PLASTIC Rims?!?!

[gollums_friend]

I know nothing about wheel rims, so I'm not gonna to pretend to. My question: Do they make PLASTIC rims?? When I use my knuckles to "knock" on them, they sound just like plastic would. The car is a 2006 Pontiac. They are gray/silverish in color and appear fairly shiny....like there's some kind of clear coating on them or something.

Everything I see in retail stores for rim cleaning is for CHROME. The only thing I've done to my rims so far is use a MF to wash them when I wash the rest of the car. This has kept them looking great so far, but sooner or later I'm going to need to do something "more".

Does anyone know what kind of riims I'm talking about?? Would the best thing to do be just to keep washing with car wash soap and water only? What can I use (if anything) to "polish" up this shiny coating on them? Since they appear to be plastic (but plastic with a coating, I think...and painted, I assume) can I use PlastX to polish them? Thanks for any help!

[WaspHunter]

Not plastic rims per se, but they do make plastic hub caps, which are usually placed over very lightweight steel wheels. Is the item you're talking about removable?

Hub Cap:

Which generally sits on one of these:


Alloy Rim:


Other than that, I can't think of any way for a wheel to make a 'plastic' sound as you say.

[gollums_friend]

Ooops! I thought the word "rims" and "hubcaps" were interchangeable...hehe....I learn something new everyday on here.

To answer you properly.... ok, it is the "hubcap" that I believe to be plastic, not the rim. So....what can I use to safely clean/polish them?

[GTBrad]

I would also assume hub caps, those are a paint when it comes to brake dust buildup

[gollums_friend]

Maybe they'll be a pain later.....I've only had the car 2 and a half months and the hubcaps have been quite easy to clean with car soap and water during my weekly wash so far....

But can anything be used on them to improve/polish this clear coating that they appear to be covered with?

[WaspHunter]

I'd say the best way would be to take the caps off (use a large screw driver so that you get a lot of leverage and don't damage the plastic) and hose them down away from the car.

Then use a product like Hot Wheels All Wheel Cleaner:


or equivalent, spray on, leave for a bit, brush down and hose off. I'm not sure why all the wheel cleaners at your store are chrome only though, surely a few of them would be safe for all wheels.

As for polishing, NXT Tech Wax seems to be the choice for helping keep wheels clean.

[gollums_friend]

Why do they need to be removed first? They can't be sprayed while on the car because...???..to make sure the spray doesn't get on the car's paint?

I didn't know any wax (including NXT) could be applied to a plastic item. It's ok to do that as long as the plastic has a painted surface?

Ps........Yeah, the stores around here are pretty lame. That's why I get most of my car stuff online.

[Murr1525]

I would agree with the others, you dont want to spray a strong wheel cleaner onto some soft painted plastic in my opinion.

You woul be better taking the covers/hubcaps off, and cleaning them with soapy water. I am not sure what kind you have, but if they are clear coated painted plastic, you could clean/polish/wax them as usual, or at least Cleaner/Wax them.

Fo the steel wheel behind, you would be able to pray a cleaner on and clean with a brush, to keep them a dark black.

[RedSoxRacer]

Pontiac actually makes one of their "chrome" rims by mating a plastic coating / shield over aluminum rims to give them the chrome look.

[Michael Stoops]

Originally posted by RedSoxRacer
Pontiac actually makes one of their "chrome" rims by mating a plastic coating / shield over aluminum rims to give them the chrome look.

This is fairly common today on many cars. Often referred to as "chrome clad" they actually apply a chrome like finish to a plastic piece that directly conforms to the shape of the wheel and is bonded to it.

These can be cleaned with the same products you'd use to clean true chrome wheels.

[STG]

Originally posted by gollums_friend
Ooops! I thought the word "rims" and "hubcaps" were interchangeable...hehe....I learn something new everyday on here.

To answer you properly.... ok, it is the "hubcap" that I believe to be plastic, not the rim. So....what can I use to safely clean/polish them?

Actually, the correct term is wheel, not rim.

[WaspHunter]

Good point, the rim is just the outer circumference of the wheel.

While we're talking about some of the less common ways of making the wheel, does anyone have any suggestions for an aluminium wheel with a stainless steel lip? I forget the brand name, but I know someone that's getting one and it might be handy to ask now so I have the right products when its in use.

[fuzzydd]

Just a warning if you're going to go around removing hubcaps, a lot of OEM ones are not pop-on, pop-off, and use fake 'nuts' have to be loosened first.

[gollums_friend]

Since I know nothing about removing hubcaps, they'll be staying on the car and I'll continue to wash them as I have been....and now I know I can add waxing to the regimen too!

As for the black rim behind the hubcap.......I guess that piece is out-of-luck where cleaning is concerned. I can picture myself trying to ge the hubcaps off, only to mess one up, or not being able to get them back on.

[WaspHunter]

Actually I'd suggest that you do find out how to remove your hub caps. When it comes to changing wheels, you don't want the first time to be on a dark, wet night when one of them is flat. And generally you can't get a wheel off with the hub cap still on.

I'd go to the extreme of suggesting you get to the point where you can change a wheel with or without hub caps blind folded, but I think that skill was mainly a result of "I bet you can't do that".