Wheel Question on BMW??

[james2538]

I sold my old Ford Explorer (with the help of Meguiars) and bought a "new" 2000 Black BMW 323i. My mother also owns a BMW and have noticed they are notorious for MAJOR brake dust. The car has not arrived yet so all I have are some pictures but, I would like to have all the supplies necessary to detail it when it arrives. I have some questions about the wheels on the vehicle.

Here is a picture of the wheels:


Questions:
1. Most Important: What type of wheels are these?
2. I have heard of people claying and waxing their wheels, should I do this?

-Thanks for the help

[RLdetail]

If I'm correct then the BMW wheels are a cast aluminum and depending on the model they are either painted or natural finish but those look to be painted to me. Could be wrong though!!

Best bet would be to wait until it's delivered to find out for sure.

I'm fairly new around here too but I have seen where people clay the wheels, then use a polish on them to shine them up, and then seal them with the #21 or #20 sealant for easier maint. down the road.

Nice buy too!!!!
I would like to get me a BMW but kids and wife kinda kill that!!

[james2538]

Thanks for the response. So judging by that I am guessing I will buy the Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner. I wil also clay my wheels.

Reading the FAQ I saw this:
Applying a protective coating of either a Meguiar’s NXT All Metal Polysh, or Meguiar’s All Metal Polish (for uncoated, polished wheels), or any Meguiar’s premium wax or paint protectant (for coated, or factory painted wheels) to insure cleaning your wheels is fast and easy.

So I guess this means I shouldn't use any metal polish on them and after claying go straight to waxing them?

Here is a pictue of the whole car:


It was 14K for a Certified 70K mile.

-Thanks

[james2538]

Just read on a website somplace that they are cast alloy wheels. I really have no idea what that means. I'm guessin what I mean is what is better for them Gold Class Instant Wheel Cleaner, Hot Rims/Cool Care All Wheel Cleaner, Gold Class All Wheel cleaner, #36 Wheel Cleaner?

Still don't know about the polish question above...

-Thanks!

[gbackus]

Those particular wheels are painted. Cast alloy just means they are cast out of aluminium, vs. being steel, or forged steel/aluminum. I don't BMW offers an uncoated wheel as even the highly polished wheels I've cleaned have been clearcoated. But I have seen and cleaned that style of wheel in person, and they are painted. My recomendation would be to use plain old car wash and water and then wax/seal them with your wax/sealant of choice.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by james2538
Just read on a website someplace that they are cast alloy wheels. I really have no idea what that means. I'm guessing what I mean is what is better for them Gold Class Instant Wheel Cleaner, Hot Rims/Cool Care All Wheel Cleaner, Gold Class All Wheel cleaner, #36 Wheel Cleaner?

Still don't know about the polish question above...

-Thanks!

When working on wheels, you alway treat the surface whether that's the material the wheel is made out of or coated with.

In your case, the wheels are coated with a two part paint system, the first part being the color coat and the second part being a clear coat somewhat like a basecoat/clearcoat car finish. In essence, you're working with clear paint, as such treat it like you would paint, that is you can,

Wash
Clay - If needed
Paint Cleaner - If needed
Polish (with a paint polish if needed)
Wax - with a car wax

You can also use our NXT Generation All Metal Polysh as it's non-abrasive and safe for use on clear coated rims.

As for a safe wheel cleaner, whenever you, or anyone reading this is unsure, please feel encouraged to call our Customer Care Hotline and our friendly Meguiar's Experts will be happy to discuss with you your wheels and help you to science out which wheel cleaner will work best for our wheels. You can reach them by calling 1-800-347-5700.

Below are our wheel cleaners in both our Consumer Line and our Professional Line. For your wheels, you could safely use the Hot Rims, or Gold Class All Wheel Cleaner, or the M36 Wheel Cleaner. The Instant Wheel Cleaner is safe for factory clear coated wheels, but it's a fairly strong wheel cleaner and it doesn't look like you need to get that aggressive with your wheels. Also consider getting a good quality wheel brush to help you agitate the wheel cleaner, such as our Versa-Angle Wheel Face Brush


Hot Rims/Cool Care All Wheel Cleaner
Gold Class Instant Wheel Cleaner
Gold Class All Wheel Cleaner (No picture available yet)
#36 Hi-Tech Wheel Cleaner



If your wheels are clean to start with, then you can get away with soap and water using a good brush or car wash mitt, the idea being is once you get them clean, then get either some wax on them or apply some NXT All Metal Polysh to them to make it more difficult for brake dust and road grime to stick to the wheel and also make removing this stuff faster and easier. Wheel cleaners are usually strong enough to remove wax so after you get your wheels cleaned, polished and waxed, try to wash them after this using a car wash soap formulated for paint as to reduce the potential for removing the protective wax.

[james2538]

Thanks for all your responses! Can't wait to detail it when it arrives.