Need Some Direction

[r1racer]

It's been a while since I really gave a sh!t about washing my cars but I recently bought a Gray GT350 and need some suggestions on some good products to use. Biggest issue is the brake dust that gets all over the wheels and lower panels. I don't want to have to wash it after every drive so I am thinking some sort of waterless. Just looking for an overall decent setup for wash, wax and maintenance. Also a good tire dressing (non glossy and dark) that lasts. Budget is 150-200.

I have a DA polisher, pads, hand pump and that's about it.

[DogRescuer]

I'll comment on the wheels and let those with MUCH more experience talk about the rest. For the first wheel cleaning id use Megs Wheel Brightener and some assorted brushes and rinse until the cows come home. Never allowing the wheels to ever get that bad again. For the future wheel cleaning you can use what's ever leftover from cleaning the body, make sure WHAT EVER touches the wheels never touches the paint. Similar for the tires, first real cleaning Megs Super Degreaser at 4:1 which you can dilute at 10:1 for interiors. Scrub rinse twice , dry wheel. When tires are dry dress them, as long as tires don't get nasty follow instructions for future wheel maintenance. Just my two cents.
Steve

[howardm4]

For tire dressing, look into OptiBond Tire Gel or GTechniq T1

[DogRescuer]

For tire dressing, look into OptiBond Tire Gel or GTechniq T1

That's my choice, but that's just me.Opti I mean.

[r1racer]

How about a good brake dust repellant? Maybe Armor All 78482?

[DogRescuer]

Honestly I never realized that brake dust gets on body panels.

[r1racer]

Honestly I never realized that brake dust gets on body panels.

For the wheel.

[howardm4]

I've used Armor All 17889 Outlast Brake Dust Repellent and also GTechniq C5 wheel armour. Much better results/longevity w/ the C5.

I may also try OptiSeal or Hydro2 on the wheels. The nice thing is you test 4 different products at once :)

IMO, the wheels need to be super clean ala IronX, wash, IPA sequence first in order to get most any of this stuff to work.

[Goonie75]

Morning. Other folks may have other options but maybe a wheel sealant. Like a silica spray maybe or https://www.autogeek.net/wheelwax.html

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[Paul A.]

I agree with Steve's (DogRescuer) recommendations on both products Megs Wheel Brightener for wheels and Super Degreaser for tires and wheel wells. I have had good success with maintaining mine over time with both of those products. Plus they are cost easy.

I also hit my wheels with Iron X and more frequently than my paint, i.e about every 4th wash. Brake dust seems to introduce metallic bits and pieces on the wheels and to a certain extent onto the lower paint panels onto what I call a "throw area".

Another process I maintain now is a decent wheel and tire sidewall coating. They last much longer and provide easier maintenance when cleaning. I have used Wheel Wax as Goonie75 suggested and it's also good. If you go that route apply it THIN THIN THIN and do 2 layers. I learned from my first use of it to apply it thin as I didn't and it dries like freakin' concrete and is tougher to buff off. Like I said, it does work well but I now use McKee's 37 wheel coating and like it better.

Finally, I also switched out my brake pads to lower dusting pads. They really help to keep the wheels cleaner in between washings. I realize you said "new GT350" so you probably want to keep the OEM pads on until they thin out a bit but it might be something to consider when it's time for replacements.

Congrats on the new ride and I wish you the best of luck with it!

[Eldorado2k]

How about a good brake dust repellant? Maybe Armor All 78482?

IME it does work.. The only thing is you can’t touch the wheels at all during the time it’s on there working or you’ll take it off. No touching also includes geting them wet. But if you can keep from touching them and keep them dry, the stuff works pretty darn impressive. I’ve had it last 5 weeks. Works just as good if not better for exhaust tips.

Another option, as has been recommended is Megs Wheel Brightener. Diluted 4:1 [4 parts water/1 part concentrate] It doesn’t matter how much brake dust that car can produce, as long as you maintain a scheduled cleaning at least once a week, it’ll be able to get them completely clean by simply spraying on and hosing off without having to scrub them.

The only time you’ll have to really get in there and scrub them clean is the 1st time you do it. From there on out, maintenance is easy with Wheel Brightener just as long as you don’t allow the brake dust to cake on for an absurd amount of time [over a month] But 7 days is nothing.

[r1racer]

So this is what I am going with for wheels.

Meg Wheel Brightener/Super Degreaser
Wheel wax
Opti-Bond Gel

Now what about the rest...from a foam gun to wash, polish, detailer, wax etc. There's so many products I don't have a clue what to use. For my black A6 I have some old DP products and blackfire wax that I never use. Not sure if the color makes a difference for the blackfire wax.

[Eldorado2k]

Skip the foam gun.

[Eldorado2k]

Also, you might be better off trying a spray silica coating such as Mckee’s Hydro Blue instead of the Wheel Wax. Main reason is because you’ll have to re apply the Wheel Wax after each time you use the Wheel Brightener, and who really wants to get down there and do all that when you could make it easy and simply use a spray on hose off coating protection instead.

I’ve never used Hydro Blue, but people say it works... Well they say it “beads” Does that translate to anything that actually matters? I can’t say for sure because I’ve never tried it, but it’s worth a shot.

[DETAILROOKIE]

I second the Mckees Hydro Blue. It might not be as good as a wheel coating, but my wheels stay cleaner longer and clean a little bit easier when I spray them. Ive also used collinite 845 on my wheels and it worked well.

As far as cleaning, I use the Sonax wheel cleaner and it does a good job, it is safe for all wheels, but it is a lot more expensive than Wheel Brightener though.

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