After 6 months of use I decided to give the wheels a good seeing to :eek:

Took each wheel off and cleaned inside and out with a dilute mix of Wonder Wheels but couldn't shift the baked on bits so I had the bright idea of attacking them with the claybar (after reading about it on here) and some Megs wheel QD and all of the crud was shifted with very little effort

Followed this with a little AG ultra deep shine, Wonder Tyres spray dressing and then 2 coats of Poorboys alloy wheel wax.

Oh, and I also did the rest of the car while I was there; 2 bucket wash, claying where required, AG polish, 2 coats of Dodojuice Blue velvet and Aquapel on the rear windows.

Not bad seeing as I was on double bubble at the time

EDIT: a little tip for those who haven't tried claying the wheels:

I wouldn't use the same smallish piece of clay on any more than 2 wheels max before binning it. I used the same piece on all 4 wheels and the scratches were much more obvious on the 3rd and 4th wheel (photographed). The contaminant obviously acted as an abrasive and scratched the lacquer despite the QD lube and turning the clay regularly. The polish sorted 90% of the scratches so not a major disaster.

Lesson learned

You'll note the cleverly positioned hose pipe to prevent the 'Kwik-Fit effect'

AFTER claying but BEFORE polishing which took care of most scratches

The finished result

Good info.

Good job you did there mate

Going to do the same to mine very soon

Kwik-Fit effect

Thank you kind folks

Yes the Kwik-Fit effect, 3 times over recent years where an alloy wheel has been dropped spoke side down but only by said fast fit chain

Should have posted a 'before' pic of a grubby alloy face but forgot :thumbdwn:

Nice job!

Cracking results there...............clayed my customer's wheels at the weekend as well..........best thing for getting that tar off..............

Good tip and info

Always nice to receive some good feedback

SWMBO wants her bloody 18" Zeniths done like that now as well

good tip that, cheaper thanmy aproach which was sell my old wheels and buy a refurbed set! lol

SWMBO wants her bloody 18" Zeniths done like that now as well

.....and when you've finished hers you got mine to do so get a bloody move on!

.....and when you've finished hers you got mine to do so get a bloody move on!

Yes sir!

I am warming my clay as we speak

Great post, pics and info! Thanks

Cool

:thumbup: Nice one...... My Sonus clay bars arrived the other day and it says you can use them on wheels but was gonna ask on here to see if anyone had tried it.

You've saved me the trouble now.

Cheers

Dave.

Good work!! Trouble is everytime someone comes up with a new tip i get the impulse to do it, so guess the alloys will be off this weekend!!

Just one thing.

Which end of the crowbar do you use ?

:sofahide:

show me a piccy of this clay stuff. Whats it called?? who sells it???

show me a piccy of this clay stuff. Whats it called?? who sells it???

Here's a good place to start

meguiars.com: FAQ -

this what i need???

The bottom one will do for starters

I actually used this stuff: Detailed Obsession

Most of the detailing clays out there will do the trick, as with most things in life, lubrication is the key I used some Meguiars quick wheel detailer as the lube as it was all I had at the time but it had more than enough lubricity for the job. Just remember not to let the clay get too mucky :eek: - VERY important! You only need a small piece for each wheel and make sure it's pliable before using, manipulate it for a few minutes and it will warm up nicely :P. Once this is done just follow any generic claying instructions

If you have reasonably grubby wheels I would use one piece per wheel.

Just one thing.

Which end of the crowbar do you use ?

:sofahide:

Believe it or not, a quick slap on the tyre and the wheel came off by itself

Yes - I was shocked too

I actually used this stuff: Detailed Obsession

Just received some of that myself

Gonna have a go at the weekend

Glyn from Elite Detailer had my wheels off today and used some clay to get some stubborn stuff off.

What a difference getting the wheels off! They are immaculate now and with two coats of Jetseal, ready to go! He also cleaned the calipers and laquered them

Good info for people that

I've used small bits of clay in the past to get into the corners of spokes to lift off ground in brake dust. As you say, works well

I tend to use bars that are no longer good enough for bodywork. But take your point about potential scratching.

Cheers,

Steve