Hope someone can help,

I have set of 20" Raceline GT 2 Piece wheels http://www.racelinewheels.com/p-188-gt-2-piece-240.aspx and would appreciate some advice on my cleaning process. As you can see these are dual surface wheels with a painted centre and a polished rim.

For stage one, I use P21S alloy wheel cleaner which is non-acid based. This seems to work well, other than leaving some tar spots or heaving brake dust marks. After this I dry the wheels with a towel. The wheel rims do go a slight greyish/milky colour.

For stage two, to remove the spots and the milkyness, I use Mothers Billet polish. This does the job really well, but does take time and is a bit of mess as the polish turns black.

For the final stage, I take off the excess mothers with a clean cloth and then put on some Rimwax. This is then left to dry for a few minutes and then I just buff it off.

I was wondering what cleaning cloths would be best for this. I am using a simple polishing cloth at the moment for the Mothers Billet polish. It does take a lot of time, but the tar spots do eventually come off.

Thanks in advance

GW

 

I use diaper cloths(buy new frequently or a quality microfiber)

 

I use Never Dull on the chrome wheel on my Buick GSX and my Silverado with excellent results. Just take a small wad if the cotton out, rub the wheel, wait a minute then buff with a terry cloth. Easy on easy off.

 

+1 on diapers. For metal polishing, I use Flitz polish (in a tube). It does a great job and leaves a wax-like protection. Btw, I'm surprised that they're not clear-coated.

 

I always use a clean microfiber to clean it off. I use a microfiber applicator to put on the polish, then a cloth to wipe it down

 

Thanks for the advise. Are you using the diapers (terry towels) during the waxing stage or when using a billet polish. Just for clarification, I need to use the billet polish to remove the dull effect and the tar/brake dust spots that get left behind, whereas the wax is just to put a protective coat on. I probably sound thick at this.

WaltM, you might have hit the nail on the head there, by asking if they are clear coated. I simply got the wheels from Raceline supplier and just threw them on. It never occurred to me to clearcoat them....until now Could be where I am going wrong and hence the hard work.

Thinking about it now, if you have clear coated wheels then I guess the use of a billet polish type product could wear off the coat?

Is this something that could be done after use or is it just pointless now?

Thanks again.

 

Call Raceline and see if they're clearcoated. If they are, then stop using metal polish and use a clearcoat-safe wheel cleaner and top w/wax.

If they're not, keep doing what you're doing. You can also have them clearcoated, but you'll have to have the tires removed and reinstalled after the body shop shoots them.

Btw, having them shot w/clear will save you hours of cleaning time.