Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

[Detailing by M]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

like I said, acid wash these.
polish with a Dyna Cone, just go get one.
M105 and any metal/chrome polish will do. I use NXT and it works great.

[gmitch23]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

like I said, acid wash these.
polish with a Dyna Cone, just go get one.
M105 and any metal/chrome polish will do. I use NXT and it works great.

What do you mean by acid wash? All Wheel Cleaner? Sorry I'm not getting it, i know you've been helping me for a while. Once done, I should use NXT on both wheels?

[Detailing by M]

Hot Rims is an acid.
Using acid will clean the hell out if your rims.
Start there, cleanning is the most important part.
Don't over think this.
It's very simple. Clean, polish, protect.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

Hot Rims is an acid.
Using acid will clean the hell out if your rims.
Start there, cleanning is the most important part.
Don't over think this.
It's very simple. Clean, polish, protect.

Actually, this is something we want people to think about very carefully, because this is the one place where when people make the wrong choice it can cost them dearly.

So merely stating that "Hot Rims is an acid" and that "Using acid will clean the hell out of your rims" can and will get people into serious trouble - and the statements aren't entirely accurate, either. We make three different wheel cleaners under the Hot Rims title - Chrome Wheel Cleaner, All Wheel & Tire Cleaner, and Aluminum Wheel Cleaner. Chrome Wheel cleaner is quite acidic, having a pH right around 3.0. All Wheel & Tire Cleaner is actually on the other end of the spectrum and is a high alkaline product, with a pH of 13.5. Aluminum Wheel Cleaner has a pH of 7.0 and is therefore considered neutral - neither acid nor alkaline. As such, Aluminum Wheel Cleaner is perfectly safe to use on even bare, highly polished billet aluminum wheels. The other two should only be used on surfaces they are intended to be used on, namely true full chrome for Chrome Wheel Cleaner, and all factory coated wheels as well as full clear coated aftermarket wheels for the All Wheel & Tire Cleaner. The bottles clearly state that neither of these two products should be used on uncoated, powdercoated or anodized finishes and to be cautious of brake components that might be similarly finished. Using either of these on bare aluminum will stain the surface white in very little time. Below is an image of a polished billet wheel after a single application of Hot Rims Chrome Wheel Cleaner:


It's because of all this that we made the recommendations we made in our post above, and we commend the OP for coming here and asking for advice prior to just diving in. Our Call Center gets enough calls from people choosing the wrong product for the wheels they have.

For those of you using our Detailer Line you're probably familiar with D140 Wheel Brightener, which is also an acid cleaner but at proper dilution ratios it's still less acidic than Hot Rims Chrome Wheel Cleaner. D140 will have a pH between 4.5 and 5.5 depending on dilution ratio. While still not suitable for bare, high polished aluminum wheels, it's perfectly safe when used as directed on chrome, painted, factory OEM and many clear coated aftermarket wheels. While the recommended dilution ratio for Wheel Brightener is 4:1, we have seen it be highly effective even when diluted at 8:1 or 10:1.

This is one area of detailing where you'd better be darn sure what you're dealing with before just diving into the deep end.

[Phimp27]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

I just recently found out I have alloyed refinished rims with a clear coat. I've been using the all wheel cleaner on them but before I found out what kind of rims they were I used the all metal polish with dynacone. They come came out black. Does that mean the clear coat came off? Or should I just use UC or 101 to polish them up? Thanks for the input guys. I just want to make them look decent. It's an old car that wasn't taken care of before I found this site

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

How old is it? Any chance of pics of the wheels?

It is possible any clear coat may have been gone if they were in bad shape, or that much dirt to remove.

If you apply some UC by hand now, and the applicator still turns a soot black... then it wouldnt seem like any clear coat is there.

[Phimp27]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

It's a 99 explorer. I can post pics tomorrow. Last week I really cleaned the front 2 rims. The barrels were so black I honestly thought that was the color they were because it was only the part of the rim people don't see. I have some pics of the before and after but it was only the backside. I'll post pics of the face tomorrow along with the other pics of the barrel. Thanks for all the advice Murr.

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

Well, with that much dirt, may have seemed like black coming off.

Something like the TRIX could be handy to wash them off with as well.

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

Well, with that much dirt, may have seemed like black coming off.

Something like the TRIX could be handy to wash them off with as well.

[Bostonstrong]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

Personally i think you folks are a little much when it comes to cleaning your wheels, haven't you ever heard of -

Staying ahead of the brake dust wipe daily
when you wash the car use a bucket strictly for wheels with lots of soap / water/sponge
And course UQW on the wheels when they're dry.

PS: then you wouldn't need all the extras - good ole elbow grease never killed anyone,the problem is society wants the product to do the work instead of you doing the work and the product being the tool.

I take damn good care of my car but this post is a little much

JUST SAYING !

[Phimp27]

Re: Need help choosing the correct wheel polish.

I have Trix on order from AG so once I get that I'm gonna scrub my rims to see if that helps. Thanks for the help Murr