the predator

what is everyone using to clean their FIKSE wheels with? my wheels are FM5 with black anodized centers, (which are perfect and have no stains), with high polished centers, (which is where the stains and water spots are tough to remove). i do keep a good coat of wax/polish on the wheels for increased appearance and easier maintenance. due to rain and having to park on a gravel dirt lot for school () creates some really tough stains and water spots that are extremely hard to remove. iv tried some various products and im not getting the results id would like to achieve. any help would be greatly appreciate!



here are a few pics before i had any problems with the school parking lot.

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Fikse recommends DILUTED Simple Green, on a COOL wheel.

The polished hoops are damned sensitive to water . . . But I given them a good clean and quick rub down with Mothers Billet and they are typically good to go!

I ahve yet to find anything to "put" on the wheel to reduce the marking . . . been toying with trying Zoop Seal . . .

the predator

thank you for the info! diluted simple green? seems harsh but i guess well diluted should be alright. i havnt tried mothers billet yet, that will be the next step.

water is ridiculous hard to keep off and clean off on these damn things but they do look phenomenal when cleaned and polished right!

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Yep. Keeping a polished wheel looking top notch is almost harder than keeping black paint on a entire car looking good.

In all honestly, I have never used Simple Green (DILUTED) on my wheels. I just use planting of car wash soap. The polish takes the stains off.

Be thankful you only have the hoops to polish!

the predator

thats very true. i would have to literally spend all day on them!

Formula-95

if you don't mind me asking, what did you spend on those?

SIC LSX

iTrader: (10)

i wouldnt use any strong cleaners on alu polished wheels It will dull them out! Soap and water then get some alu polish and put some elbow grease in it

ramairjohn2000

iTrader: (3)

i have hp evos hyper lites and I will tell you what my wheels are easy to clean but i wash them all the time with a wash and wax like kit carnuba wash and wax and they clean easy wipe off easy and never stain..................i ve never waxed them or anything......

the predator

sent you a pm.

the predator

i got a few new products, including the mothers billet and tropi-care, im going to try out this weekend. ill let everyone know which works the best.

DopdBrd

iTrader: (25)

The mothers billet polish works great. I just used it on my car last weekend and it got all the water spots and "stains" out of it. I have used nothing but Zaino car wash on the wheels. I wouldn't use Simple green..don't like the stuff.

1bdbrd

iTrader: (12)

This is one thing I am not looking forward to about my TrueForged wheels as the entire wheel is polished. Let me know how the tropicare stuff works. I use Zaino on the rest of the car and haven't checked what they offer for wheel cleaning but am curious about the TC.

'Trust'

iTrader: (24)

I had similar issues, called Fikse and they said I could use full strength simple green, worked okay. My suggestion, clay bar the lip, that should get any water spots off. If that doesn't work, they can be polished out via polish/pad on a drill.

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

Mother's Billet works great on the hoops, but make sure you don't get it on those anodized centers. I used to put blue painters tape around the edge of the centers, then hit them with Mother's Billet and a small Powerball. When I had all the excess off, I'd coat the whole thing (centers and all) in a good coat of wax/sealant (that Tropi-Care TC-3 ought to do the trick) and call it done. The wax will help ensure you don't have to re-polish them with every wash.

FYI, DopdBrd (post 11 in this thread) now owns my old wheels.

Are you one of the guys I met at Otto's last weekend?


-Mike

the predator

good idea! i will clay bar them first (after i wash of course) before i try to clean/polish/wax. thanks alot for the ideas and also thanks to everyone else as well for the help! i will definately let everyone know what works out the best for me.

now i just need some decent weather!

the predator

the tape does definately help with the excess getting on the anodized centers.

yeah we did meet last weekend. me and a friend of mine were checking out your car for sale. i let my brother know who is looking for a camaro and he will be looking at it real soon on here (LS1Tech). he is out of town at the moment. thanks for starting and letting us check out your ride!

the predator

yeah, i dont plan on using simple green.

all i use is tropi-care car wash, plus alot of there products.

1BADBLACKBIRD

iTrader: (2)

I just used some Never Dull on the hoops and it took all stains out, then went over with mothers.

the predator

i finally got a chance to work on the wheels again and the mothers billet worked the best hands down! it took about three applications per wheel but they are good as new now. after the billet was applied i used some nice polish and wax for durability and shine. thanks for all the suggestions!

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

Do the Fiske not have any sort of coating on them? I always wondered because they reflect light in kinda like a rainbow color, hope that makes since, so because of that I assumed it was NOT raw metal, never seen raw metal do that.

Looks like ill try some mothers billet, but can anyone say for absolutely sure if there is any coating or not?