How do you guys clean your rims?
do you wax them after they are clean?

 

soap/water and a rag. nothing fancy.

I cant keep track of what does and doesnt hurt the finish, and so long as I clean them often enough never had any dust that didnt wipe off with little effort.

I have waxed them, but they dont get a coat everytime I wax the car.

 

Cool i used eagle 1 wheel cleaner but i heard it was no good but it was pretty easy spary on and hose off

 

Elbow grease, I have heard those cleaners destroy painted wheels, ect after using them time and time again.

 

I've got a brand new bottle of Meguiar's wheel cleaner that I haven't used yet, but it reads on the bottle that it's safe for ALL wheels. Just wondering if anyone else as any long term experience?

Otherwise, I've waxed my wheels from time to time with Gold Class. Cleaning with soap & water is fairly painless.

 

Simple Green gets the job done every time for me...2 sprays each on the hub, spokes, and outer edge of the wheels. Rinse with a hose, wipe off what little residual is left, any you're done.

 

Use a product called Upper Hand, contains no harsh chemicals and does a great job. It is diluted one ounce to 21 ounces of water. It is very expensive but does a great job on everything I have used it on. A gallon costs about $72.

 

I have heard horror stories of people using Simple Green, I would not use that stuff, your're only asking for trouble.

There was a thread of a guy using that and it totally ruined his wheels

 

the one i have also says safe for all wheels but i think it messes up the clearcoat

 

Was he using it on aftermarket wheels? I've used it on my stock rims several times, and I've never had any problems with it. I'm not saying you're wrong, mind you...I'm just curious if it was the same circumstances under which I'm using it.

 

I think they were aftermarket, but I could be wrong. The rim looked terrible, like it had been dipped in acid.

 

I just found the thread of which you speak...those awful-looking wheels actually weren't cleaned using Simple Green; it was some other solution. There is, however, a warning from another user about being careful not to leave Simple Green on the rims too long. I always rinse it off as I clean and I never let it dry on the rims, so I've had no problems.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....n&pagenumber=2

 

Ive also heard stories(no details that I can remember) that certain cleaners that may be safe and effective on the rims can be harsh on your tread. cant really recall anything specific tho. gotta be careful.

 

Your right, that is the thread I saw, the 2nd post is what I remember,

"By the way, DO NOT USE SIMPLY GREEN ON THE Z. Someone mentioned it above, so I had to say this. Simple Green simply eats aluminum. There is a reason that the Air Force has banned its use: airplanes are aluminum. The Z is full of it too (block, heads, rims, and hood). Even though a part might be painted, I still would not trust simple green anywhere near my car. If you need to wash your rims, simply use some mild soap and your hand. If you wash your rims often enough, your hand should be able to get everything off. Not to mention your own skin is soft (well, unless you....nevermind) and you can get your hand more places than a brush (did I just say that?). At any rate, it works for me."


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In the interest of full disclosure, here's Simple Green's take on it. Long as you use your common sense, you shuld be okay:

Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green on aluminum?
Simple Green products have been successfully and safely used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: Aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green or Crystal Simple Green can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times of All Purpose Simple Green and Crystal Simple Green with unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green/Crystal Simple Green residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

There's also another post from the guys at HRE Performance Wheels. They've also found Simple Green to be effective when the wheels get grungy:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....t=simple+green