Wasting my time w/ wheel protection?

Z

ZeroDfx

Member
Is it completely useless to wax/seal my wheels when I am soaking them with a Simple Green solution each time I wash the car?
I put a coat of Klasse SG on my wheels in hopes of keeping the heavy brake dust from sticking. The first thing I do when washing the car is spray the wheels with a 50/50 Simple Green solution and let it dwell a few minutes to dissolve the grime. Then it`s brushes to get the tires, the wheels and the nooks/crannies in the wheel clean; this works pretty well. But am I also removing the Klasse SG with this approach?
Should I be using something else that will still dissolve the brake dust but better protect the Klasse SG coating? Or should I be using something else to coat the wheels?
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks
 
I think the consensus is a wheel coating always makes it easier to clean your wheels. I have heavy dusting wheels and I’ve been using Sonax Polymer Net Shield. My wheels clean right up using the same car wash soap I use on the car. I gave away all of my harsh wheel cleaners.

I just ordered the Pinnacle Black Label Wheel Coating yesterday, so I’m hoping for even longer durability than the PNS.

Good Luck!
 
I have mine sealed as well, and have not sprayed them with chemicals since the first detail. I only use a rinseless solution or soapy water each and every time.
 
I use Permanon (applied by detail paint gun every couple of months). Can almost keep clean with just water.
 
If you`re washing your wheels regularly, soap and water is all that should be needed, especially if they have a wax, sealant, or coating on them.
 
RaskyR1 said:
If you`re washing your wheels regularly, soap and water is all that should be needed, especially if they have a wax, sealant, or coating on them.
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Exactly! I let mine get *awful* between washes- solid black with pad dust/etc. (at least on the front), yet they clean up easy as can be with just a sorta-strong shampoo mix. Even the odd places that I only do when the wheels are dismounted come clean quite easily. No need for Wheel Cleaners or anything else really potent, though I *might* use something like that before the sorta-annual redo (usually when I put on/take off the winter wheels).


I had used KSG x 6, but find I get at least as good results with fewer coats of FK1000P. Before the Klasse I used Collinite but it needed redone too often and I got tired of taking `em off the car so often (to re-LSP the backs/barrels).

I`ve even used waxes like Souveran on garage-queens with decent results (and constant re-LSPing), and I`m still just using UPP on the S8`s wheels.

My LSPed wheels are basically as easy to clean this way as my coated ones, but need redone more often.
 
Awesome. Now your thinking` ...

I came to this epiphany years ago. Since I`m all about EZ, I started using CarPro HydroFoam in a spray bottle like a wheel cleaner.

Cleans and protects in 1 step - every time you use it. Worth the extra $$$.

The other option is remove the wheels, coat them, yada yada yada...

But, most wheels cleaners are pH basic and most coatings will eventually get degraded by them. I guess you could use soap....

HydroFoam is the easiest way. Great protection - easily renewable - just re-clean wheels.
 
RaskyR1 said:
If you`re washing your wheels regularly, soap and water is all that should be needed, especially if they have a wax, sealant, or coating on them.
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can`t agree more ... with our Wheel Sealant .. i can clean a wheel dry with a couple tissues ... no harsh cleaners are needed ...

should you have a very difficult type of wheel to clean , like the older BMW honeycomb wheels, then a very diluted product would be needed and it should not take the protection off.
 
I use FK1000p sealant on my wheels and they come clean, for the most part, with just a pressure wash then follow up with car wash solution left over from washing the paint. No need for any harsh APCs or wheel cleaners. By the way--I think Simple Green isn`t a wise choice for an APC as it doesn`t play well with bare aluminum, if I`m not mistaken.
 
Thanks for the feedback. If I`m hearing everyone correctly, it sounds like sealing the wheels is a worthwhile endeavor; but having done so, refrain from using anything other than ONR or the wash soap to clean the wheels.
I`ll re-seal after a good cleaning and give that a try.
Thanks again.
 
JBM said:
Get the wheels clean and hit them with hydro, they will clean up with onr after that.
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Noting that I haven`t tried the latest formulation of ONR...for some reason whenever I cleaned wheels with ONR they were always a lot harder to get clean the next time. So much so that I quit using it (no such problems with IUDJ).

I just mix my wheels/wells/undercarrige shampoo mix by eye, but I`d *GUESS* that I use about 1 oz. shampoo + enough water to fill the quart spray bottle. Doesn`t seem to strip my LSPs and is plenty strong enough for black-with-dust wheels on the Audis.
 
I use the Permanon (I have a 1 litre bottle so lasted long time). I can clean with water and ONRW&S. I have previously sealed with Opti-Coat 2.0 (still have some). No issues at all. Easy maintenance and great shine.
 
RaskyR1 said:
If you`re washing your wheels regularly, soap and water is all that should be needed, especially if they have a wax, sealant, or coating on them.
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Agreed^^.



OP, it depends on how dirty they get. With my Lexus, I can get away with just soap and water without a wheel coating. On the mothers X3, well the wheels themselves need about 6 hours of detailing themselves. Until it gets cool enough to work in the sun baked driveway, they will get soap and water. Every few washes they get some Trix love. A wheel sealant will make them a heck of a lot easier to rinse off. When the X3 wheels get cleaned, they will be sealed with Poorboy`s World Wheel Sealant.
 
If you want to waste less time, I would always go with a good, tested, reliable, still here, Coating..

I coated my wheels years ago with Optimum OptiGuard, and they still clean up very easily with the leftover car wash soap..
Nothing sticks to them, they look great all the time..

Yes, it took a little while to take them off, wash them really well, polish them so they were nice and pretty back there and in front, get all the leftover gunk from tire weights, some little bits of tar, but when all done and coated x 2, wow they look great and I never have to work hard to clean them..

For Clients that are just getting an awesome Detail, I will clean them with a good cleaner and pressure washing, then go over the entire front part with Rejex, a very good polymer cleaner/sealant that leaves them very clean, shiny and slippery..
This --- Rejex Paint Sealant, wheel sealant, plastic sealant, durable paint protection
Dan F
 
Mine are COATED with Mckees 37 wheel coat. All that is needed is soap & water to keep them clean! A coating saves money in the long run. No need for a wheel cleaner now.
 
PA DETAILER said:
Mine are COATED with Mckees 37 wheel coat. All that is needed is soap & water to keep them clean! A coating saves money in the long run. No need for a wheel cleaner now.
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I use this stuff also. Really does work. My vette wheels collect brake dust like mad and since Ive been using 37, I have not used anything but soap and water.
 
If you bought the concentrated Simple Green then why use it at such a high dilution ratio?

You could probably bump it way down, say 10:1 water/simple green and get similar results. Then you aren`t using so much and it`s "less harsh" of a cleaner.

To everyone else`s point though, soapy water or rinseless wash usually does it just fine for me. I use PB Wheel Wax.
 
PA DETAILER said:
Mine are COATED with Mckees 37 wheel coat. All that is needed is soap & water to keep them clean! A coating saves money in the long run. No need for a wheel cleaner now.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. I have McKees 37 wheel coat on my daily drivers and I can`t remember the last time I have used a wheel cleaner since using wheel coatings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
To everyone using a paint coating on wheels or a dedicated wheel coating, ABOUT how long does durability last before you see degradation? Which product are you using and how many months does beading/easy cleanup/gloss...last?
 
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