I figured I'd make this thread to put to rest any confusion about claying wheels. Well, my stock wheels have been on all winter and had to endure several weeks between washes. I know, I know it's horrible but it gets cold here in the Northeast so the wheels had accumulated a substantial amount of brake dust over these past few months. Now, we all know that if you stay on top of your cleaning it makes everything much easier on you in the long run. Brake dust for me usually comes off with some normal soap and water on a wash mitt but this brake dust did not want to go anywhere.

So this past weekend I give my car a wash and quick wax. All looks well, except my wheels...especially the two fronts. I finish my cleaning and I'm looking through my assortment of detailing supplies to see what I might need to order soon. I see some clay that I had used in the past that's looking pretty dirty so it won't be seeing any cars anymore. I decide to give it a shot. I was amazed by how much stained and baked in brake dust I was able to remove. I had specks of dust, tar, who knows what stuck on there and was able to get a good deal off. It was almost as if I was scrubbing or polishing with the clay, not gentle like on the cars surface but after several passes it really worked.

To those of you out there with especially dirty wheels that can not be helped by more conventional mean I recommend claying. Use some old clay that's on it's way to the garbage and just go to town. Keep in mind that this was on my stock wheels so I don't know if it's possible to cause damage on polished or clearcoated wheels but it may be worth a try.

yea i do this too, my wheels were negleted a bit from the past owner, and everytime i wash i hit it with the bar.. everytime a lilttle bit more comes off.

clay FTW

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to try that on my LTWs when I pull them out of storage. Last fall before I packed them up, I tried to get everything that I could off by scrubbing and there's a little bit of embedded stuff that's still stuck on.

Use some old clay that's on it's way to the garbage and just go to town.
Very important

My clay which was once yellow turned a whole new shade of brown after using it bo definitely don't use your nice new clay.

If the wheels are currently off the car I imagine it'd be even easier to get great results.

As someone else mentioned above it takes some time. I spent a few minutes on each wheel and removed a good amount but there are by no means perfect. I plan to go over them again when I finally get around to doing my spring detail.

Yup, this is a great tip. I am going to remove my wheels and do them soon. Once you get the wheels perfect, try and seal them with wax to make it even easier to clean next time.

I have to try this. it's just that RKs are a pain to clay with all the spokes.

Yes mine looked great after I clayed them, AIOed, and SGed.

http://home.comcast.net/%7Edrenglishe/Documentary/P1010037.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/%7Edrenglishe/Documentary/P1010031.JPG


:)

Mercer your wheels look great!

Mercer your wheels look great!
+1 AMAZING

Mercer your wheels look great!
x 2

I wish my DSII's looked like that.....I gotta get to work

Yes mine looked great after I clayed them, AIOed, and SGed.

:)

WOW! Those look clean enough to eat off of. Literally.

How long did it take you to clay all 4 rims?

those DSII's look freakin amaizing!! I need to clay the countourz..

but you should put the roundels back in..

So you can use klasse AIO polish and wax on your wheels? I didnt know that. Is that safe on chrome too?

u do it by hand right?

WOW! Those look clean enough to eat off of. Literally.
Thanks for the compliments guys. :)

I had driven about 40 miles after they were cleaned when I took that photo so the Klasse SG repels brake dust some. (I only have pics of the back wheels though). It mainly makes it very easy to clean (no more baked on brake dust) and remove road tar. A hundred little black specs add up even if you cant see them from 5 feet away. I do not doubt that the specialty wheel sealants/waxes are better at shedding brake dust.

When I got the wheels I put them all in the living room and worked on the claying/AIOing/SGing maybe 30 minutes a day until they were all done. The claying easily took the longest due to the disturbing amount of buildup on the wheels and the 20 spoke design. Maybe 1 hour per wheel. The QD just turned brown/black as I clayed them.

SGing took maybe 10 minutes a wheel and Ive been reapplying that about once every 2 months since they see alot of heat and abuse.

Roundels are back in place, worry not :)