[STUKA]

Originally Posted by sti2relaxxin

The strong acidity or basic properties are what make the cleaner I posted so effective. You just have to take the proper precautions while using it; ie saturate the car and wheels fully with water, spray wheels with cleaner, immediately wash off;; including surrounding areas around wheels.

Do all BMW's have the cleaner? I live two hours away from that BMW and it would be a long drive to get that item. Also I do agree when you use any effective tool the user must use his brain so he does not screw stuff up. That is why there are so many products out their that don't do anything when you need results!

[chaos311clarity]

id stay away from the acidic stuff unless you feel 100% confident with it, the p21s gel and other things like clay and compound should help you get to the desired finish with much less risk.

[STI Sibb]

Originally Posted by chaos311clarity

id stay away from the acidic stuff unless you feel 100% confident with it, the p21s gel and other things like clay and compound should help you get to the desired finish with much less risk.

What rubbing compound do you use? What do you use to apply it with?

[upncummr]

1. Remove wheels for cleaning as suggested earlier.
2. Wash wheel inside and out with car wash soap. (I use a brush for the flat surfaces on the inner side of the wheel and either a sponge or a cloth on the outer side of the wheel and all the recessed area.)
3. For brake dust deposits in the corners near the spoke or in the lug nut areas, I spray on Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover. Spray on and let soak before cleaning with a damp cloth. The Bug & Tar Remover softens the deposits and allows for relatively easy cleaning. For harder to remove deposits I take the handle of an old toothbrush wrapped with the cleaning cloth to apply a little more pressure. The caked on deposits typically come right off at that point.
4. Wax wheels to make subsequent cleanings easier.
5. Re-install wheels and torque lub nuts to proper torque specs.

At least that's how I do it.

Gary

[Gondy]

I use this stuff ----> eBay Motors: WHEELWAX WHEEL WAX ALLOY RIM WHEEL CLEANER PROTECTANT (item 360039782673 end time Apr-10-08 17:26:46 PDT)

It doesn't really keep the brake dust off the rims, but it makes cleaning them A LOT easier! Just spray the rims (pressure washer works wonders) and the brake dust comes right off, no more scrubbing them

[chaos311clarity]

Originally Posted by STI Sibb

What rubbing compound do you use? What do you use to apply it with?

that would depend on the severity of the dust you are dealing with, mine was really bad race pad dust so i busted out my poorboy's SSR3 and that worked perfectly

and i use a microfiber with my finger, because thats all that ive found that gets into those tight spots on the BBS's

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by upncummr

1. Remove wheels for cleaning as suggested earier.

Stop!! Already this method takes way too long unless you are putting the wheels away for the winter!

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by chaos311clarity

id stay away from the acidic stuff unless you feel 100% confident with it, the p21s gel and other things like clay and compound should help you get to the desired finish with much less risk.

Just for the record I have been using this stuff since 2003 on my '04 STi, my '06 STi, and now on my '07 with nothing but remarkable results.

[STI Sibb]

I just washed them and tried...

Sonic Scrubber
and
Bug and Tar Remover

Neither of these worked. I'll try the rubbing compound next.

Update: I tried Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound and it removed some of the tar specs that had accumulated and made the finish smooth again. This worked decent, but some spots were hard to reach. I then tried using the sonic scrubber with the rubbing coumpound and this worked great to reach the corners. I'm going to do the whole wheel tomorrow and finish up with a wax.

[heretichexen]

i have an 05 with the stock BBS that have never looked as clean as when first bought it and have contemplated buying different wheels as they always look dirty and i have tried cleaning them before to no avail - i have tried lots of wheel cleaning products that have all failed. i have posted this same question on a different forum.

anyway... i took a toothbrush and used regular car wash detergent and scrubbed the crap out of the passenger side rear wheel and I mean lots of elbow grease.. i think the head of the toothbrush plastic scraping against the brake dust, grease, etc worked.. it took me 1 hour but the passenger side rear wheel has finally been restored to its former glory - i am ecstatic !! the other 3 wheels will get their proper cleaning this weekend...

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by heretichexen

i have an 05 with the stock BBS that have never looked as clean as when first bought it and have contemplated buying different wheels as they always look dirty and i have tried cleaning them before to no avail - i have tried lots of wheel cleaning products that have all failed. i have posted this same question on a different forum.

anyway... i took a toothbrush and used regular car wash detergent and scrubbed the crap out of the passenger side rear wheel and I mean lots of elbow grease.. i think the head of the toothbrush plastic scraping against the brake dust, grease, etc worked.. it took me 1 hour but the passenger side rear wheel has finally been restored to its former glory - i am ecstatic !! the other 3 wheels will get their proper cleaning this weekend...

Please read my post (#9), buy the stuff in the photo, and forget about scrubbing your wheels ever again. I am on my fourth bottle and will never use anything else. Spray, hose off immediately after spritzing all four wheels, proceed to other projects.

[brookslarry]

Well this is't a reply to any one in paricular. I recently purchased an 06 STI that was not loved. In hind sight the weels and paint were a mess. The guy that owned it left the wheels dirty and the bugs on FLA did thier deal with the paint. Crapp!!!
I purchaesed the normal HD wheel cleaner but!!! these were a mess. Months of baked on brake dust. There was a permanent layer of stuff that felt like black emery cloth on the rims where this stuff built up. #$%^$
Get yourself a crest spin brush anfd some high power wheel cleaner and let the 2 AA batteries do the work. ..... Nirvana. I spent 20 minutes on a wheel I was ready to replace..... and it looks OK shiny and no black sandpaper finish. **** when you clean up the BBS rims on the STI they actually look pretty. I am a cheap Canadian prick and I like it

Cheers

Larry

Remember your dentist said to brush and I will floss ya ... ya ...ya

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by brookslarry

Well this is't a reply to any one in paricular. I recently purchased an 06 STI that was not loved. In hind sight the weels and paint were a mess. The guy that owned it left the wheels dirty and the bugs on FLA did thier deal with the paint. Crapp!!!
I purchaesed the normal HD wheel cleaner but!!! these were a mess. Months of baked on brake dust. There was a permanent layer of stuff that felt like black emery cloth on the rims where this stuff built up. #$%^$
Get yourself a crest spin brush anfd some high power wheel cleaner and let the 2 AA batteries do the work. ..... Nirvana. I spent 20 minutes on a wheel I was ready to replace..... and it looks OK shiny and no black sandpaper finish. **** when you clean up the BBS rims on the STI they actually look pretty. I am a cheap Canadian prick and I like it

Cheers

Larry

Remember your dentist said to brush and I will floss ya ... ya ...ya

My stuff would have made those never cleaned wheels looking brand new with a few spritzes. That stinks you had to spend 20 minutes on the wheel. Great job though working on it as opposed to buying a new wheel!

[brookslarry]

I am going to buy some of that stuff you are using!

[deegee]

sti2relaxxin Alright so I decided to try your stuff because I used elbow grease, Megs and other household products [that I thought were safe] to try and remove the very tough specs of brake dust in the corners of my BBS', and had nothing but partial success.

First off, the stuff is not easy to get. Not only did I call BMW dealerships [they didn't have it here locally in MN], but I called Trans-Mate and the nearest Trans-mate dealer to me is Canada.

Next, I stumbled upon Kleen Rite. I looked at the wheel brightener they have for sale and it looked to be a near clone of the Trans-mate product with a different name. I called and asked, they verified that their product was made by Trans-mate, so I ordered a couple gallons. $10.00/gal plus $10 to ship two gallons to my doorstep. Not bad.


I tried things out yesterday and I was really impressed. I read what people wrote about it being acidic so I took some precation by the product instructions and diluted it 6:1 as it suggests to. Even with the dilution, I was amazed at how much came off by a thorough spray down, and then an immediate rinse, without any elbow grease.

Since I had the tires/wheels unmounted scrubbed them front and backside with the solution in order to get them as new looking as possible.

This is the only 'after' shot I have....






Not the best but you can see how clean the wheels are outside and in.

Here is a link to the product used:

wheel brightener|kleen shine|carwash

I just ordered via their 800 number and told them I was a detailer on the side.


In short, thanks for the advice sti2relax, tis a great product, and I too agree [although I can't test longevity of the wheel life over night] that with proper precaution, this has potential to be a great product.


EDIT: My wheels have 42k on them and I bought it with 29k. They have never been this clean before.