Alloy wheels care (German, motorcycle, brake, trucks)

[amtex]

Hey everybody who cares about their car's alloy wheels. What would you recommend for cleaning and keeping them shine? Something that wouldn't require wiping but just spraying and seflcleaning...

[ferretkona]

Many alloys are painted with silver paint. Some are chrome plated. If yours are polished you may want to look at clear lacquer.
My wife and I both have painted alloys on our trucks. Our VW Thing has polished mags. They take a lot of cleaning and polish to keep bright. Brake dust is the biggest enemy for alloy wheels.

[amtex]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

Many alloys are painted with silver paint. Some are chrome plated. If yours are polished you may want to look at clear lacquer.
My wife and I both have painted alloys on our trucks. Our VW Thing has polished mags. They take a lot of cleaning and polish to keep bright. Brake dust is the biggest enemy for alloy wheels.

I heard that a brake dust could be avoided by using a bit more expensive brake pads.

[Merc63]

Originally Posted by amtex

I heard that a brake dust could be avoided by using a bit more expensive brake pads.

Yes. Using ceramics like the Akebono Euros can all but eliminate visible brake dust. Wagner also makes a set. They are a bit more money, but great pads. I have the Akebonos on my BMW and it went from making the wheels black in a week to barely making any visible dust (and it was a light tan) after a couple MONTHS.

After that, use Mothers cleaner for all wheel types (there are a couple ediffernt wheel cleaners fom Mothers and Meguiars, for painted or polished, or for 'all." I've used the "all types" wteh good results on both street cars and show cars.

[M3 Mitch]

S100 wheel cleaner or just S 100 motorcycle wash is good for most painted mag wheels.

I have seen people use Simple Green, you can get away with that, but don't leave it on too long, it is not buffered against corrosion like the high-end German chemicals.

The Wagner Thermo-Quiet has been praised by several experienced techs who post here, I have not tried them myself but will probably try a set when I need pads.