parkerdt

I picked up a really pristine set of AP1 rims mounted with Dunlop Winter Sport M3s this past week. About 3k miles on the set. The rim fronts are quite pristine, but the inside part of the wheels have some brake dust shards embedded.

What is the best way to clear/protect these? I was thinking claybar, followed by a wheel clearner, and then AIO the heck out of them... Suggestions?

thanks,
Dave

MikeyC

I would start with the wheel cleaner first then go to the clay bar and finish with the AIO. Otherwise, your clay bar won't last too long. The wheel cleaner will remove a lot of the easier to remove debris so it won't get stuck in your clay.

Also, if you have a highly durable sealant like Klasse SG or Zaino then I would finish up with 1-2 coats of that as well.

parkerdt

Thanks, Mike I will try that! I do have SG as well so now for the fun part - getting it done ;-)

Dave

wanabe

i love to detail the wheels- and when i do them, i also do the wheel wells, brakes etc.
you got good advice above. i would just add that another product for the brake side of this is brakeclean (or is it brakeklean? am blanking on this!). dont get it on the wheels, but it works well on the brakes. spray it on, agitate with a brush and rinse off- i use a brush also in the rinse stage.
other tip is to be very careful with the wheels off the car... easy to scratch them. i use either carpet (best) or cardboard to put the wheels on while working on them. if you drop them on the ground, they will scratch (experience talking here!).
i also spray a spray wax in the wheel wells after they are all clean... keep it off of the rotors, but it can be sprayed on just about every thing else-

Harpoon

Wanabe - you use spray wax in the wheel wells? What part? Interesting idea, but I thought the factory installed weatherproofing stuff would dictate that you wouldn't need wax.

parkerdt

Wanabe, I do have my new rims/tires off the car, and was planning to detail them only atm. But I will take your suggestions when I actually install the wheels/snow tires later in the fall. Will be a good time to detail the entire wheel wells, brakes, etc. For now, though I just want to get my newly acquired rims (lightly used) squared away.

Good suggestion about carpet unter the "street side" - I was planning to use cardboard, but I do have some spare carpet! Thanks!

Dave

wanabe

you dont really need to spray a wax or other preservative in there, but i like the added protection and the look.
i spray the entire area, and just try to keep the wax off of the rotors-
parkerdt- if you get pics of the process, post em up! i keep intending to do this and always seem to forget... just did the process recently and photoed the products but go to into the process and forgot to photo the process- so we still need some of these pics!

PanteraKitty

I use a 33 gallon Rubbermaid trash can for a stand to hold the wheels when I have them off the car for washing. I flip the domed cover over and it is perfect for a bare wheel or a wheel with tire mounted.

Working height is right for scrubbing tires and polishing wheels.

JSWhaler

Will brake cleaner affect painted calipers with graphics??

parkerdt

Be happy to take some pics of the process. Probably will be next weeked before I geat around to it, tho.

Dave