|
|
|
|
|
|
BMW Garage | BMW Meets | Register | Today's Posts | Search |
|
BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
>
Dirty, dirty wheels
|
|
08-14-2012, 11:46 PM | #1 |
Enlisted Member
3
Rep 42
Posts
Drives: 2008 328i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Austin, TX
|
Dirty, dirty wheels
Just picked up my first BMW.. 2008 328i. Love it already; fantastic and much better than the C230 that it replaced.
Anyway.. the car is pretty much spotless, inside and out, except for the wheels. Apparently the previous owner never washed them or did so very rarely. I used Turtle Wax Platinum and a good portion of the grime and brake dust came off, but a couple of the wheels have what appear to be some set in stains from the grime, or perhaps it's just some really tough grime/film.. in any case, Turtle Wax Platinum doesn't want to get that to come off. I've scrubbed at it with a wheel brush and some soap and water, a sponge, etc, nothing seems to do the trick. I'm thinking perhaps I need a better wheel cleaner to get the stuff off. In my research on the forum I see Sonax/BMW cleaner is supposed to be pretty damn good, but was also reading about Iron X. Basically I'm wondering if you guys thought either might do the trick, or you have something else for the more stubborn wheel grime issues that you'd recommend? I just want to get these things spotless, wax them up, and keep them pristine from here on out. Thanks! Last edited by iCraig; 08-14-2012 at 11:52 PM.. |
08-15-2012, 12:46 AM | #2 | |
Lieutenant
18
Rep 522
Posts |
Quote:
Maybe you need this http://www.carbrite.com/products/Ext...rs/Wheel-Acid/ |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 02:06 AM | #3 |
Private
0
Rep 58
Posts
Drives: 2006 Barrique Red 325i
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Central New Jersey
|
Take some pictures for us, it'd help a lot!
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 08:42 AM | #4 |
Enlisted Member
3
Rep 42
Posts
Drives: 2008 328i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Austin, TX
|
Sure. Was kinda late last night. Took some this morning when I got into the office. I have how grimy they look even after the work I did trying to clean them up.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 08:42 AM | #5 |
Enlisted Member
3
Rep 42
Posts
Drives: 2008 328i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Austin, TX
|
Sorry about the massive size. If they're too big, let me know, I can resize and reupload.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 08:54 AM | #6 |
Major
99
Rep 1,456
Posts |
Try Sonax and letting it sit, followed by iron cut or similar. I would avoid acid based cleaners. Also some of that may be etched into the clear and not removable. Refinishing is suprisingly cheap. Hit up a mobile wheel repair place.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 10:13 AM | #8 |
Lieutenant Colonel
592
Rep 1,911
Posts |
Something like Eagle One A2Z, Sonax, P21S etc.... followed by IronX, polish and wax/sealant/LSP for prevention of recurrence.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 12:45 PM | #9 |
Banned
37
Rep 1,168
Posts |
refinish those...its going to take a lot of work, and probably something like meguiars wheel brightener to remove that buildup from the wheels.
sonax with a long dwell time (in the shade) might work sonax, let dwell, agitate, respray sonax and let dwell again, agitate and then finally rinse off. I've let sonax sit on wheels for 10 min before on bmws to get the last 10% removed |
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 01:15 PM | #10 | |
Lieutenant Colonel
592
Rep 1,911
Posts |
Quote:
From what I've seen IronX do, it'll take care of that in miraculously short time with the addition of a soft brush. IronX does stuff that wheel cleaners cannot. http://cquartz.com/index.php?option=...n-cut&catid=37 |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 02:18 PM | #11 | |
Enlisted Member
3
Rep 42
Posts
Drives: 2008 328i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Austin, TX
|
Quote:
Much appreciated folks. I'm going to see if I can find a place to pick up Iron X and sonax today and give this a shot. I'll get some after shots and we'll see how it turns out. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 03:30 PM | #13 |
Lieutenant Colonel
94
Rep 1,509
Posts |
Sadly, I was in New Jersey for 2 months this summer and my mom drove my car a little bit, but I cant blame her for it. She didn't drive it too much but enough for dust to build up. It sat in the garage and after finally cleaning my wheels today, I have the same deal but not as bad as that. I used some mothers mag polish and that lightened it up a bit so I would assume the other products would work for me?
__________________
2009 E90 328i Monaco Blue
premium/idrive/convience/logic-7/cold weather/ xenons/ saddle brown interior |
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 04:41 PM | #14 | |
Captain
216
Rep 633
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 05:18 PM | #15 |
Lieutenant Colonel
94
Rep 1,509
Posts |
Well when i bought the car used, they were the upgrade from the little 16 inch rims. I think they are 17's
__________________
2009 E90 328i Monaco Blue
premium/idrive/convience/logic-7/cold weather/ xenons/ saddle brown interior |
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 06:16 PM | #16 |
Captain
216
Rep 633
Posts |
But they are BMW wheels? Nonetheless, you should not be using Mother's Mag polish on wheels that are not bare aluminum. Are they painted/clearcoated?
My personal opinion on the botique wheel cleaners is: Don't bother, especially on oem painted and clearcoated wheels. While they are safe, I've never found them to offer any more cleaning ability than an APC (all purpose cleaner). I personally use Duragloss APC diluted 1:10 with water and a dedicated wash mit for routine wheel cleaning. If you need something with real cleaning power, a product like Megs Wheel Brightener diluted with water 1:3 is untouched in cleaning power by P21s, Sonnax etc. I've never had trouble with megs Brightener on any painted/clearcoated wheels, but please know it is basically acid. I would not recommend it for routine cleaning. Just for comparison: A 16.9 oz. bottle of Sonnax is about $15.00 1 gallon of Megs Wheel Brightener is about $15.00. Per the recommended dilution ratio, it makes 3 gallons. 1 gallon of Optimum Power Clean (APC) is about $35. By all accounts this is a very effective and safe cleaner - even on paint. Per the recommended dilution ratio, it makes 3 gallons. 1 gallon of Duragloss or Megs D103 APC is about $15.00. You can adjust dilution to your cleaning needs, but 10:1 works great for me on wheels with the Duragloss. $15.00 for 10 gallons is tough to beat. |
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 06:29 PM | #17 | |
Lieutenant Colonel
94
Rep 1,509
Posts |
Quote:
__________________
2009 E90 328i Monaco Blue
premium/idrive/convience/logic-7/cold weather/ xenons/ saddle brown interior |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-15-2012, 06:37 PM | #18 |
Captain
216
Rep 633
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-21-2012, 04:33 PM | #19 |
Long Time Admirer, First Time Owner
18362
Rep 9,415
Posts |
Clay and elbow grease will get those clean, if you want to spend the time. SO much easier if you actually take the wheel off and do it on a raised platform, then you can get both sides easily NAD get teh wheel wax on there as well. I was ready the first time to have mine recoated, but I had some clay laying around so WTF. Now I take all four off about twice a year, then cover liberally with Poor Boys Wheel Wax.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-21-2012, 05:01 PM | #20 | |
Enlisted Member
3
Rep 42
Posts
Drives: 2008 328i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Austin, TX
|
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
Bookmarks |
|
|