any wheel sealant non believers here?

The wheels on street-driven vehicle just don't get that hot (and I use them hard enough to get brake fade even with good brake systems). Track use doesn't seem to compromise whatever product I have on them, they get dirtier but they've always cleaned up pretty easily. Even S-class Benzes (heavy cars) at Mid-Ohio (lots of hard braking)...the wheels were never all *that* hot and the wax I had on them seemed to protect the wheels just fine.



These days I do use KSG on most of our wheels, but for street use Collinite (both 476S and 845) seem to do just as well, although the wax doesn't last as long. And yeah, gotta clean 'em with shampoo mix as wheel cleaner cleans the wax/KSG right off along with the brake dust.
 
I use fk1 1000p sealant on my wheels and they look great! I have had it on my own personal Jeep for atleast 5 months and they are still beading very well.
 
This is just my take on it, take it with a grain of salt; I've owned two very heavy brake dust producing cars in a row now. I do not notice an appreciable difference in brake dust accumulation with any product I've tried on my wheels, that includes AIO, Z2, OCW, Poorboys Wheel Sealant, Wheel Wax, Rejex, etc... I *do* however notice that they are easier to keep clean. When I have a sealant on them I can basically just wipe away the brake dust. With PB's wheel sealant this effect seems to last the longest, so I use it. I use it on every car I detail; maybe it's placebo and maybe it isn't. I feel like it saves me time, so thumbs up to it. :)



FWIW, my wheels get hot enough that they would burn you after 30+ minutes of regular driving.
 
I don't really use a product made for wheels, and on customers cars they just get AIO with no topping. Nothing I have tried really cuts down on brake dust attraction/sticking, but the paint on CC'd wheels will eventually oxidize/fail if not protected, so I do it simply for the protection. A waxed/sealed wheel is much easier to clean than an unprotected one, so that is a bonus as well. The product(s) that I have found lasts longest on wheels is Collinite. 2.5 months over AIO on my rims and they are still slick and easy to clean.
 
I'll 3rd or 4th the Collinite...



I use IW on my wheels and it makes them easier to clean, it lasts longer than I do as I usually put another coat on before it dies and since I use it for the rest of the car I'll stick with it.
 
It seems there are two basic routes, I take both. On my VW wheels I have a layer of wax/sealant and I wash them with a dedicated mitt with the car wash solution, and they clean off very easily and stay looking nice. On my truck's wheels (parked outside 24/7 and worked hard) they get too dirty too often, are chrome, and are a pain to clean with the mitt, so I go the other route and routinely hit the wheels/tires with wheel cleaner and a brush. Periodically I hit them with nevr dull or some other sort of chrome polish/powerball to shine them up.



I haven't tried any dedicated wheel waxes/sealants so I can't comment on whether they work better or are just marketing hype. I typically use up waxes and sealants I have laying around that I don't like (like meg's gc and ksg) on wheels just to help get rid of them.
 
Both Wheel Wax and Werkstatt's Prime have noticably improved cleaning times on wheels on my customer's cars. Slickness lasts 6-8 weeks or so.
 
Scottwax said:
Both Wheel Wax and Werkstatt's Prime have noticably improved cleaning times on wheels on my customer's cars. Slickness lasts 6-8 weeks or so.
Click to expand...



Never having used Wheel Wax, and having always assumed it was just another synthetic LSP, I'd like to hear anything else you can tell me about your experiences with it.



In your opinion, is the Wheel Wax anything special compared to other LSPs? Also, are you using only one application/coat of it in these instances?
 
Wheel Wax is a one step product, noticably cleans and adds gloss to wheels. I don't know the chemical make-up of it, but it cleans the wheels pretty well and leaves them slick 6-8 weeks. I got my first can from mosca and bought my second can from another Autopian, but now I see it at Discount Tire for $12. At $12 and no shipping, it is worth trying, IMO.
 
I saw Wheel Wax at advanced auto parts here in Indiana at the counter but was unsure what it was. I may go back and see if they still have it to try.
 
I've been using WheelWax since this summer. I like its cleaning ability and it makes subsequent cleanings very easy with just normal shampoo. I have felt that I have not needed to use any wheel cleaner since applying it. Every 4-6 weeks I will put another coat on. It leaves a nice deep looking luster on my painted/CC Volvo wheels. Advanced Auto seems to have it on sale alot for $9.99. They keep it up at the front counter displays.



Its not that it keeps the wheels that much cleaner by repelling the brake dust, but it makes it so much easier to clean them. I can just wipe with a dry cheapo MF and brake dust comes right off (but they usually get cleaned with the car shampoo).
 
Throughout the summer I was using 1Z Glanz Wax on my wheels, which is a sealent, and the reason I was using it was for protection and also because I liked the way it allowed flake to pop on paint, and this worked a treat on the metallic flake effect on my wheels. I recently trried Chemical Guys Rim Guard and it too wokred well, but I noticed no difference in the durability of it and the Glanz Wax on my wheels..



As mentioned above, my wheels never get that hot either: after a decent drive through the Highlands of Scotland, the brakes are most certainly very hot - far far to hot to safely touch, but the wheels themselves are never any hotter than a bodypanel in direct sunlight for a couple of hours.
 
I don't think a special sealant for wheels makes any real sense for wheels - they just don't get that hot.



Whomever said their wheels get glowing red hot must not have any rubber on them...anymore!



On the other hand, it does make good sense to seal or wax wheels for the very same reason you do it for the paint - to protect, promote less dirt/grime sticking and to make any that does, easier to clean off.



I've put Klasse AIO on my wheels.
 
ScottWax (and others who've responded Re the WheelWax)- Thanks for the added info. While I usually use multiple applications/layers of KGS/UPP/etc. on my wheels, I wouldn't mind a decent one-step for the wheels that I don't want to make a big deal out of. Looks like the WheelWax might be worth a look some time.



Oh, and on the hot-wheels thing...when we had the Benzes at Mid-Ohio the wheels got *hot*, hot enough that they'd burn your skin with prolonged contact (I know because I had to pull them and bleed the brakes on one car), but they still weren't hot enough to cause any discernable issue with the wax I had on them. Don't remember what it was, but this was back before I started using KSG so I'd guess it was #16 on top of Autoglym SRP. IMO the whole "waxes get compromised by high temperatures" thing is vastly exaggerated; IMO, once a wax cures it's pretty tough, or at least some of them are.
 
I would say that any durable wax or sealant should work fine for use on wheels. The important thing is to get something on there that makes them easier to clean, and to clean often enough that the brake dust doesn't have a chance to etch into the wheels.



I do have Poorboy's Wheel Sealant and I like the ease of application, looks, durability, and even the smell. I applied some Zaino to the wife's mini-van a while back so I just used it for the wheels too. A couple of weeks ago I came home and did a quick wash and rinse on our front wheels/tires. I noticed that my wheels, with the PB's sealant, were a little easier to clean even though the pads on mine dust a lot more than on her car.



It might be my imagination, but it seems like the PB's sealant also looks better than anything else I have used on my five spoke American's on the street rod. I really didn't expect them to look any different, but to me it added a subtle look that I thought was better than anything else I'd used on them before (various waxes and sealants). I figure $15 for a jar of something I enjoy using and get good results from isn't that big of a deal compared with all of the other stuff I've got.



So, while the PB's wheel sealant might not offer anymore protection than some other durable LSP's that are out there, I like it well enough that I'll buy it again.
 
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