I have the unfortunate combination of a lazy owner and 17" White S-Lites on my new MINI. Though I'm not planning to wax the whole car (at least not right away), I would like to get some wax on the wheels to make them easier to wipe down. The brake dust is out of control, but I don't have the skills to swap out the pads for EBC.

I've read through many of the posts here, and couldn't really find a simple answer (probably because there isn't one). But I'll ask anyway...

If you were going to buy one cleaning product and one type of wax, just for the purpose of waxing the white wheels, what would you get? How long would you estimate for cleaning, waxing and drying?

Thanks,
Quinn

 

Use Simple Green to clean the wheels. Zaino for the polish -- lasts longer. You will pull the wheels off to do the job right?

 

No problem on the Simple Green. I will track it down.

Just Zaino doesn't seem to be specific enough for my level of detail savvy. Z2? Z3? z???

Thanks.

-Quinn

P.S.--I don't think I have the equipment to safely take the wheels off. I will have to settle for what I can reach.

 

Z2 or Z5 can be interchangeable. No need for the ZFX unless you want really quick drying time on the polish.

 

I use a coffe mug cleaning brush on my white wheels. It HAD a scrubby bit on the end that I cut off so it is all soft. For wheel cleaner I use Car Brite Mag Wheel NA NA is htier NON ACID Im sure others on here will have something ot say about it I am NO DETAILER and can not vouch for the brand name but so far it seems to be working great! :smile: Still the biggest help in my white wheel washing has been the coffe mug sponge brush!!

 

I've used the Griot's wheel cleaner which eliminates all the brake dust very well with little work. I've applied two coats of Zymol wax to the wheels and they seem to be keeping very clean and in good shape. When brake dust does build up, it comes off very easy with a cotton towel and a quick wipe down.

Bryan

 

For white wheels, at some point you might want to consider the EBC front brake pads- the rears are not yet in stock at various vendors. Otherwise it will be a lot of work -ongoing.

In the meantime a double waxing is good. I clean my wheels with just wiping with a dry cotton towel- doesn't take long but the cloth gets very dirty and so does my hand. I would say that waxing could take less than 30 minutes and needs to be redone every two to three weeks depending on how often you drive and clean the wheels. If you can shoot them down with water then that can also work. If you clean and wax the back section of the S-lite rim it will be easier to keep this area clean with the help of the water. Otherwise it is hard to reach. In order to reach this area to apply the wax you have to take the wheels off the car.

Your wheels will look really good if you keep them clean

 

Greetings,

At the suggestion of some of the good folks here at MCO I started waxing my wheels and the brake dust situation has improved considerably. First, I don't get as much build up as quickly. Secondly, the wheels clean up a lot quicker when wash time comes around. New pads will definitely be in my near future!

Best Regards,
Ron

BTW: Meguairs Gold Wax, but any of the above will do a great job !!

 

Gotta say, if you can take off the wheels, you can change the brake pads.
Basic procedure:
1. Jack up car
2. Take off wheels
3. Remove spring from caliper (It just pulls off)
4. Remove little rubber caps (2) on back of caliper
5. Take out 2 bolts
6. Pull caliper off
7. The first pad comes right off, the second one is clipped in and just pulls out
Now reverse that. The rear calipers require you to turn and push this disc. I did it with a pair of needlenose pliers and you just turn and push until it fits back on.

Tools required: 7mm allen wrench, 17mm socket for the wheels, needlenose pliers, jack stands, jack

For good pictures check out the HOWTOs at the top of the performance forum. It goes over installing new pads and rotors but if you are just looking to reduce brake dust you just need the parts on changing the pads. The good thing is, you don't need to bleed the brakes or anything. It's easy to do and while you have your wheels off they are really easy to wax. It's a really good time to get the inside of the wheels that is hard to get with the wheels on.

As stated above there is no EBC greenstuff for the rears so you may have to get different pads for the rear which isn't really a bad thing because the rears aren't nearly as bad with brake buildup and just waxing your rear wheels will help. For the front I think definately wax and EBC greenstuff would be a good idea.