APC or otherwise-Cleaning caked on BMW wheels

W

W.S.

New member
I have gotten on this kick of cleaning everything that I can find to clean on my car. Last week it was Leatherique (great results BTW). This week I am trying to clean the extremely soiled backs of the winter alloy wheels of my BMW 528i. I doubt that these wheels have ever been cleaned inside (the car has 168,000 miles so these wheels easily have over 100,00 miles on them. There is a surface buildup of brake dust and general road "grime". So far I have used Meg's hot wheel cleaner, P21S wheel gel, and 3M general adhesive remover. I have had decent success, but I know that there must be a way to get all of this junk off. I am thinking of trying Simple Green (once, not time and time again as some have done). I will clay, polish, and layer a carnuba and sealant once I have removed this stuff. Help me please!



Wade:(
 
So I ended up using a product called Brake Off, made by Malco. My mechanic, a BMW Master Tech, gave me half a gallon to try. Wow! it took the baked and caked dust right off w/o much scubbing at all.



Although good, this is not a products that you should use all the time to clean your wheels. It is extremely caustic, so you MUST wear rubber gloves when you apply it. If anyone has the chance to get their hands on this stuff you will be amazed!
 
P21S wheel gel



you can leave it on all day for it to degrease if it's so bad



edit: sorry i didn't completely read your post. I reread it and will give you this :aww:



I'm in a similar situation with an STi. I haven't tried P21S yet on it but i am not too optimistic about it. I'm going to try CG Grime Reaper APC at 5:1 and try to leave it on for just about 30 seconds. Then, i'll use up a ton of clay!
 
SpecC said:
P21S wheel gel



you can leave it on all day for it to degrease if it's so bad



edit: sorry i didn't completely read your post. I reread it and will give you this :aww:



I'm in a similar situation with an STi. I haven't tried P21S yet on it but i am not too optimistic about it. I'm going to try CG Grime Reaper APC at 5:1 and try to leave it on for just about 30 seconds. Then, i'll use up a ton of clay!
Click to expand...



See if any local BMW, Mercedes, or Volvo dealer has the stuff. Maybe you can buy it online, but I haven't checked.



In all honesty, the insides of these wheels were horrid. It looked like they were rusty steel rims, but they are actually alloy. After I used brake off, I lightly polished the paint on them to bring back some of the shine that 12 years of usage took away. They look amazing now.



I will post pictures later.



Wade:clap:
 
W.S. said:
See if any local BMW, Mercedes, or Volvo dealer has the stuff. Maybe you can buy it online, but I haven't checked.



In all honesty, the insides of these wheels were horrid. It looked like they were rusty steel rims, but they are actually alloy. After I used brake off, I lightly polished the paint on them to bring back some of the shine that 12 years of usage took away. They look amazing now.



I will post pictures later.



Wade:clap:
Click to expand...



Actually I just thought of something that others may not approve of. If you have a steamer, you could use that first then try some wheel cleaner. I know the BMW wheel cleaner from their dealers are acidic.
 
Okay, as promised, pictures....



Before (after brake dust removal):

notpolished1.jpg




notpolished2.jpg




notpolished3.jpg




After:

done1.jpg




done2.jpg




Pictures924.jpg




Pictures926.jpg




Pictures927.jpg




Pictures929.jpg
 
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