dodgerblue

Just wondering what everyone uses to clean their rims and tires. I'm new to doing this so looking for any good tips/advice on how to do it properly. I've owned my new 05 TL exactly one month today, so I figured it's time to clean the good 'ol rims/tires.

I picked up a bottle of Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner for the rims, and Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance High Gloss tire protectant gel for the tires. Anyone have any good experiences with these products? If there are better products that I should know about, please let me know (and where to get them)!

Thanks!

Motoracer

I've been pleased with the wheel cleaner available from Griot's Garage.

cvajs

i found that Simple Green takes out about 95% of the dirt and brake dust, then the other 5% is done via a soft clean cloth.

qwalls

TLSeven

you won't believe it untill you try it , but - windex works just as good as any wheel cleaner out there... and it's cheap.

04TLMan

I use windex also when I just want to touch up the wheels. There are times in between washing, when the wheels are black. So (espicially in the winter), I will spray the wheels and wipe them down. Works great.

Question is, "Is the windex good for the wheels??" I hope so.

svtmike

I just wash my wheels with car soap and water with the rest of the car - they're a nice open design so I can get my hands inside to clean and don't need to worry about any side effects from the wheel cleaner solvents.

When I dress the tires, which is infrequently, I use Meguiar's Endurance (Low Gloss).

Mike

jkeith72

Windex isnt a bad idea, however, I would worry about it stripping the wax (if any was ever applied) from the clearcoat finish on the wheel. I agree with the idea of using soap and water....as mentioned above, were lucky its an open design which makes for easy cleaning.

04TLMan

The windex idea was when I can not wash the car. The brake dust builds up fast, and can not always wash the car in the winter. I am looking for a simple spray on that I can touch up the wheels in the garage in the winter. Windex works, but not sure about the wax removal. Any other simple spray on/ wipe off ideas?? I will have to check the Griot's Garage that was mentioned above.

gregory28_RENAMED

Zymol

TLkid87

use soapy water and a rag on my TL.

on my camry w/ chrome wheels i use windex.

Jput

works great also try using old tooth brushes for the hard to reach spots as well as q-tips

GeoffS

Castol Super Clean works wonders on the wheels when they're very dirty, spray, wait 5 minutes, rinse, wipe down with a cloth, rinse again. No scrubbing. On my old C230K (which was 100x worse than the TL in regards to brake dust) it was the only thing that would get it clean.

I've been using Jet-Wet on my tires for a few years now and so far I haven't found anything that keeps the tires black for longer. Pep-boys used to carry it, now I can only find it at Auto-Zone.

SMF-TLS

Castrol super clean when really dirty.

Soap and water when just slightly dirty.

JMan

I use "Invisible Glass". Works great!

SpecialFX

Fantastic takes just about anything off. Also this stuff, I think it's called "Boom" or something. I got it at Home depot. It's intended for cleaning shower doors and tile work. It does a good job.

lakeman

Simple Green is great especially on red clay we run into in Georgia and SC. Also I wax my wheels every time I wax the car. Acutally take them off and detail them and wax them. Makes it much easier to clean at wash time.

Lakeman

captain

P21S. Internet or 1-800 only

large_x7

I had always heard that Simple Green can corrode aluminum, so I just stopped using it a while ago. I use the Eagle1 Wheel Cleaner. It works pretty well, and is readily available at hardware stores.