Looking for people’s thoughts on the following, and real world exeperinces.

 

My new set of Equip wheels are currently finished in silver anodise. With 2 of the wheels needing a refresh, and two

needing two new lips for the rears to fill the arches, I can either have them all anodised again, which will give me a relative easy time when it comes to cleaning and maintaining them. Alternatively have them highly polished and stock up on wheel wax and elbow grease!

I had the rims polished on my old 18” wheels and they weren’t too bad at all to maintain being a fair weather car. I had the initial polish done by a specialist company and then kept them well protected so they stayed looking good for a long time before requiring a quick buff.

 

There are lots of products on the market that will do the job of protecting them but I found that Collinite 476s made a good durable coating. Whilst you’re there, you should apply the wax to the entire wheel making sure you don’t miss any areas (you could even go over them twice to be sure), then give them a quick coat if sealant as a “sacrificial layer”!

 

With them protected like this, the next wash will see them clean up with with ease using only soap and water (assuming you haven’t used the car through a harsh winter or left it for 3 years before you wash it!). Never use any chemical wheel cleaners or any description, no matter how PH friendly they are as you won’t need to!

 

I’d recommend that you reapply the protection to the rim every 6-12 months, depending on how miles you cover, how regularly you wash it and how easily the dirt is coming off. I would also remove the wheels for a full works every 12-18 months. If you use the car on the track, these intervals will need to be reduced.

You should reprotect the accessible parts of the wheels with the sealant you use after each wash. When/if it does come to them needing a full polish up, you can use the car to assist you for the most part. Chock the front wheels, jack the back end up from the diff and secure wit stands, start her up, select first gear and work away!

 

It is very hillbilly and pretty darn dangerous but if you use something like a paintbrush handle with the polishing pad attached so your hands are kept clear and worked away carefully with face protection, you should see good results. It’s likely that you’d have to do the extreme inner section manually but you could get the bulk of it done this way. Mask off the area where the inner barrel and outer barrel meet (and the bolt heads) before you start so you don’t inadvertently scuff the wrong area!

Thanks for all the tips Joel..... especially the one about polishing them on the car :whistling: not so sure I’m brave or mad enough to try that out :no:

I got a drill attachment buffer, use it on a cordless drill, my Veilsides are in Rag order over being left for so long with no attention.

Thanks for all the tips Joel..... especially the one about polishing them on the car :whistling: not so sure I’m brave or mad enough to try that out :no:

I never tried it myself but I’ve seen it done!

 

I got a drill attachment buffer, use it on a cordless drill, my Veilsides are in Rag order over being left for so long with no attention.

To be honest, if you keep them well protected then they should stay in reasonable condition, if not “as new” for a long time and if you did need to polish them up a bit, they’ll come back very quickly by hand or with a drill as Richie says because it should only be minor.

To be honest the non coated high polished alloys look fab, but maintaining the look......... nah, way better things to be doing, and that comes from someone who enjoys cleaning and polishing but that just makes work, and remember every time you get brake dust on them your getting that bit closure to a full clean and polish at the wheel place. DON`T DO IT !!

 

 

Jeff

Washing/polishing cars/wheels ranks equal no 1 with grass cutting.

These are two of the most unsatisfying wasteful jobs in my book.

So anodized 100%.

Speaking from experience in the past when I had polished Woolrace slot mags on my 240Z.

What a PITA.

Washing/polishing cars/wheels ranks equal no 1 with grass cutting.

These are two of the most unsatisfying wasteful jobs in my book.

So anodized 100%.

Speaking from experience in the past when I had polished Woolrace slot mags on my 240Z.

What a PITA.

 

Oh memories, had Wolfrace alloys on a Capri in late seventies !!

 

They start like this>>

 

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

a few months later

 

 

 

 

look like this >> ( sh*t ! )

 

Oh memories, had Wolfrace alloys on a Capri in late seventies !!

 

They start like this>>

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]113165[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

a few months later

 

 

 

 

look like this >> ( sh*t ! )

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]113166[/ATTACH]

 

Yep!

Been there....done that. Not got the tee shirt as I used it to clean the wheels.:lol:

Howard, use a high quality ceramic wheel sealant and you'll be fine for a year.

Howard, use a high quality ceramic wheel sealant and you'll be fine for a year.

 

Is that what you use Si?

 

I had been reading up on ceramic coatings altough for bodywork rather than wheels. Sounds like good stuff, not sure I would put in on my bodywork however as it seems take a lot of effort to keep it in top condition. Should be easier on the wheels though.

No as I don't have bare aluminium anymore. A good ceramic coating will prevent bare alloy from corroding.

 

Ceramic coating is actually the opposite of what you suggest. It's there to help keep your paint completely free of contamination making it easier to wash. Ceramic coatings last for a long time meaning you only need to do maintenance washing rather than a full detail.

I’ve not yet ventured into the world of ceramic coatings, mainly because I have a plethora of products that do the job and probably 2 lifetimes worth of them products! However I have read great things about them, they will generally do the very same job but will tend to last longer and be more durable. Just make sure you really go into town at the preparation stage before you apply them otherwise they won’t last long.

 

I have always read positive things about the Gtechniq brand though and the C5 wheel sealant is something that’s been on my radar for a while now. I may get a cheeky 15ml bottle of that and give them a go whilst my wheels are off for my current brake upgrade.

 

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/gtechniq-c5-wheel-armour