Are you using ~Boutique~ products on your wheels

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pingable

New member
Aside from winter wheels....most of the rides with summer wheels are aftermarket. Including tires, we are talking 7K-10K wheel setups.



I have in the past used P21S alot.



With time being a big issue on my side, I have resorted to going back to using APC and wonder why I have not stuck with this as a primary cleaning product on wheels. Afterall, I buy APC in bulk...2.5 gallon sized containers. APC cleans faster and IMO, just as safe for most of my wheels . I have yet to use this or consider this on my high polished unclearcoated goodies.....I tend to use P21S or Citri Gel and let it dwell.



And while some may answer dustless pads is the answer--- there is a performance price you pay for *non dusting pads*.....and most of my pads are dusty to a degree...
 
But wouldn't APC remove any wax/sealant protection?



IMO, as long as you keep a good sealant on your wheels, you shouldn't need APC to clean them. I always keep Z5 on my chrome wheels and all it takes to clean them is Duragloss soap and a mitt.
 
On one wheel design, I have powdercoated/cleared inners but high polished outers.



I have tried every sealant in my stash....KSG, Z2, Z5, Optiseal, and some others that I just have...like Sonus Acrylic, etc.



Each one IMO takes away from the finish of a high polished uncoated aluminum finish. It add's a slight film/haze. Due to the nature of high polished uncoated wheels being hydroscopic....it will show mineral deposits, etc IMO regardless.



I'm not a fan of chrome...so can't answer for that one.



On the powdercoat wheels...I've done the sealant route....but durability was spotty just due to the nature of *HP* brake pads. So I opted for not sealing them moving forward.



A great tool for cleaning wheels is my steam cleaner. U litterally don't need to take anything to them but I'm a lazy *******....who only really lugs it out every so often to clean up the wheels.
 
Yeah, I am sure it's a different story on other finishes. I have always had chrome.



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Back when I had silly-pricey wheels, I cleaned them with either P21S or Griot's wheel cleaner instead of doing the seal/shampoo thing that I usually do now. I gotta say (as Tom P. has also noticed) that I *think* they stayed cleaner that way than LSPed/shampooed wheels do, at least after a while.



If doing pricey wheels that belong to others, I'd stick with something like P21s/Griot's as opposed to an APC.



Just imagine *IF* (OK, big "if"...but [stuff] happens) the APC were to damage a very expensive wheel, what would/could you do? Telling the customer you'll pay (big $) for a refinish could very easily *not* be good enough...sure wouldn't mollify me, I'd want somebody's head on a stick.
 
I use only 303 on my BMW Style 5 spoke whees, and it's great for cleaning them and keeping them clean. I can just spray them off with a pressure washer.
 
Personally, I just use a mild wheel cleaner and a brush. But FWIW, my wheels haven't gotten hardly any brake dust on them since I put NXT on the wheels. Very happy about that, I can probably just hose them clean.



You guys think that a mild wheel cleaner will strip off a sealant applied to the wheel?
 
Any mild wheel cleaner would probably diminish even a strong sealant.



I hear you on the sealing of wheels. I've done it enough to not see the benefits of it....again, I'm old school and dusty pads are my flavor .



Let me do a A/B test. Drivers side vs. Passenger Side. 2 sealed and 2 not sealed. Ferodo 1000 compound in all 4 calipers
 
XRL said:
You guys think that a mild wheel cleaner will strip off a sealant applied to the wheel?
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-AND-



chefwong said:
Any mild wheel cleaner would probably diminish even a strong sealant.
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Good sealants hold up to a bit of cleaning with mild wheel cleaners. Diluting the wheel cleaner with water helps in this regard and it's often still a bit more effective than regular shampoos.



Tom P. has been using wheel cleaners (maybe Griot's :think: ) on his FK1000Ped wheels with pleasing results and I sometimes use diluted Griot's wheel cleaner on mine too. Doesn't compromise the LSP all *that* much but sure, more than a shampoo would.



Tom P. got me thinking about this...and I gotta say that after a while my LSPed/shampooed wheels are sometimes a bit less impressive than my non-LSPed/wheel cleanered ones. As soon as the LSP gets a bit of [stuff] embedded in it, it's just not the same and/but I hate to redo it over the slight drop-off in looks :nixweiss
 
I mainly use Black Magic wheel cleaner, I doubt its very strong, though it couldn't hurt to dilute it some now that I've used roughly half the bottle. I'm more concerned about it taking the sealant off after just a single cleaning. If it takes 3-4 washes to take it off, that's fine with me. And like you indicated, after that long it probably is time to apply a new coat anyways.



I wonder what the difference in effectiveness would be between something in a sealant (like NXT), a carnauba LSP (isn't FK1000P a carnauba?), and something actually meant for wheels (wheel wax or Eagle 1 Keep Clean type thing).



Maybe if I feel adventurous I'll test it out. Probably not.
 
I do agree when sealed...there definitely is a pop. Just sealed up one side of the vehicle to A/B cleanliness on sealed vs. unsealed wheels...



However, when I think of wheel cleaners...just short of mild ones like P21S or the EF gel....I would suppose any APC would diminish the sealant to not warrant using that over soap. This is the same person who has decided to not do the sealant route on wheels......





however, after reading so many Yay's, I'm going to give the sealant another try.
 
XRL said:
I wonder what the difference in effectiveness would be between something in a sealant (like NXT), a carnauba LSP (isn't FK1000P a carnauba...
Click to expand...



No, FK1000P is a paste sealant. For some reason they call it a "man made wax" but it's *NOT* a carnauba. And it seems to last/shed dirt a lot better than NXT IME.
 
Nice Clean Look Indeed......I've never been a advocate of sealant on wheels but after the post, I have it sealant sitting on them and I must say, they are POPPING....



Custom wheels made of 1 out of 8-9 factories in the world that can do a 9Klb forged press.....and the flakes in the powdercoat is shimmering.



Even if they don't last, I think.....I may go back to using sealant on them just for that pop....
 
JohnKleven said:
I don't think any wheel sealant actually makes the wheels easier to clean, just gives them a nice clean look.
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That's interesting, guess it's a YMMV sort of thing. On some of my wheels the sealing makes them *much* easier to clean, on others the diff is almost negligible.
 
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