Wheel cleaning and protection

[Taz]

I will be starting to buy cleaning products this month and would like some advice as to what to use for my 10 spoke diamond cuts (and Mary says "on the Skoda as well".
Bilt Hamber or Bilberry for cleaning?
Mint wheels or ArmorAll SHIELD 17500EN Polishing Wax for protection.
If there is a sealant or any other wax which you think is preferable, then please say so. But as I've never used sealant either on paintwork or wheels before I am wondering if the wax might not give a bit more physical cushioning. Especially after reading Brians post about his kerbed titanium wheel!

Thanks

[Bertie]

With wheel cleaners, its really down to personal preference, as honestly speaking they all really do the same job. I just use AF Imperial but heavily diluted, as I keep AF Mint Rims on my wheels so they dont need anything harsh to clean them.

A sealant or wax wont provide any protection what so ever against curbing, scratching or stone chips.

The other route you can go down is to get something like Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour, and have it applied professionally or do it yourself.

However - doing it yourself is a big job as the wheels have to be spotlessly clean and should really be removed from the car. Having it done professionally you're probably looking at £75-£100 - but this will last 2-3 years depending on how often you drive your car. You will also save on products, as you wont need a dedicated wheel cleaner, just some warm shampoo solution and a few brushes

Bertie

[Brian1612]

I can vouch for Bilberry wheel cleanerTaz, a 1L bottle at around £12 can be diluted up to 1:10 ratio giving you ten litres of good, solid wheel cleaning that doesn't ruin any protection on the wheels either, now my first choice for wheel cleaning.

I will point out Armour All Shield is not a wheel specific sealant, it is for paintwork although they do offer a spray can wheel sealant. Personally having purchased 2 cans of the stuff, I would not recommend it for these reasons, although with the wheels you have at least it would be easy to apply  .

It can be pricey as the spray doesn't go very far, lucky if one can covers 8 wheels as it has to be applied very liberally and also It isn't the most durable at 3-4 weeks. I love the Armour all shield wax but there wheel sealant isn't nearly as good.

I myself have looked at a few wheel sealants after reading reviews on them, I think no matter what if you are after good protection it will have to be a form of hand applying wheel sealant you will want which is likely to be quite time consuming for you to apply. Anyway, I have Carbon Collective Platinum Wheels, Auto Finesse Mint Rims, Poor Boy Wheel Sealant and Planet Polish Seal/Shine as my choices to try, I think Carbon Collective will be the first as it is apparently brilliant and lasts upto 2 years!  so that would be my suggestion for you 

On the wheels I was fortunate to get it fixed so easily and free of charge, a big slice of luck on that part! But no wheel sealant is going to help with kerbing, just don't park close to them like me then forget and in a rush full lock down to the left too early! 

[Midlife Crisis]

I have sealed my wheels with C5, it was really easy to apply, but I did spend close to two hours cleaning the wheels first. I used Bilbery wheel cleaner, then just scrubbed with microfibres cloths until all the break dust particles disappeared.
I have only had the car for 5 weeks and I have cleaned it every other week, so the wheels were fairly clean to begin with, but I was still amazed how much more dirt came off when I used the panel wipe fluid. The C5 went on really easily took about 15 minutes to do all 4 wheels including wipe off.

Only time will tell if the C5 really does work.

[Salvos_white_abarth]

I can vouch for billberry wheel cleaner. About a tenner to £12 (I think) and you can dilute it so it lasts forever and ever so its also very economical.Also its ph neutral so wont eat into your wheels.

I used to use autoglym "custom wheels"(that's the ph neutral safe one) that was also very good but it got pricey as you cant dilute it, so pricey in the long run.

Grab yourself a 3inch wheel valet pro wheel brush from www.cleanyourcar.co.uk. Makes cleaning your wheels easier.

I protect my wheels with armoral wheel shield, spray on and walk away and doesn't need buffing off and doesn't leave any splatter if you drive off. Small can though but readily available from Halfords for around 7.99.

I did use poorboys whel sealant, great beading but a pain to apply and buff off.I missed a bit once and I hadpink splatter all over the side of my car..oh dear lol, so afterthat I wanted a spray on one.

[Brian1612]

Having used the Armour all wheel sealant and now using AF Mint Rims, I would certainly suggest you go for the Mint rims over the Armour all, certainly offers stronger, more durable protection with a better finish and although it's £20 per pot, I imagine the pot will last 2+ years easily being applied every 2-3 months!

I did find the Mint Rims to take a decent amount of time to apply though, around 5-10 mins per wheel (18" SS wheels) to apply the wax. Would do 2 wheels with wax, buff the 1st, apply the 3rd, buff the 2nd, apply the 4th and then buff the 3rd and 4th wheels.

Some do 2 coats but I find 1 sufficient for my car cleaning routine, will apply it every 2 months and if your wanting to clean the wheels spotlessly before application, get an iron out remover, BH Korrosol is my choice for when a shampoo/wheel cleaning solution with a brush just isn't enough to remove the embedded stuff