What do dealerships do to alloys?

[Big E 118]

When my car goes in for a service or warranty work (fairly regular as it's a BMW) the dealership always gives it a clean. Even though I usually get it back with water marks etc the alloys always look fantastic.

Closer inspection shows a white powder residue on the tyres (I doubt they are doing lines off them ), what do they use to clean the alloys? I've used a ton of different products but only get the same result with a lot of hard work, I'm sure the dealers don't have a guy spending 2 hours with a toothbrush cleaning my wheels! Could I be making my life easier?

A colleague of mine came in today and has just got her car back form a service and asked me exactly the same question about the powder!

[steveo3002]

strong wheel acid and a steam cleaner usualy

[John.]

I think they use some form of acid solution. Thats what a friend of mine uses when he cleans our cars at his works valet bay and it really does the trick.

[mitch78]

Yeah, acid and hot pressure washer. It certainly gets them clean, but do it too often and you'll end up with no paint on them.

[Valetco]

At worst brick acid!!! If you used it week in week out your alloys would last about 6 months!

[DangerousMike]

brick acid??

[steveo3002]

DangerousMike said:

brick acid??

driveway cleaner

[550Hep]

DangerousMike said:

brick acid??

Yep a chap I know worked in a tyre place a few years ago now and they used to literally use this, bought it from B&Q and watered it down slightly and sprayed it on left it a min or two and pressure washed it off.

[Valetco]

http://www.reagent.co.uk/brick-acid.html?gclid=CN3...
DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!

Bilberry is what you need
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

Edited to be abit more usefull

Edited by Valetco on Wednesday 18th August 10:51

[u13rr1]

Easiest way to keep alloys looking new is to seal them with a few layers of Rimwax, Poorboys or Chemical Guys wheel sealant after they have been thoroughly cleaned/clayed etc. Then all you'll need is a wash with regular shampoo and sponge/mitt to get the brake dust off every few weeks. Regular use of corrosive, acidic wheel cleaner will not only corrode your wheels in a matter of months, it'll also corrode your brake calipers, carriers, hoses etc.

Best avoid the "scratch & shine" dealer washes altogether to be honest...

[Old Gregg]

Valetco said:

Bilberry is what you need
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

I use Bilberry, it's very good.

[mitch78]

u13rr1 said:

Best avoid the "scratch & shine" dealer washes altogether to be honest...

Definitely! I never let them touch my paintwork. The one time they did it "as a favour" after I specifically told them not to wash it, they put a nice set of swirls all over the car. Needless to say they rectified it (or should I say, had it rectified by someone that knew what they were doing).

[stedale]

I can recommend this (as do Practical Classics):

http://www.turtlewaxuk.com/prod.asp?Partcode=FG542...

I spray it on before I soap the car then clean it off, after rinsing, using one of those non-scratch scouring sponges.

http://www.spontex.co.uk/products.aspx?pID=170

Really effective imo

[Dr.Doofenshmirtz]

Not sure what dealers use, but Wonder Wheels is pretty good - cheapest place to get it is Wilkinsons.

[Torquey]

We used to use this at a dealership.
TFR : http://www.eurochem.co.uk/products.php?categories_...

Pretty lethal if it wasn't diluted and I can't imagine your wheels would last long if used often.

This coupled with a pressure washer at 90 degrees c, and a scrubbing brush if needed is enough to move any dirt from anything.

[Big E 118]

steveo3002 said:

strong wheel acid and a steam cleaner usualy

No wonder they look so good, it must strip a thin layer of paint each time!

I use Turtlewax Nano cleaner from Halfords which is good, it's pretty acidic so only use it rarely and then give the wheels a good wax seal which takes forever with 20 spoke wheels!!

With a good wax on there I find I can just get away with shampooing the wheels for a month until the next proper cleaning session!!

Will try some of the products mentioned here though, thanks!

[DangerousMike]

steveo3002 said:

DangerousMike said:

brick acid??

driveway cleaner

its just hydrochloric acid then...

i would use a 50/50 mix of conc sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide http://curlyarrow.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-clea...

http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/labsafetymanual...

Edited by DangerousMike on Wednesday 18th August 12:09

[10JH]

I swear my dealership paints the tyres with black paint.

They look like brand new tyres, but aren't!

[Big E 118]

10JH said:

I swear my dealership paints the tyres with black paint.

They look like brand new tyres, but aren't!

Autoglym tyre dressing, sets the clean car off nicely!

[mitch78]

Distracts you from all the freshly added scratches.

Seriously though, it does make a big difference if you use a decent tyre dressing.