Cleaning aluminum alloy wheels on a '99 Maxima SE

[levander]

Its weird being up at 439am 2 hours before I have to go to work. I can't sleep, its to damn hot in my house....yah it can be expensive to start cleaning your own car, but look at it this way, you wont have to buy the brushes / applicators / etc again, and the dressing will last more than just 1 application, and so will the wheel cleaner.

Yeah, over time, if I'm willing to put the work in myself, it'll pay for itself. I"ve just never spent $60 for materials to clean something before. Well, I guess my vacuum cleaner for my house, I think I spent like $85 on that.



Also, I've had sleeping problems my whole life and have studied sleep hygeine to help with it. Your body temperature lowers itself when you fall asleep. So, a warm environment could very well be preventing you from sleeping, making it harder for your body to lower it's temperature. But, it's the middle of winter. Why is your house hot? Turn off the heater!

the plate behind the wheel is the rotor, you can use a brush to clean it, however I would be VERY careful in doing so

Now that I know what it's called, I just searched on it. Apparently, that rust is pretty common. Some people are either painting or plating the rotors when new to prevent it. But, there's little advice for cleaning them after they've rusted. I might rub a brush on them (without any cleaner it seems from reading), but I'll probably leave them alone.

Go to your local auto parts store and get a good APC (all purpose cleaner) and spray the wheels down, then go after the built up gunk with a good wheel brush.

See, this is what's so confusing about researching this stuff. From that same thread I linked to the SCGD post in. He's talking about cleaning wheels:

Have you tried Eagle one? IME it's something like this: Eagle one > P21S > Griot's > Most APCs (NOT degreasers)

Source: Click



And, people after him in that thread are agreeing with him!



But, Scottwax is talking about APC being the best for hard to clean stuff on the wheels. What this other guy listed as last. In this case, I'm leaning towards believing ScottWax because I've seen his videos on Youtube and you can tell from just watching the guy for a minute or two that he's very comfortable with this stuff and knows what he's talking about.



So, it's down to SCGD or an APC (probably Optimum Power Clean just cause I like what I've read about other Optimum products - and that's what ScottWax uses in his videos).



Right now, I'm thinking the SCGD because I've seen so many people excited about that product. But, I've got lots of other places on the car that need cleaning too where the Optimum Power Clean would come in handy.



Basically, I'm trying to get the car looking decent, then I'm gonna try to find someone who's good to polish and protect the paint. Yes, he'll probably have to do a wash first. But, if I can get most of the grime off the car before the pro touches it, it'll probably cost less and I want to start doing this stuff myself anyway. Just gonna pay for someone to do the paint because I figure it's in such bad shape, and I'd rather start with an easier job. Plus, I don't want to spend the money on a DA polisher right now.

 

[levander]

Okay, I think I've got it all figured out. From looking at the manufacturers descriptions, it looks like SCGD and Optimum Power Clean actually fill the same role. They are all purpose cleaners that will strip LSP?



Because this forum has so many good things to say about SCGD, I think I'm going with that.



I don't know if I'm going to spend the extra cash to get a small little brush to do the lug nuts or if I'm going to get one of those brushes that say they can reach "behind the wheel". All I know is I'm getting the Mother's 3 pack of brushes for tire/wheels they sell at Autogeek for $15.



I'm gonna get some Opti-bond tire gel because I believe I read in this forum that it lasts longer than most tire dressing because it actually has chemicals in it that bond to the tire. Do I use it to dress the entire tire, or just the side of the tires that face out and the edges on the top that are close to the side?



Last thing I'm curious about is the protectant for the wheels. Does which wax I choose determine how glossy the wheels would be? I'd prefer a less glossier, more satiny finish if it does.

 

[levander]

And now I'm realizing the Surf City web site says nothing about using SCGD to clean tires so I'd have nothing to clean those with. And, knowing nothing about detailing, not comfortable trying it out myself. So, I'm back to the Optimum Power Cleaner to clean the wheel wells. Optimum's web site does talk about using that product to clean tires...



The trim on your car is plastic? Optimum Power Cleaner will also clean that. Optimum is just, at least, advertising Power Cleaner as a more general-purpose product than SCGD, so I guess Optimum Power Cleaner is my thing.



Plus, thanks to bwalker25's tip, I can just run to Pep Boys and grab some SCGD if the Power Cleaner doesn't work.

 

[bwalker25]

pep boys car like us, people love us



*note I dont work at pep boys....sometimes they have good deals....

 

[levander]

I absolutely hate Pep Boys. I got my car fixed there one time. All I needed was a new battery, which they installed and I was good to go. A few days later, the car overheats so I pull over and open the hood. There's a giant crack in the radiator which is right next to the battery.



So, I show up back at Pep Boys and tell the guy. With a stone cold echo in his voice, he looks right at me and says, "We did not touch your radiator." So I say, "well, you had to have touched it, it's right next to the battery.". A surprised look on his face and his partner comes over, the partner tells me to sit down, they'll be right with me. 10 minutes later it's obvious they're just gonna ignore me and I leave. Never been in a Pep Boys since.



If they're the only ones with a Pep Boys locally, I'll stop in to get some SCGD. But, I probably will say something to the cashier about how awful the mechanics at Pep Boys are.



But really, I consider there limited reasons you should be using a national chain to fix your car. A car's engine is complicated enough, I'd rather someone local, with the owner in-house fix the car. Car engines aren't like hamburgers, where you can fix them right with any idiot willing to work for a few dollars.

 

[SoCalB6]

I've been trying out CG Diablo wheel gel and it's been working out pretty good. Safe for just about every kind of wheel, it hs 0 ph level.

That would make it just about the most acidic thing you can put on anything!





+1 with Scottwax's post (post #20).





Yes, an APC will strip a LSP. You can apply any wax that you would apply on your paint to your wheels. It won't be any more or less glossy. You apply tire dressing to the outer face of the tire only, no tread or anything else.

 

[levander]

Yes, an APC will strip a LSP. You can apply any wax that you would apply on your paint to your wheels. It won't be any more or less glossy. You apply tire dressing to the outer face of the tire only, no tread or anything else.

I think I'm going with Opti-seal. Sealants are supposed to last longer than waxes. From what I've seen on Autopia, the Klasse sealant should last longer, but there's a sale on Opti-seal at AG and I'll be using ONR to routinely clean the wheels, so that should make the sealant last longer too.



And, for the tires dressing, I think I'm going with Opti-bond tire gel. I think I read somewhere on this forum that Opti-bond lasts longer than most tire dressings because there's actually chemical in the product that bonds to the tire. But, I went searching for that later and couldn't find it.