# How On Earth Do You Get This Clean



## gherkin (Jul 6, 2008)

Hi all

A neighbour asked me whether or not I would be able to clean her Mini today and like a fool I said yeah ok.

So went and picked it up and thought as she's selling it i'll go the whole hog wheels off etc etc. This is what greeted me:


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https://flic.kr/p/2875956392

and


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https://flic.kr/p/2875124759

I only had 3 hours to do the whole car and as you can imagine it was filthy (even had to get the missus to help with the interior which was shocking to say the least), i couldn't get them totally clean as I'm limited to Megs Hot Wheels and APC in my inventory for the time being (need to use it up before I buy anything else).

I was therefore wondering what people would use to get the wheels in a sparkling condition.

Managed to finish the car and when clean the Mini did look the nuts just a shame about the wheels   Felt bad at the end as personal pride took over!!


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

bilberry wheel cleaner, if that doesn't shift it then megs wheel brightner...


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## Gary-360 (Apr 26, 2008)

I agree with the Bilberry, I've used it a few times now and I'm very impressed.
I did my dads alloys this morning which haven't been cleaned in 3 years, the Bilberry and a quick EZ brush shifted the lot, great stuff!


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

Another vote for Billberry here awsome stuff:thumb:


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## gherkin (Jul 6, 2008)

Billberry it is then!!  cheers guys


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

have a look here this is what it done with my wheels

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=82703&highlight=wheel


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## Alzay (Jul 16, 2008)

Bilberry will shift most things another vote from me.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2008)

rmorgan84 said:


> bilberry wheel cleaner, if that doesn't shift it then megs wheel brightner...


As above, Bilberrry is ok and if you need some firepower, Meguiars Wheel Brightener.


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## David (Apr 6, 2006)

meguiars WB is very good, used it today on a customers car that had never had the alloys cleaned since a Y reg (2001)

spray on, EZ brush, pressure wash off, came up like new.

Although i use Bilberry on my own wheels because its got no acid in it


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## ArcticVXR (Apr 10, 2007)

Bilberry for me too....


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## noz-85 (Jul 30, 2008)

chris l said:


> have a look here this is what it done with my wheels
> 
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=82703&highlight=wheel


What ratio are you diluting your bilberry mate? As so far I'm not getting results like that! :wall:


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## The Detail Doctor (Feb 22, 2008)

Bilberry here too, followed by a good claying if required.


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## fbi3000 (Jul 24, 2008)

+1 for Bilberry


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

my results with using neat Bilberry, as the wheels were REALLY bad










to this, with NO AGITATION


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## BigLeegr (Feb 28, 2008)

Oooooo!!! Pretty!!


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

noz-85 said:


> What ratio are you diluting your bilberry mate? As so far I'm not getting results like that! :wall:


not sure i was too excited to try it so i just added some water to it but if i was to say i would think it would have been used neat i.e all billberry.give that a go and see how you get on:thumb:


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## Luke667 (Jun 22, 2006)

Did you use a foaming sprayer or a normal mist?

What dilution rates are you guys using?


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## Leodhasach (Sep 15, 2008)

Sorry to jump in, but I'm curious as to how Bilberry is that effective despite having no acids? (I'm not complaining btw!)


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## wrx man (Apr 18, 2008)

Bilberry by far :thumb:


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## 3dr (Mar 1, 2008)

Leodhasach said:


> Sorry to jump in, but I'm curious as to how Bilberry is that effective despite having no acids? (I'm not complaining btw!)


it's alkaline (sp)  if only my neighbour was this dirty.............


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2008)

Actually, Megs APC @ 4:1 is pretty effective - you'd be amazed at the amount of brake dust that can be shifted by it. Needs agitation and I prefer to apply it using a foaming spray head.


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## Feeex (Apr 6, 2007)

Just jumping on the back of this thread:

My mum has left me with her Cooper which has been kept fairly clean but in a local car wash kind of way. While she's on holiday I told her I would give it a good going over including UDM Sonus etc.

However, I removed the wheels and was greeted with 3years/30,000miles of very heavy brake dust. I've tried Megs WB at 4:1 and it hasn't cleaned as well as I would expect, that's including 4 or 5 applications and a total of around 20minutes dwell time.

Would decreasing the dilution help with removing the worst of the baked on dust or are they past cleaning.....? Do I need to post photographs to show the problem?

Please help!

Thanks.


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## Needs a clean (May 24, 2008)

Feeex said:


> Just jumping on the back of this thread:
> 
> My mum has left me with her Cooper which has been kept fairly clean but in a local car wash kind of way. While she's on holiday I told her I would give it a good going over including UDM Sonus etc.
> 
> ...


Stick up some pics. Perhaps giving them a going over with an old clay bar may help???


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## REFLECTS (Apr 7, 2008)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=68219

Have a look at this thread

There is hope lol


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## REFLECTS (Apr 7, 2008)

And by the way - Bilberry :thumb:


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

dooby scoo said:


> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=68219
> 
> Have a look at this thread
> 
> There is hope lol


blimey, you think the mini wheels are bad, look at these, must be about 16 years of crap on them, :lol:


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## RallyeNick (Sep 2, 2008)

Bilberry vote for me.

Just up the concentrate to a 3:1 and it will be gone.

You can even say it like that annoying 'cillit bang' advert as you watch the mud 'melt' away.


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## Feeex (Apr 6, 2007)

Guys, upping the concentration still didn't cut it so I ended up using a bit of wire wool. This has done the job perfectly.

Right, to protect them and prevent me having to go through this again...........

I have Autoglym SRP & EGP, Klasse AIO, Zaino Z-2, Sonus SFX1,2,3, P21S Carnauba Wax in my armoury!

They have gone a bit dull looking so before I protect them I want to get the shine back. Which of the above should I use? How many coats should I apply and what's the best thing to use to apply the protection/wax.

Again, thanks for the replies.


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

SRP will polish and clean then up nicely with a bit of elbow grease. Then you could seal them with EGP, but it needs a while to dry and you can only do 1 layer per day, so you'll need some time to get 2 good layers of EGP on. Otherwise Z-2 will probably last longer but will need a spotless clean base for the max durability, and without ZFX you are still talking 1 layer per day...


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## Feeex (Apr 6, 2007)

Thank Bigpikle.

I have plenty of time, my parents are away for 3weeks so if I took the wheels off one at a time, polished them up with SRP and then applied a coat of Z-2, would it be ok to put them back onto the car for curing?
I could then take them off the following day to apply a second coat? Then a third coat.......?

I assume that the current cold temperatures and possibility of rain could affect the curing? Should the wheels be covered to prevent rain getting onto them whilst curing? We don't have a garage.


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

I have not tried Z-2 over SRP, so am not sure if that would affect the durability. You might be just as well to use EGP and layer that instead, as they work so well together. Same applies though - leave for 60 mins before buffing and 1 layer per day...

They dont want to get wet before you buff them, and if they are wet between layers being applied just give them a wipe with a cleaing QD to make sure they are really clean before the next layer...


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