Wheel sealant question

B

beanbag

New member
I have clear-coated aluminum wheels which get a lot of brake dust on them.
When I spray them with the pressure washer, I can get most of the brake dust off, but there is always still a thin, weakly-bonded layer of brake dust remaining. (meaning that I can easily wipe it off with my finger without scrubbing)
When I use Poorboy`s Spray and Rinse, then I can get this layer off without any scrubbing. (good)
My question is if there is a wheel sealant that is good enough that I can skip the step of using the Poorboys and get all the brake dust off using the pressure washer only.
I know that my Dr Beasley`s Plasma Coat is not good enough for this task - in fact it`s about the same as using no coating at all on my wheels.
 
beanbag said:
I have clear-coated aluminum wheels which get a lot of brake dust on them.
When I spray them with the pressure washer, I can get most of the brake dust off, but there is always still a thin, weakly-bonded layer of brake dust remaining. (meaning that I can easily wipe it off with my finger without scrubbing)
When I use Poorboy`s Spray and Rinse, then I can get this layer off without any scrubbing. (good)
My question is if there is a wheel sealant that is good enough that I can skip the step of using the Poorboys and get all the brake dust off using the pressure washer only.
I know that my Dr Beasley`s Plasma Coat is not good enough for this task - in fact it`s about the same as using no coating at all on my wheels.
Click to expand...
I’ve tried quite a few different wheel sealants and coatings. Although most of these make the job easier, I’ve never found one that could eliminate the elbow grease required for a clean wheel. I think much of this brake dust actually embeds itself into the wheel and therefore doesn’t rinse off. IronX or an equivelant helps too but it still requires the hands on approach.
 
I`ve had great success with a few coats of 476s and now I`m using FK1000p. I always run my black noodle micro mitt over them. I haven`t used wheel cleaner in years. Nothing sticks to the wheels.

I`ve never tried just rinsing them off. I`ll do that next time,(probably tomorrow),and see what happens.

If it`s a German car, it`s a different animal. That`s a tough one.
 
That`s pretty much my observation and experience about ANY hard-to-remove residue on a vehicle like brake dust or de-icing beet juice salt binder: it requires a physical contact (IE, a hand-applied wash media; take your choice: sponge, microfiber/cotton chenille/noodle mitt, boar`s hair brush, sheepskin mitt) to remove it completely.


As far as a wheel sealant or wax or coating, I think it`s up to you as to your choice of which one you use. I use Collinite 845 Insulator Wax because that is what I have. Many here like Finish-Kare`s FK1000P High-Temp wax, as it withstands the higher temperatures on a rim generated by braking. Yes, I have used Wheel Wax (the original wheel wax) , but it was OK and I went to the 845 when I ran out. There are car-care chemical manufacturers who make wheel wax/sealants/coatings for just for that purpose. You may want to check them out at the Autopian Car Care Store.


You also bring out a good observation about rims on today`s car that are usually clear-coated and SHOULD be treated like paint, not like metal or chrome. Even some OEM chrome-like metal wheels are clear-coated and using a metal or chrome cleaner on them can scratch them severely. Not sure what you have??? I ask the owner of the vehicle. If they do not know, next step is to ask the dealership`s service department or where they bought the aftermarket wheels from and ask them. If it is a TRUE chromed wheel, I still prefer a chrome polish like Simi-Chrome or Optimum`s Metal Polish (good stuff!). If you run into polished aluminum aftermarket rims, then use Mother`s Billet Metal Polish (expensive, but good stuff for aluminum)

Rim material also plays a part into what wheel cleaner to use. I currently use Meg`s Detailer Line D143 Non-Acid Wheel and Tire Cleaner because it is inexpensive and "safe" when diluted properly on MOST wheel/rim materials. Many an aftermarket machined and polished aluminum wheel have been literally ruined (etched) by using an acid-based wheel cleaner (like Meg`s Detailer Line Detailer Line D140 Wheel Brightener, which I have diluted 1:3 and use on REALLY dirty clear-coated rims).

If you ever run into those high-end performance cars with ceramic brake discs, NEVER use a brake dust wheel cleaner on them when the rim-&-tire is physically on the car. Check the vehicle`s owner`s manual what should be done to clean the rim . When the rim-&-tire is removed from the car, that is a different story, but that too, may require a "special" procedure so as not to damage the ceramic disc during the removal and installation process. (Do not laugh, it is true!)
 
IME it depends how Autopian you are about it.

I`m always raving about how great FK1000P sheds dirt, and I can say the same for the Gloss Coat I use on some wheels. Pressure washer, siphon-feed sprayer, yeah...those get things pretty clean.

BUT...to get them *truly* clean I always need some mechanical agitation. Which is necessary to do the back side of the spokes and the barrels anyhow. Tight spots like recessed valvestem pockets simply require cleaning out with brushes and/or swabs.

If you want white-glove-clean wheels I`d expect you`ll have to do some touching. If you just want "vehicle looks good enough to drive to store"-clean, then you could probably get by.

Oh, some food for thought on the need for hi-temp LSPs- back in the day I used Pinnacle Souveran (!) on the Jag`s wheels. (OK, inboard discs on the rear so those don`t count.) No problems with heat or with "the wax retaining the brake dust and causing issues" or any other problems, they just needed redone as often as anything LSPed with that wax.

I always suspect that most people don`t get their wheels (or rotors) *NEARLY* as hot as they think they do. I`ve run temperature-indicating paint on plenty of rotors, and...well, I bet people would be surprised if they tried that.

EDIT: Last I heard (from Ketch, who`d know) the vast majority of oe wheels are powdercoated, virtually *all* of the "painted" ones and most of the clear finished polished/machined/whatever`s not real chrome ones. From my Mazda MVP to the Audis to...everything we`ve driven for decades...they were all powdercoated, which we sometimes only discovered when I had them refinished.
 
OK, maybe it would be more accurate to call my wheels powder coated.

In any case, I don`t think I have a brake dust embedding problem because I can get the dust off easily with only a finger swipe, and the surface is squeaky clean. Mainly I just care about the outside-facing surfaces of the spokes, which still have lots of annoying crevices that brushes and etc tend to miss. To mechanically agitate all the surfaces is either tedious, or I bang my fingers up trying to get all the corners.

If I use the poorboys and a pressure washer, I don`t have to do any mechanical agitation at all and still get a clean, squeaky surface. Probably the fact that my wheels are still new and the surface is smooth helps. The Poorboys works well even inside the barrel of the rims.
 
If a wheel cleaner and rinse works for you, that is what matters. For me, if the dust comes off easily, I don`t use a wheel cleaner, just the same soap as the car (I have a spray bottle premixed that I will let dwell on the wheels) and hit them with a soft wheel brush and mitt. Pressure washers do make a huge difference on wheels.
 
Beanbag --
I have used a similar brush to this one, for a couple decades, -- https://www.autopia-carcare.com/daytona-wheel-brush.html#.W1Tvu9XFj3g
It will get the inner wheel and around the brake caliper really clean.. Just do not stand or kneel in front of it when pulling the brush back out of the wheel because the bristles will spray your shirt with all that black brake gunk.. You have to get to the side of it when you pull the brush out of that one spot.. Repeat all the way around the wheel..
For the fronts of all wheels, I use this brush -- https://www.autopia-carcare.com/montana-original-boars-hair-wheel-brush.html#.W1Tw79XFj3g
And have great results..
I have coated all my wheels and that alone keeps the amount of brake dust down when its time to clean them.. It goes by really fast and there are no spots where stuff is stuck on them , etc...
So, to answer your question, I have found no "Wheel Sealant" that will give me the ease of cleaning I get from Coating the wheels..
The only product I ever had much success on wheels with is called Rejex, here -- https://www.autopia-carcare.com/rejex-paint-sealant.html#.W1Tx0NXFj3g
Dan F
 
GearHead_1 said:
I’ve tried quite a few different wheel sealants and coatings. Although most of these make the job easier, I’ve never found one that could eliminate the elbow grease required for a clean wheel. I think much of this brake dust actually embeds itself into the wheel and therefore doesn’t rinse off. IronX or an equivelant helps too but it still requires the hands on approach.
Click to expand...

This has been my experience too.

I`ve used Collinite 845, a couple of AIO`s, and now CQuartz "classic" coating. The AIO`s and 845 made clean-up easier. The CQuartz coating has helped the wheels stay cleaner AND easier to clean while outlasting the AIO`s and 845 by a significant margin. In the end though, I still have to hit them with a mild wheel cleaner and a brush if I want them to be really clean and look their best.
 
Well,I used the pressure washer on the wheels today. I used the Griot’s BOSS foamer. I applied the Griot Surface Wash,then the Poly Gloss.

The wheels still had a minute film on them. So, a little UWW spritz and a wipe made them look new.

They’ve been through 2 rain-storms in the past week,a bit dirty,but not bad.

I’ll go back to the noodle mitt for the wheels.
 
Older said:
I’ll go back to the noodle mitt for the wheels.
Click to expand...

Not to sound contentious, and the design of the wheel certainly factors in, but I don`t understand how people do OK with those.

If nothing else (and I have a long list of criticisms), the thick strands are *WAY* too large in diameter to get any but the broadest surfaces clean (won`t get into at least 25% of the wheel at all) and thus require enough work with BHBs and swabs that I might as well just skip the mitt (which is what I do).

They didn`t even get the full-face wheelcovers on the Crown Vic clean, left lots of areas untouched, areas that the BHBs get spotless.

It`s like trying to clean something with a brush that has 24 thick bristles instead of 240 thin ones.

So, please school me on why they work for *you* :D What am I missing here?!? Heh heh, I *did* try to keep an open mind, even bought `em despite not getting it intellectually speaking (and when that`s the case, it`s invariably a clue ;) ).
 
I was thinking the same thing.

I could see a chanile mit working on the face of a wheel and *maybe* the frontal area between the spokes, but there is no way I`d be able to clean the barrels very well with a mit. Even with the very open design on my wife`s wheels it would be very difficult. Any other more restrictive design and there is no way a mitt would work for me
 
The little "Three Finger Mitts" sheepskin from GG and..oh [shoot] I forget who it is, LC perhaps... work OK for the backs/barrels of my 5/6 spoke wheels. The similar foam ones are good too, but since they`re a smooth, continuous surface they don`t get down into nooks and crannies the way the sheepskin`s nap or the bristles of a BHB will.

With the noodle/dreadlock MF, I just don`t see how a [whatever diameter] strand can get into an area that`s smaller than that, and all of my wheels have such areas. Same reason why I couldn`t use them for washing many portions of the body proper even if the "thick strand" issue weren`t a concern with regard to marring.

Recessed valvestem pockets, similar recesses for lugs...even the openings in the faces of my BBS wheels...I just can`t get something thick in there to clean anything. It`s like trying to use such mitts to clean the tensioning spring/back sides of the wiper arms, doesn`t work for me and I can`t see how it could work for others.
 
Accumulator said:
The little "Three Finger Mitts" sheepskin from GG and..oh [shoot] I forget who it is, LC perhaps... work OK for the backs/barrels of my 5/6 spoke wheels. The similar foam ones are good too, but since they`re a smooth, continuous surface they don`t get down into nooks and crannies the way the sheepskin`s nap or the bristles of a BHB will.

With the noodle/dreadlock MF, I just don`t see how a [whatever diameter] strand can get into an area that`s smaller than that, and all of my wheels have such areas. Same reason why I couldn`t use them for washing many portions of the body proper even if the "thick strand" issue weren`t a concern with regard to marring.

Recessed valvestem pockets, similar recesses for lugs...even the openings in the faces of my BBS wheels...I just can`t get something thick in there to clean anything. It`s like trying to use such mitts to clean the tensioning spring/back sides of the wiper arms, doesn`t work for me and I can`t see how it could work for others.
Click to expand...

The noodles work fine on the exterior side of my wheels. It’s the only area I use it on.The valve stems and lug nut areas need smaller media. I just use a thin microfiber towel and twist it to get in there.

As far as the barrels are concerned—hang on to your hat—I pretty much have stopped worrying about them. They’re such a PIA,I only really thoroughly clean them twice yearly when they’re off the car for my winter tire switch over.

This fall, I’m going to use a coating on them. I just haven’t decided which one yet.

BBS wheels,eh? Are those the nightmarish “snowflake” pattern wheels? And on a German car? The worst of both worlds,cleaning wise.
 
McKees Wheel Coating has worked very well for me. Since using it, soap and water are what I use to clean wheels. I`ve also used PoorBoys Wheel Sealant with good results and I think it provides a little more gloss than the McKees, but is more time consuming.
 
Older- Huh, OK. I can`t even do the faces with those noodle things, they just don`t conform to the contours as well.

Heh heh, I won`t disparage you for not worrying about the barrels :D On the Crown Vic, with full wheelcovers over steel wheels, I do *NOT* do the back sides or the barrels unless the wheels are off the car for some reason. Just. Don`t. Care. They end up getting done about annually.

I only do the BBS wheels at Seasonal Wheel/Tire Change time too.

And yeah, BBS` old-style wheels, just as you figured. OE on the `93 Audi which is apparently considered a Brake Dust Monster. Honestly though, it`s not a biggie at all. The time spent doing the intricate design is saved by not having to do as much on the back sides/barrels. FK1000P on `em, per usual; I considered coating them, but don`t think it`d be worth it.

OK...truth be told, I do a quickie job on the barrels most times since the car`s up on jacks/stands anyhow, but it`s not a proper job. And yeah, I do reach through the spokes to do the calipers.
 
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