is no better than the Megs. Did a test polish with it today and very little visible difference to a wheel done with Megs 2 days ago.
> 
> I then gave a quick coat of Wheel Seal & Shine, but the applicator was still picking up a lot of black despite having wiped thoroughly with a microfibre cloth before applying.
> 
> ...


I would just polish using the Mother's Billet polish,if there's no heavy staining/marks,use the powerball and spend some time with it.The latex glove technique is for a final polish,you apply the polish using your hand with the latex glove,working the polish in thoroughly,wipe off with microfibre,or soft cotton.You don't need to use any wheel cleaner after polishing,if you feel you need to remove traces of polish residue,a good car shampoo will suffice.Once you are happy with the polished finish,then apply your sealant,just remember that getting a mirror finish using the described process is time consuming,and takes some patience,but the results are worth it.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

> You tell us which of those are neither acid or alkali?


Wow- you're a ballbag! You've taken my first post, mentioning the products I had available and asking for advice, and placed it after a later post I made saying that following the advice received, I would take it, and avoid all acid and alkali products.

Thanks for your input, mouthpiece.

To all others who have been helpful and not tried to twist my words and make me look stupid, I extend my sincere thanks.

To Mr Avanti, cheers for thoroughly souring the experience with your seeming need to make other people feel small. The fact you've twisted the order in which I said things and swopped my posts around to make me look silly makes me wonder how many of your almost 13,000 posts were actually worth posting?

I hope you've made yourself feel that little bit bigger by trying to make somebody else look small.


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## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

I can share my experience with you if it helps. 
For the past 2 yrs I only use water from a tickling hose coupled with gentle wiping with a micro fibre cloth to clean my rims. 
They are washed like this once a week/fortnight then treated with an all in one cleanser/sealant namely Chemical Guys Wheel Gaurd maybe monthly.
I find the sealant enables a near perfect clean with water alone and you don't get a gentler cleaner than plain H2O.
The fact it's just water means less sealant removed on washing=better durability. Furthermore no risk of a caustic effect on the rims.
The cleaning ability of the all in one helps to "gently" remove any residue left by my weeky water wash.

My rims have a highly polished diamond cut lip but are lacquered. Most owners of the same wheels as me only use them in the summer coz of the fragile nature of even lacquer on a polished rim as opposed to a painted one, but I've been lucky with no probs these past 5yrs.

Your uncoated surface is harder to maintain than mine but I hope my water wash technique offers you an alternative to worrying about harsh cleaning products.


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

Jeemy said:


> Wow- you're a ballbag! You've taken my first post, mentioning the products I had available and asking for advice, and placed it after a later post I made saying that following the advice received, I would take it, and avoid all acid and alkali products.
> 
> Thanks for your input, mouthpiece.
> 
> ...


Some are like that sadly .


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Jeemy said:


> Wow- you're a ballbag! You've taken my first post, mentioning the products I had available and asking for advice, and placed it after a later post I made saying that following the advice received, I would take it, and avoid all acid and alkali products.
> 
> Thanks for your input, mouthpiece.
> 
> ...





sprocketser said:


> Some are like that sadly .


Nobody is trying to make you feel small, you may possibly feel that way if you are attention seeking, folk have already mentioned how to care for the rims, yet you bat back what they suggest and refer back to the dealer said this or that, what is fact is that once the rims get stained they are stained for good, irrespective of what the vote suggests, they are your rims, so it is only you that will face the problem, so to summarise wheel care = regular cleaning with little more than shampoo will keep the rims sweet for a very long time, an application of some wax/sealant will harbour tar attacks.

Many have mentioned that if the wheels are on a daily driver then you have an uphill struggle keeping them as new, but only time will tell. 
And welcome to the forum you will soon learn who is spouting BS :thumb:


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks. I'm think the plan is that I am looking to get as good an initial clean and polish as possible, before sealing with the C5 wheel armour. And then washing down with water or mild soap.

I think the only difference between mine and yours is that the rain will possibly still be an issue for me; hopefully the C5 will prevent the acid in the rain causing problems.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

> Nobody is trying to make you feel small,


Obviously you were. There is absolutely no need for your post except to try and make me look foolish. Why would I be attention-seeking? I've come on asking for help from those in the know so that I can take care of my wheels properly.

I haven't batted back a single thing anybody says - I've taken it all on board and agreed with it and am doing what people recommend!

I haven't even mentioned a dealer. I mentioned the people I had been to see the wheels with, to establish exactly what they were so we could find an according solution. My bodyshop guy said the same as BenGum - just use a mild soap cleaner - and I agreed to do so, and said that following his advice I would steer away from any acid or alkali products.

The only way somebody would think I was "batting back" advice would be if you took my first post listing the products I had lying around, and put it after my post saying "thanks Ben, I will avoid acid and alkali as you suggest". But thats, erm, backwards.

Your post didn't offer any help at all, it took my posts out of context to try and make it look like I didn't understand what was being said to me.

The only reason somebody would do that is if they were either (a) incapable of reading to a basic level, scanning the thread in reverse, making a snap decision about me and deciding to try and make an example out of me, or (b) if they were a total fanny to begin with. Its always possible you are both.

I don't think anybody has come into this thread spouting BS save you. Everybody else has offered advice and experience, politely and relevantly to the thread and topic in hand, so that I and future people with my issue will benefit. You've just come in insulting me, and others, parroted what others have said without even referencing a product or method - so thanks for that. I'd already been told and agreed to get them polished and sealed up then just clean with shampoo.

If all 13,000 posts of yours are troublemaking like this you must be the bane of most foilks' lives here. You've added nothing to the thread but insults, and I've responded in kind which I am not proud of.

I'm sorry you feel that my thread was not up to your standards and you felt the need to spoil it. Not knowing what kind of wheels I had in front of me, I thought that I had better post up the pics, what I'd been told by others, so that folks could build an opinion. Seems like everybody but you thought that was perfectly reasonable.


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Don't fight here have a cupcake?
*throws cupcake in your face*


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

Nice wheels but what a pain in the a**e keeping them clean. I might be tempted to get them clear coated by a pro wheel refurb place. :thumb:


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

Porkypig said:


> Nice wheels but what a pain in the a**e keeping them clean. I might be tempted to get them clear coated by a pro wheel refurb place. :thumb:


It s what I would do @ first , then you can maintain them yourself , just a thought in here .

But it s your car , do whatever you want in there .


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

I definitely will! That or the aerocoat. I'm just trying to make sure I don't wreck them in the short term until i can get some rs4 or blade winter wheels. I've got a set of black 5-spoke blade wheels from my a4 to sell to finance those first.


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

Jeemy said:


> I definitely will! That or the aerocoat. I'm just trying to make sure I don't wreck them in the short term until i can get some rs4 or blade winter wheels. I've got a set of black 5-spoke blade wheels from my a4 to sell to finance those first.


For sure , one can easily screw the wheels , & @ that point , it would be better have another sets of wheels altogether , seen it from truck drivers having some polishing clearcoated wheels screwing them big time . I would do the same .


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Jeemy said:


> I definitely will! That or the aerocoat. I'm just trying to make sure I don't wreck them in the short term until i can get some rs4 or blade winter wheels. I've got a set of black 5-spoke blade wheels from my a4 to sell to finance those first.


If you Aerocoated them you could use them all through winter without worrying about corrosion!


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

I honest advice, if this is an everyday car, stop wasting time and money on product after product, and get them powercoated in a nice silver.

From then on, get a good wheel sealant on them, and just clean with shampoo each week...

I've had polished wheels before, and they aren't worth it! :lol:

:thumb:


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Seems like! To do any work on them, they have to come off the car, and therefore I need alternative/winter wheels anyway. By the time I've spent money on winter wheels I will be out of pocket and can look at clearcoating or Aerocoating in my own time.

Realistically I have no issue in clearcoating them myself; I have basic spray equipment and as long as I can get them clean and be satisfied there is no contaminants that will continue to corrode them, present under the lacquer, that I can find the right product and get them coated and safe to drive for very little cost.

I'm thinking perhaps just to buy the rims and have the tyres transferred from these to the other rims, might save some cash.

I'll look into the cost of the Aerocoat in the meantime, as I have a Lotus thats in pieces and will need a lot of TLC (read: british pounds) to get back on the road I need to be prudent about how much I invest in this; I've already bought the products which weren't terribly expensive but you're right; for what I've spent on products I could probably have had them powdercoated already! You don't notice it adding up when you are spending £10 here, £30 there. Such is life.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

That's what I mean i'm afraid 

add that cost to your time and hassle to try and get a good result... time which could be spent on the lotus.. 

Usually decent sets of 2nd hand Audi wheels on ebay... 

:thumb:


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

But it is enjoyable getting things done right. Thats the payoff. Its a great tonic to working under pressure, to spend time cleaning, polishing, and building cars. Just probably a little too often I buy the products/parts in advance of having time to think clearly about the best approach; with these wheels I definitely felt the clock ticking and that if I didn't do something quick, they'd be beyond repair.

The protected wheel doesn't look much different to the unprotected wheel from the work I did on Tuesday. When it rains next (good old Scotland, p*sses it down 24/7 and then as soon as I want 'test rain' we get a heatwave) I'll see what the protected wheel wipes down like, compared to the unprotected one. By that time I should be able to get the powerball polishing done.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

:lol:

easy with the "heatwave" 

powerball is a decent bit of kit, I use that for polishing up exhausts...

Where in "Sunny" scotland are you anyway!??!

:thumb:


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

yeah i got the big powerball and the cone. should be good enough to get every bit of the front.

when they come off i am going to look at the back of the rims, which don't seem polished - they are pretty grungy. i'm thinking of painting those in a kind of metallic grey, i think its called anthracite. same finish as the wheel centre caps. then if i clear i can do the whole wheel, backs and fronts.

heh, any more than 10 minutes sunshine is a heatwaves so we get the pale blue legs out and buuurrrnnnn.

i live in gullane which is east lothian by the coast. we get more sun there than edinburgh which gets foggy as soon as there's any heat; or it does in my part which is south-east, leith and portobello where my companies are.


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

i had a vfr400 that i mirror polished everything in sight to within an inch o fits life - it was a toy and if i used it and it rained it took a day solid to clean just the metal - i wouldnt have those wheels on a daily driver . belgom alu is good stuff if you plan on leaving them as they are


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

First things first, Cueball - how do you clean the Powerball? I cannot get it clean, been soaking it in hot washing up liquid and you've just got to push the old polish off. I'm keeping it wet till I work out what a decent solvent is for it.

And secondly - any tips for removal of the glue previously used to hold wheel balancing weights on? 

Elsewhere, all proceeds apace. The single wheel I had coated with WS&S did not really do anything. 

I got the powerball Cone through the post first and as the wheels were dirtying up, ended up having a quick poke, then a wee rub, then before you know it I was sitting on a stool cleaning away and spent 3-4 hours on them. This was last Monday.

I used the Mothers Aluminium Wheel Cleaner to pressure wash the bulk off that actually worked really good - and with the back of a sponge scourer, I got the back of the rims really nicely cleaned, albeit there is still some balancing weight adhesive gunge. They are painted silver but it gives a nice, lighter look.

After this I spent ages with the Meguiars NXT Polysh slowly applying it with the powerball cone, then went over a second time a bit faster polishing, then when most of it had come off, I gave it a fast blast.

It probably DID have some effect but to be honest, using it for a very fine polish I think I'd have been better polishing twice by hand. It seems like a speed tool rather than something that achieves a better level of polishing - however I have not tried it with the Billet polish which unfortunately took its time to arrive.

After which I went through 6 microfibre cloths taking off the bulk, then the visible remainder and a first polish, then a second polish to get the wheels totally free of polish. At this point I have to say they looked quite good.

I decided not then to wet wash them (intending to remove any last traces of polish before sealing, which, given I don't know what will solve the polish yet, probably was wise. hmmm, maybe I'll try the aluminium cleaner on the powerball!?) - and proceeded to try to seal with the C5 wheel armour.

My experience wasn't quite that of others; there were a few issues with small amounts of polish wrecking my applicators, and it took the whole bottle to do the 4 wheels front only; nonetheless I feel like I covered it well. Rather than adding gloss, it perhaps gave a slight haze to the very metallic gloss the wheels have.

After which, I left it. Saturday, 4 days later, the wheels were dirty for sure, but not discoloring. Good initial signs. I gave the car a full detailing, took about 4-5 hours over it, and have noted what I used at the end of the post out of interest and for comments.

The wheels got a quick spray with water and no cleaning products at all. At this point, I used the Gtechniq smart carnauba C3, and read that you could put it on wheels. F*ck it, I thought and so the wheels got a coat of Gtechniq C3 on top of the C5.

After some torrential rain, the car is still looking pretty awesome; the wheels however, pretty dirty. 

Tomorrow I'll be photographing and giving them a progressive clean; I'll start with water only and a wash mitt, then if that doesn't get them clean, I'll try a little mild car shampoo. If there still appears to be discoloration and dirt, I'll scrub a bit harder, after which it will be plan b if I can't get them to be easily maintained - twice a week metal polish > alu water cleaner > ws&s.

Wish me luck, advice appreciated.

*Detailing of Audi A6*

Day 1

Dust interior
Gummi Pflege all rubber seals
Dr Leather wipes to all leather
Hoover interior

Day 2

Megs hyper foam clean from door trims down and on roof, interior door sills
Megs Gold Class foam wash with noodle mitt
Full rinse, rinse wheels only, dry body with waffle cloth
AG SRP polish bodywork
Megs ultimate trim detailer across all outer trim
Werkstat Prime Strong across all chrome trim & badging
Wipe down, AG HGP across bodywork
60 mins rest, Gtechniq C3 wax to bodywork and wheels

Day 3

AG Fast Glass onto headlamps, glass interior & exterior
Megs Endurance tyre gel onto tyres
Final wipe down with Megs Quik Detailer
Profit


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Well, I'd just like to report an unqualified success.

2 weeks ago I gave the car the full detail as above. Due to various work commitments I haven't been able to do anything until just now.

I gave it a quick snow foaming and was a bit disappointed to say the least; wheels were still filthy and bodywork still showing rainmarks and dirt on the bumpers.

I gave the car bodywork a quick mitt with Megs Gold Class and was much relieved to find the way the shampoo went on very different to last time. It was obvious there was a coating working and the dirt wiped right off.

Ditto the wheels. Amazingly, dirt that was giving me palpitations, lying on the wheel in dots looking just like corrosion/discoloration wiped right off with the mitt and shampoo.

The attached photo shows the car after literally 15 minutes cleaning, snow foam on, leave 5 mins, rinse, wipe over with the shampoo, and rinse a second time.

I'll probably give it a coat of last touch when its dry.

I can thoroughly recommend the Gtechniq products to anybody struggling with a similar problem; while the wheels still exhibit a very small touch of corrosion it is categorically not creeping; usually I am over-sensitive about these things and now the sealant has set the wheels look the mirrored way I always hoped but never dreamed they would.

Well, well worth the £25-odd price tag.

I shall probably continue to wax them with C3 once a month, polish and wax the car every 2 months, and as soon as I feel they are starting to suffer, repolish and re-apply the C5.

Maybe I won't even have to get winter wheels. My van just needed £600 worth of repairs so I can't really afford them any more.

Photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/r4plikqezycmls8/2012-09-01 15.01.56.jpg


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Jeemy said:


> Well, I'd just like to report an unqualified success.
> 
> 2 weeks ago I gave the car the full detail as above. Due to various work commitments I haven't been able to do anything until just now.
> 
> ...


There is little point pretending those low power budget washers are going give the kind of cleaning force required for a mitless wash 
As you mentioned the panels cleaned up after a bucket wash, with a high flow rate washer, the bucket wash can be omitted :thumb:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Jeemy said:


> First things first, Cueball - how do you clean the Powerball? I cannot get it clean, been soaking it in hot washing up liquid and you've just got to push the old polish off. I'm keeping it wet till I work out what a decent solvent is for it.
> 
> And secondly - any tips for removal of the glue previously used to hold wheel balancing weights on?


Sorry mate, I've just seen these! 

The powerball... well... eh... mine is black.... I couldn't get it clean again, so have gave up.... it doesn't effect the cleaning power with it being dirty (IMO)

Secondly, any tar and glue remover will work, I use Tardis...

Your car looks good, same colour as my mates that I will be detailing soon.

:thumb:


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Sorry, are you saying there is no point in snow foaming with the little Karcher, and just use it as a rinsing tool, i.e. if I had a much more powerful washer, then it might be possible to snow foam the car?

So just forget the foam and stick with the shampoo/mitt?

Wish I'd known, its not the money, I just assumed Karchers were Karchers, I didn't know it was particularly low power and in fact have been a bit scared of using the high power attachment for fear of scoring the paint or leaving pressure lines.

So in fact paint can handle a much higher power wash than that?


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

That was @ Avanti.

@Cueball, in fact its cleaning up quite well using a wheel brush after a week or so soaking in basic detergent. I'm going to try clothes washing powder next. The hotter the water the better; and a good scrub with another wheel brush and its starting to come back to neat.

Cheers for the tip on the wheel weight glue, I'll get hold of some Tardis; I had some cheapo Sticky Stuff Remover which I used to remove stickers from the van, but its all gone and wasn't majorly impressive.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Yeah so what I really meant was that I had thought if the car was properly waxed, the adhesion of the dirt would be pretty low so the foam would strip it off. I'm obviously mistaken about that but understand that a wash with a decent shampoo will just strip dirt and not the wax coating.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Jeemy said:


> *Sorry, are you saying there is no point in snow foaming with the little Karcher, and just use it as a rinsing tool, i.e. if I had a much more powerful washer, then it might be possible to snow foam the car?
> *
> So just forget the foam and stick with the shampoo/mitt?
> 
> ...


I mean the other way around, 'any' power washer can produce the foam effect, as so many are scared of wax stripping, they stick to tame products which do little in the way of cleaning, the higher flow rate will approach or match that of the force when mitt washing, the machine comes into their own when rinsing, this car had been to creamfields the bank holiday weekend and was a doddle to power wash clean










the afters were after a hand polish and wax, but a gleaming car requires the good angles for the showroom effect










which I didn't get, but anyways, going from a 1400w machine to a 2800w machine the difference was night and day.


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Just an update to this.

G5 does NOT survive a Scottish winter. The choice was to either clean the wheels every day, or let them suffer, I decided I'd be better off working and letting them suffer.

They are in a pretty bad state now, so I invested in some winter wheels, which just need spacers and are sitting in the back garden already covered in G5 and looking great (these are painted wheels).

I also invested in a Kranzle.

So for anybody with polished alu wheels, if they salt your roads, take them off and lacquer them. I'll report back when I do this. Getting them clean is the first step the orange snow foam stuff used neat worked great but I am going to need to use power tools on 'em; I actually had it in for a service at Audi and they came back looking amazing, I mean he didn't go into the corners, but I need to find out what he used because I doubt he worked THAT hard on them; whatever the product was, its the stuff to clean road salt, corrosion and brake dust off unprotected aluminium wheels.


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## The Sheriff (Jul 15, 2008)

Hi Jeemy

I too have polished wheels (posted pics today in showroom, black M3), and look fab polished up, but yes, a bugger to keep like that.

But, this stuff has been recommended to me, so I've applied to one wheel, to see how it goes. I only use in dry weather though, so not quite the same situation as you, but will let you know how it goes. 
http://max-protect.co.uk/max-protect-ultimate-nano-coat-v3.html


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## Jeemy (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks for letting me know. Apologies also I've been so slack in reporting back. Hilariously, I thought it was ironic I'd be putting my winter wheels (RS6 hyper silvers with Continental ContiWinterContacts) on in the middle of summer….and now summer has gone.

At least it gets me the chance to get the alloys right off the car and work on them with some different products. If I end up lacquering them, I wonder what I would do to key the surface? I am guessing at this point there is no harm in a sand with 2800 grit!


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## The Sheriff (Jul 15, 2008)

Jeemy said:


> Thanks for letting me know. Apologies also I've been so slack in reporting back. Hilariously, I thought it was ironic I'd be putting my winter wheels (RS6 hyper silvers with Continental ContiWinterContacts) on in the middle of summer….and now summer has gone.
> 
> At least it gets me the chance to get the alloys right off the car and work on them with some different products. If I end up lacquering them, I wonder what I would do to key the surface? I am guessing at this point there is no harm in a sand with 2800 grit!


You could, and it would help the lacquer bond to the metal, but would dull the polished finish.


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