# Easy wheel washing



## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Always a good debate wheel LSP's IMHO

Time spent cleaning can be reduced BUT time to apply should be taken into account.

So here's washing an LSP protected wheel with 700 miles of brake dust on

Before



















No pre treatment just the pressure washer



the afters



















pretty good for the weekly wash routine, four wheels in 5 mins would be perfect for the winter wash regime for me.

I then followed with 15ml of Hyperwash in a bucket and ADS2K tm washmitt to remove the bits behind the spokes the pressure washer missed.

(nice beading even after the pressure wash)




























For the record the wheels had the weekend before Zaino AIO on the wheel faces, Jeffs Prime Strong on the wheel backs and inner rimms. Then a layer of Swisvax Autobalm on the top.























































I'm sure the debate will aways be swayed by personal preference but I do like easy to clean wheels :thumb:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

nice one Jon

when you also use a product like Opti-Seal or Z-CS, you can do a wheel in 1/5th of the time as well :thumb: Best of both worlds


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Always good to see reviews on products and technique :thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> nice one Jon
> 
> when you also use a product like Opti-Seal or Z-CS, you can do a wheel in 1/5th of the time as well :thumb: Best of both worlds


Agreed

Only thing i've found with Z-CS is that if you apply it too thick or drive the car too soon, brake dust can stick to the curing sealant, but yes they can save a little time on application too


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

This might be the place to mention i applied another layer of Autobalm to the wheel faces on Saturday night ready for the road trip sunday...

and then remembered to buff it off at 03:30 when i left.

came off fine and the wheels when the car went on the transporter were feeling slicccccccck


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

^^ best way to keep your wheels clean is use the AA to carry you around instead of driving


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> ^^ best way to keep your wheels clean is use the AA to carry you around instead of driving


You're kidding the last vehicle was chucking black smoke out and the car now has a black soot line down the bonnet windscreen and roof. A little like a viper stripe 

In the grand scheme though this was one of the smaller problems :lol:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Looking at the pics is making me think i need to get new centre caps and Nanolex them to stop the corrosion re-occuring


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Easy to clean wheels are great and I found several wheel sealants that worked well for this task on my Astra... The Volvo however, is a different story, and for shifting salt, sand, road mud and brake dust from the 60s wheels in winter i found a weekly regime with Bilberry more effective... Not just personal preference here, but a lot to do with what the car is used for, and some cars will have harder to clean wheels as well owing to the type of brakes they have.


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

recently I have simply been using ONR (which leaves a little protection behind) and then a good spray of OCW on the towel I use to dry them - gives a good clean and a boost in protection over the base layers of FK1000.

I have a little Autobahn (if only for the smell), so really must try that. I also just got some DG501, which has a good rep for cleaning & protection, so may try that as well.....


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## CupraRcleanR (Sep 2, 2007)

Zaino CS for me. Wipe on walk away. Suits me sir oh!

Poorboys, Jetseal etc all a pain in the bum compared to CS


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## Craigsax (Dec 13, 2006)

Top guide again buddy, need to catch up sometime.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> recently I have simply been using ONR (which leaves a little protection behind) and then a good spray of OCW on the towel I use to dry them - gives a good clean and a boost in protection over the base layers of FK1000.
> 
> I have a little Autobahn (if only for the smell), so really must try that. I also just got some DG501, which has a good rep for cleaning & protection, so may try that as well.....


And when you do , please post a review, that speaks heaps over posting one liners when a question is submitted :thumb:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice review Jon.
Very detailed as usual, including techniques.

But I am with Damon this time.
FK 1000p the way especially on my mile muncher.

Come to think of it though it could do with a top up now.
I do like a quicky when it comes to the wheels.

Gordon


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Dave KG said:


> Easy to clean wheels are great and I found several wheel sealants that worked well for this task on my Astra... The Volvo however, is a different story, and for shifting salt, sand, road mud and brake dust from the 60s wheels in winter i found a weekly regime with Bilberry more effective... Not just personal preference here, but a lot to do with what the car is used for, and some cars will have harder to clean wheels as well owing to the type of brakes they have.


Hi Dave,

I suspect your Volvo wheels are like my old car wheels, over time the usage of strong acid/alkaline wheel cleaners (by previous owners) appears to be detrimental to the coating.

The finish becomes more porous and rough and this perhaps creates a greater surface area for adhesion and reason why grime is harder to remove or I suppose it could even perhaps the phenomenon of sticky paint softening the surface making it more suseptable to hot brake dust pitting.

As such, here the chemical strip method in this case is far more effective. I'm sure you would agree though using gentle cleansing of contamination from an LSP protected surface is preferental though.

It's amazing the damage that the chemicals used in commercial hand wash can cause.

It would be interesting to see if a wheel refurb helped remove this situation.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

caledonia said:


> Nice review Jon.
> Very detailed as usual, including techniques.
> 
> But I am with Damon this time.
> ...


The FK does indeed feel very slick, but no more so than the SV Autobahn, however it does have a slight price advantage :lol:

I tried a comparrison a while ago but neither lasted more than two weeks (but as Dave has mentioned the wheels on my last car were very worn and the paint fubard)


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

I've been noticing recently that even although I've just cleaned them, my wheels have been looking a bit tired. ( excuse the pun) With the weather being nice today I've just finished giving the faces a polish with Mk5 Mystique by hand and rotary where possible. A coat of Z AIO and they're looking really shiney again. This should help when cleaning with billbery during my wash routine. I hit them twice with Wheel brightner first before polishing to get rid of most dirt before polishing. I'm really pleased with them now even although there are still a few little marks as is usual with a daily driver. Well worth the effort I'd say.:thumb:I give them a coat or two of JS 109 tomorrow I think.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

spitfire said:


> I've been noticing recently that even although I've just cleaned them, my wheels have been looking a bit tired. ( excuse the pun) With the weather being nice today I've just finished giving the faces a polish with Mk5 Mystique by hand and rotary where possible. A coat of Z AIO and they're looking really shiney again. This should help when cleaning with billbery during my wash routine. I hit them twice with Wheel brightner first before polishing to get rid of most dirt before polishing. I'm really pleased with them now even although there are still a few little marks as is usual with a daily driver. Well worth the effort I'd say.:thumb:I give them a coat or two of JS 109 tomorrow I think.


Yep the paint on wheels is no different than the bodywork, so why not do the proper process and see if that helps with the wax bonding issues etc

Nice one


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

caledonia said:


> Nice review Jon.
> Very detailed as usual, including techniques.
> 
> But I am with Damon this time.
> ...


I did on my sisters alloys a base coat of carlack 68 and 3 layers of FK 1000p and with a good PW they come up around 90% clean I did the same with my car and its working well this time.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Carlack works very well on wheels too IMHO


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Epoch said:


> Carlack works very well on wheels too IMHO


It dose even on its own it works well.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

RosswithaOCD said:


> It dose even on its own it works well.


I'm yet to try polycharging the LLS layers but will do this year :thumb:

Another fave wheel wax for me is the Tough Seal alloy Wax which cleans, bonds and lasts VERY well, but i'm almost out now

this stuff

http://www.alloywheelwax.co.uk/


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

That looks interesting.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

RosswithaOCD said:


> That looks interesting.


been using that one for ages, for the money it's a great product, the cleaning power alone makes it a winner.

Used it on this guide ages ago

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=38043


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Are the wheels blue on the inside or am I going mad?


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

plankton said:


> Are the wheels blue on the inside or am I going mad?


Lighting


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Epoch said:


> Carlack works very well on wheels too IMHO


Thanks to a very special person. Who showed me the light. :thumb:

It is my one and only bases for waxes and sealants now.

Fantastic product. Cleanses and leaves a nice base and finish for any LSP. so far.

Gordon.


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

So is this sealant/wax better then the current fav's you used on this detail ?? 

I still have problems getting the wheels on the S2K clean enough from just a pressure wash and that's with a carlack AIO base followed by either Poorboys wheel sealant/FK1000p/476S and none have given me what we're all after - touchless wheel cleaning.

Your thoughts Jon ?? would be very helpful. The finish on the wife's Civic wheels is a lot better and after they had the same treatment have a lovely glossy finish which seems to clean a lot easier.


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

ads2k said:


> So is this sealant/wax better then the current fav's you used on this detail ??
> 
> I still have problems getting the wheels on the S2K clean enough from just a pressure wash and that's with a carlack AIO base followed by either Poorboys wheel sealant/FK1000p/476S and none have given me what we're all after - touchless wheel cleaning.
> 
> Your thoughts Jon ?? would be very helpful. The finish on the wife's Civic wheels is a lot better and after they had the same treatment have a lovely glossy finish which seems to clean a lot easier.


Tough one Adam

I'd say the Toughseal product cleans paint better than any of the others I use (old school cleaning like a colly) but lasts about the same.

I'll see how much i've got left and if possible send some down to you to try.

Your S2 wheels may have paint issues, but worth a try

:thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Epoch said:


> Tough one Adam
> 
> I'd say the Toughseal product cleans paint better than any of the others I use (old school cleaning like a colly) but lasts about the same.
> 
> ...


Thanks mate :thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

ads2k said:


> Thanks mate :thumb:


I wouldn't say i can get the BM wheels perfect from a pressure wash alone, close though. but I tend to look at 90% is enough for the weekly wash.

Then every few weeks lavish some time washing properly re-applying an LSP.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Nice one - I'm about to try a trial with various wheel sealant inc. a new one to the market.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

ahaydock said:


> Nice one - I'm about to try a trial with various wheel sealant inc. a new one to the market.


Is it that Bilt hamber one?


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## Ultimate (Feb 18, 2007)

im personally struggling to see the value of this, but it may just be the products im using, i have done SRP/EGP/colli 476 and i find contaminants bond to the inners within a few weeks even with weekly wash, big brakes dont help but im not sure if wax is the porblem and maybe just a sealant would be better in this situation?
any one else use this combo? or perhaps just SRP/EGP, would be interested to hear if it works better without the colli


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Maybe the solvents in the 476 are eating away at the EGP?


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

RosswithaOCD said:


> Is it that Bilt hamber one?


Nope, cant remember the name off the top of my head. I have it on my A3 and so far very good, plus easy to use.


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