Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

[efun]

Which wheel polish product is suitable for BMW E90 wheel ?

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

efun-

I moved your post from the FAQ section to Detailing 101 as that is where questions of this nature belong. Please post future detailing questions in Detailing 101.

Also, I noticed you made a second post of similar nature- please do not double post, thank you!

Mark

[efun]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

efun-

I moved your post from the FAQ section to Detailing 101 as that is where questions of this nature belong. Please post future detailing questions in Detailing 101.

Also, I noticed you made a second post of similar nature- please do not double post, thank you!

Mark

Thanks, Mark

[efun]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

A closer pic of the wheel. It is like a coated aluminum, but I am not sure. Need help to identify. I am finding the right cleaner or polisher for my wheel. Thanks a lot!

[ramphonic]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

Yes looks like painted Aluminum. Treat it the same as the paint on your car

[efun]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

Yes looks like painted Aluminum. Treat it the same as the paint on your car

Thank you, Biff.

So, I can use DC1 to clean, then wax the it by the NXT wax ..

[christian6984]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

Thank you, Biff.

So, I can use DC1 to clean, then wax the it by the NXT wax ..

yeah, you can clay them as well to remove contaminants, but use an old piece that wont be going near the paint.

someone told me BMW wheels are not clear coated and so strong alloy wheel cleaners are not recommended

[efun]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

yeah, you can clay them as well to remove contaminants, but use an old piece that wont be going near the paint.

someone told me BMW wheels are not clear coated and so strong alloy wheel cleaners are not recommended

Hello christian6984,

Thanks for your information. So what cleaner you recommend? just use the car wash product? I have a bucket of APC(all urpose cleaner), not sure if I can use it to clean the wheel.

[Murr1525]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

Diluted APC should be fine, or a separate bucket of car wash soap. The Hot Rims Aluminum Wheel Wash is the mildest dedicated cleaner.

Keep in mind the APC/Aluminum Wheel Wash would remove wax.

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

How dirty do you let them get? How often do you clean them? No matter what you do, BMW does not recommend an acidic or alkaline based cleaner. Meguiar's new Aluminum Wheel Cleaner works great, as well as the wheel cleaner that the parts department at the dealership as well.

Personally though, if you don't let your wheels get to dirty and clean them often, I prefer just regular car wash soap and water with dedicated brushes for the wheels. I have found this method to be the most cost effective and safe.

I do know plenty of people who do use wheel acid to clean them when they get REALLY dirty and neglected and they seem to turn out great. Use this as a last resort only, though it is known to work.

[efun]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

Diluted APC should be fine, or a separate bucket of car wash soap. The Hot Rims Aluminum Wheel Wash is the mildest dedicated cleaner.

Keep in mind the APC/Aluminum Wheel Wash would remove wax.

Got it. It seems that best way is 'WASH - [CLAY] - WAX' just treat it like the paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

The first thing you want to do is VERIFY what the wheel is either coated with or made out of.

Looks like it's coated and not bare metal. Contact BMW and find out for sure what the coating is and then treat the coating, (not the wheel).

If you can't find a person that knows or can give you a definite answer via an official BMW resource such as the dealership where you bought the car then you can join a BMW forum and check with the folks on the BMW forum because there's usually a few Gurus that know every inch of your car.

[christian6984]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

this one has now got a huge following in the UK, very effective and safe too and is also diluatble.

http://www.valetpro.co.uk/Products/Cleaners/Bilberry+Safe+Wheel+Cleaner

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

The first thing you want to do is VERIFY what the wheel is either coated with or made out of.

Looks like it's coated and not bare metal. Contact BMW and find out for sure what the coating is and then treat the coating, (not the wheel).

If you can't find a person that knows or can give you a definite answer via an official BMW resource such as the dealership where you bought the car then you can join a BMW forum and check with the folks on the BMW forum because there's usually a few Gurus that know every inch of your car.

Here here! I work at a BMW dealership

As I said, while those wheels in paticular are coated, BMW recommends against using an acid/alkaline based cleaner on their wheels. I know they dust A LOT, but the best thing you can do is just clean them often. If they get really bad, I have had some luck on using wheel acid on those wheels, but just be very careful, and only do it if you have experience with such things.

Degreasers, APC, regular car wash soap, Aluminum wheel cleaner, and Gold Class all are perfectly safe to use on the wheels, with my recommendation is the car wash soap and frequent maintenance (maybe once a wheel depending on how often you drive). None of these will harm the brake system either, though the rotors do tend to get a little rusty after you wash them, though you can solve that by pressing on the brake slightly, putting the car in 1st gear (after you put the tranny in DS mode), and driving maybe 50 yards.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which product for BMW E90 wheel?

Here here! I work at a BMW dealership

There you go...