Cleaning/polishing Factory Rims

C

ClayBartrug

New member
Just curious if anyone can offer some insight into the best way to polish my forged factory BMW rims? The lip, in particular has some black (brake dust) specs that are hard to remove, and upon close inspection, you can see fine scratches.... Is there a way to buff these out? And what is good to apply to them going forward, in the way of waxes, polish, etc?



Not a great picture, but it gives an idea of the type of rim...



thx
 
That's what i'm having trouble determining. I would tend to think that yes, they are.... The centers certainly look to be. Is there a sure fire way to tell? I can certainly find out!
 
Nice ride! :xyxthumbs



A lot of us here like AIO for our weels. A couple coats and you'll be set.



I love Wheel Wax!!!! Great shine, slickness and brake dust doesn't stick! wipes off with car wash soap and water.



However, if you treat your wheels you can not use a heavy wheel cleaner afterwards because you'll strip the protection. Soap and water will work



Some people actually use Collinite wax on their wheels.
 
Chris S said:
OK, and if in fact the outer lip has NO Clearcoat, then how do i handle them?
Click to expand...



Try the AIO. It can be used on a non clear coat surface. You won't be disapointed. I use it on everything on my car - headlights, tailights, side view mirrors, bumpers, moldings etc...



I think others would agree with me.



The Wheel Wax removed minor swirls, haze and little flecks of break dust on my wheels, but they are clear coated. You can read about them at www.wheelwax.com
 
Mothers makes excellent polishes for both needs. Try their classic Mag & Aluminum Polish on NON cleared wheels. For cleared wheels try their Clear Coat Wheel Polish.



If you rub a little of that Mag Polish on the lip and the polish and app start turning black, that means no clearcoat. If you see no color change, its cleared. I'd imagine your wheels were cleared at the factory.



Have you tried clay on those black specs? Its prolly molten specs of brake pad material or road tar.
 
Any mild paint polish/cleanser that you have on hand will work for both clearcoated and non-clearcoated rims safely. Most likely your rims are clearcoated because after 5 years a non-clearcoated wheel would have been screaming for attention beyond your normal wash. From your picture ( very nicely detailed car :bow) they appear in very excellent shape. After polishing you will want to add some sort of protectant.

Procedure: clean, clay, tar remover ( WD40 works great) as a trial, polish, protect. :wavey
 
Thanks to all for the info. Z28, thx for the kind words....I try! ;) It's not that the wheels are in "bad shape" at all, it's more a matter of wanting them to look close to perfect. Small surface scratches and black specs bug me to no end. Just the same way I strive to keep my paint looking pristine, i'm trying to do the same with the wheels.



When I'm driving the car regularly, the wheels get washed weekly to avoid any serious buildup of brake dust, but that's just with a mild carwash, etc....I'd like to apply some longer lasting protection, if possible.
 
Chris S said:
It's not that the wheels are in "bad shape" at all, it's more a matter of wanting them to look close to perfect. Small surface scratches and black specs bug me to no end. Just the same way I strive to keep my paint looking pristine, i'm trying to do the same with the wheels.



Click to expand...



Welcome to the club. Admitting these goals are your first steps toward recovery. ;)

Then again, who really wants to recover. This hobby is so much fun and can be very rewarding.:xyxthumbs
 
Nice Ride! I have the same wheels on my 98 M3/4. They are clearcoated. I use Wheel Wax, although any wax will do a nice job. I wash mine almost every day. I used a clay bar on mine to take the black specs off. You can use a mild polish then wax over top.
 
Almost all new rims are clearcoated, most people don't know how to deal with alluminum oxidizing.



So essentially you would buff them simmilarily to the way you would your car. AIO really isn't going to get out any swirls are minor scratches, you really need something stronger in terms of abrasiveness.



Its pretty hard to buff rims with a porter cable, so I often use a mini-rotary tool and some Meguiars SMR 2.0. Its not as effective, but I have gotten much better results than trying to do it by hand.
 
Mothers makes a polish for clear coated wheels? I have aluminum on my Cutlass, clear coated of course.



Back in my earlier days, not knowing they clearcoated wheels, I went and used that Mothers Mag/Alum polish a few times. They looked gread for a day or two, then nasty.



Any way to fix this?



They have pits all arround and discolored areas. I plan on taking some wheel cleaner to them on both sides to really clean up, then I put some polish and wax on them. It looked nice for a month or so.
 
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