I originally posted this on the Wheel/Tire forum but thought you ppl. might find it useful...

I've found a great way to clean and protect allloy rims so I thought I'd share it with you all. Here it is:

After washing your wheels and tires and allowing them to dry, spray some WD-40 onto a soft cloth and wipe down the wheels. As you will see, any of that brownish brake dust residue or tar speckle's (I hate driving thru tar!) will easily come off revealing a beautiful glossy shine. The best part, is that the WD-40 makes the surface of the rims really slick, so they are easier to clean next time, and the brake dust doesn't stick as easily.

This method works best on unpainted wheels, but will also work nicely on the OEM TSX rims as well. Hope this helps somebody...Let me know how it works!!

Slats

 

I came home from work today and gave it a shot...all I can say is WOW! Took all the brake dust and crap right off leaving the rims perfectly clean and with a semi-gloss look to them. Thanks for the tip Slats!

 

No problem, glad it worked. Do you have OEM wheels??

Slats

 

works awesome, also for the exhaust tips!

 

Yes, still have OEM wheels

 

I usually like OEM wheels, but I wish the TSX came with shinier non-painted wheels. The silver stars look really nice depending on the color of the vehicle. Oh, one more use for WD-40 you might be able to use. It's great for taking tar off the paint if you drive over a freshly paved road. Also works good to get bugs off the front. However, its probably best to use it before you wax.

Slats

 

nice tip .....I wonder how many WD-40 cans u have at your house..

 

I work at a detail shop and we use something called "True Blue." It's greasy just like WD-40 and makes the tries black. As that drips from the tire onto the rim I go ahead and wipe off any extra dirt/dust and walla. I woldn't reccomend it for chrome wheels though. We had this acid stuff called "wheel brite." That stuff will shine all crhome and any exhaust tips. It's so strong that if you breathe it in directly, you'll burn your nose and you will lose your sense of smell lol. They stopped making it last month though, because of that reason. This really sucks becuase the acid is what really cut through the thick dirt and tar, and now Mach 5 wheel products have hardly no acid at all .

l8ers
Wess

 

dumb question, but wouldn't dust start to collect on your rims? Yes it make it easier to get rid of the dirt but doesn't it attract dirt/dust as well?

 

Yeah, your right. The true blue and even the WD-40 attracts a lot of dust. That's the thing with it, if you dun wipe off all the excess then the next day or two, your wheels will be covered in dust again. I would suggest using the WD-40 to clean the rims, then wash them to remove any grease that would attract the dust.

l8ers
Wess