How do you wash your rims?

[Jase]

Hi guys. Just wanted some feedback on how you all wash the rims of your tyres. My rims get dirty quite fast (I was told that it's braking dust - but don't know if that's true). Anyhow, I'd like to keep them clean. No point in having a polished car with dirty rims. Any suggestions on what I should do? Will the use of a brush cause scratches etc? Suggestions/comments/feedback appreciated. TIA!

 

[Azarael]

Re: How do you wash your rims?

hi jase. me too. i got high friction brake pads so i get a lot of brak dust on my rims too

so i do the following.

bit long winded : i wet my rims first with water, try to hose off as much dirt as possible. then i use a sponge (seperate from the rest of my detailing stuff) to wipe the obvious parts of the rim coated with dust. then re hose again , then spray the rim cleaner i bought from meguairs or armor all , leave for a while and then rehose again....very tedious but rims very shiny then. my rear rims usually very clean so i dun use the rim cleaner.

 

[Vincent Ng]

Re: How do you wash your rims?

Hi guys. Just wanted some feedback on how you all wash the rims of your tyres. My rims get dirty quite fast (I was told that it's braking dust - but don't know if that's true). Anyhow, I'd like to keep them clean. No point in having a polished car with dirty rims. Any suggestions on what I should do? Will the use of a brush cause scratches etc? Suggestions/comments/feedback appreciated. TIA!

It's best that you wash your rims often so that your rims don't get stained by the brake dust which can be almost impossible to get rid of. Furthermore, german cars seem to have a problem with excessive brake dust. My Merc gets a lot of brake dust on the front rims so i clean them daily without fail upon reaching home. Maybe you can consider changing the stock brakes to something else.

I heard of people waxing their rims to prevent brake dust from settling on their rims, perhaps you can try that too

 

[Ahbengdriver]

Re: How do you wash your rims?

The reason yr rims are dirty was one reson why I change to my current 19" BBS CK rims. A lot of areas are unreachable in the stock rim so even though u wash it n looks clean on the outside, once u drive the dirt behind the front areas come off again when the wheel spins. If u notice there are grooves behind the spokes. When I took my stock rims out after 4 months, u can see baked brake dust on the rear areas yr hand/brush couldnt reach. My current rims were chosen bcos there are no such grooves I cannot reach for cleaning. The gaps on the multi-spoke design are large enuf for my hand to reach inside - I wear a pair of industrial gloves which also act as the sponge and I even scrub the inner circumference. Its 100% cleaned each time so it stays cleaner longer. Oh n I use car shampoo with polymer(Meguair NXT) which is also used for cleaning rest of car. I find it leaves a thin layer of polymer behind n makes the next cleaning easier. Every now n then I also claybar the remove stubborn stains. Thats why till now my rims look like new

 

[Jase]

Re: How do you wash your rims?

Thanks guys - I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one with this problem. I'll take up your advice (well, not beng's idea to swap to the 19" BBS though I'd love to) As for waxing, may consider that - sounds like a good idea but I don't know how long the wax will last and whether the wax will be thorough since there are all these grooves which are hard to reach and if not waxes properly, it'll still look patchy.

I'm going to start using an old toothbrush to clean the grooves now. Very tiresome but like I said, no point having a polished car with dirty rims. Cheers

 

[teckheng]

Re: How do you wash your rims?

stubborn brake dust can be remove by using claybar, but do no use a new claybar (waste $$) instead use a claybar which you about to throw away. They are excellent to remove brake dust.

BMWSILVER told me his rims cleaning method is Klasse AIO and Klasse Sealent. The results are amazing. Klasse AIO can remove almost all dirt, follow by claybar to remove those stubborn marks.

Oh, I heard that Finish Klare 425 have anti-statics, means your brake dust won't stick on your rims.

Lastly, change your stock brake pads will reduce the dust alot alot alot.

My ride is well polish, but the rims is ........... *cough*... I am lazzzzzzzzzzzy !

 

[Roasty]

Re: How do you wash your rims?

washing rims is a pain man.. just washed mine this morning.

1. bucket ($5)
2. water (free)
3. rubber gloves (stolen from hospital supply haha one box)
4. sponge ($2)

total $7

the look of shiny sparkling rims: priceless