Hey b-man1 or others, detailing question

nitro237 · Post by **nitro237** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:21 pm

I know you do excellent auto detailing so I thought you might could give some advice.

My wife just got a new car and it has aluminum wheels. The brake dust gets in the wheels and is a pain to clean. Does that wheel cleaner that you just spray and then hose off work very well? If so, what brand do you recommend ?

Also, what's the best thing to use on leather upholstery?

Thanks

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:32 pm

Hey Phil, You might want to look into getting ceramic break pads if they're available for her car. I think they're dustless, but I could be wrong..

nitro237 · Post by **nitro237** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:31 pm

eGoCeNTRoNiX wrote:Hey Phil, You might want to look into getting ceramic break pads if they're available for her car. I think they're dustless, but I could be wrong..

Looks like they are about $100 set and I would need front and rear, so $200 plus installation. I hate spending that much for brakes on a new car. I can't replace them, and seems like everybody charges an arm and a leg to work on Mercedes.

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:05 am

the secret to keeping it easy to clean brake dust is frequent cleanings. most wheel sprays are not as great as they say...you might get 75% of the stuff off, but a lot remains after hosing it away, so you still have to get in there with a wash mitt or microfiber towel to properly clean them.

the safest (but expensive) wheel cleaner i know of is P21S wheel gel:

http://www.autogeek.net/p2wheelclean.html

i also recommend the lug nut wheel brush:

http://www.autogeek.net/lug-nut-brush.html

are the wheels bare aluminum, or are they clear coated? just be sure not to buy a strong acid based cleaner that could corrode the wheels and pit them.

once cleaned, wax or spray sealant on the wheels helps make the next cleaning easier as well.

side note...my car's front pads are so amazingly dusty that lexus put out a technical bulletin about them and replaces them for free with "low dust" versions. i haven't gone in for that yet, but will later this year after i get a little more use out of the existing pads.

nitro237 · Post by **nitro237** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:58 am

Do you think these are coated ?

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:33 am

it's hard to tell from the pic, but my guess is yes. you should be able to tell if you look closely...you can see the clear coat paint over the metal. it's a common mistake for people to make...they have coated wheels, but then use a metal cleaner on them instead of soap. same principle for the rest of the car...you wouldn't use a metal cleaner on the body paint. yikes!

maybe post a close-up of the wheel if you can, or the year/model of the car and we can find details online about it.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 3:09 pm

The wheels on my magnum were clear coated and unfortunately it's flaking off in a few places and makes for a really ugly sight ;\

eGo

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 12:27 am

Ceramics are nice, but they do squeak more than you'd expect. Those are coated (pretty sure). Like said above, frequent cleanings go a long way. Once a week.

nitro237 · Post by **nitro237** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 7:06 am

once cleaned, wax or spray sealant on the wheels helps make the next cleaning easier as well.

What kind of sealant or wax ?

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:29 pm

really anything is fine, since it won't last long on the wheels anyway. i use collinite 845 (some of the most durable wax you will find!) or duragloss aquawax spray. both are cheap and do the job. collinite is actually an excellent option for the whole vehicle, especially in winter. durability is great (realistically 3-4 months) and it's only $12 or so a bottle...and a bottle will last most of your natural life.

i highly recommend checking out the autopia forums...look up collinite and see what others say about it too.