Caring for polished rims.

[E30Adam]

I'd like to keep my new BBS split rims in perfect condition and wondered what the best way of looking after them was. SHould I only use them in the dry as it's bare polished metal? What products should I use to keep the shine?

I've heard about getting them laquered but if it gets a small chip can leak water inside and ruin them.

[dubsportgti]

hi there m8 i use on my bbs rs i use meguiars metal polish wich is very good hers a pic of my wheels o and what everu do dont get them laguered http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p15/ ... _12_sb.jpg

[bootyman]

Yeah the Maguires metal polish is fantastic, but so is (fcuk i cant remember the name, but Jon pointed me in that direction)

Anyway, if you polish once a week it builds up a little protection, but more or less everytime you drive the car, just carry some water in one of them spray bottle in your boot, and give the wheels wheels a quick light spray spray when you get home and wipe them with some tissue and they will look spanking. A pain, but well worth it if you wanna keep that shine

[nav786]

JUST DONT LAQUER THEM!!!!! ive got mine on my merc done and fooking regret it. 4mnths in and a stone chip has water gone into it.

[E30Adam]

Cheers lads, I've had to return my wheels because after a week on the car they look like this (see below). I tried the meguiars metal polish on them but it didn't do any good. Do you think this might be something to do with the finish or because I didn't clean them for a couple of days. They only had rain water on them. The wheels were leaking air between the joins of the pieces and the bolts rusted so I've had to send them back.

[c76jon]

this type of finsh on wheels simply is not practical on wet roads period.

if these wheels are used only on dry roads then you must and i mean must wipe the rim down after every time you drive it and pull up

if you dont then the hot brake dust alone will corrode the polished metal

they are a feckin nightmare to keep mint even if only used in dry weather.if you dont wipe them down just once you will pay the price

my type 5s were mirror finish and they were un marked.not even a light scratch anywhere and it used to take me hours!!!
only use top quality clean microfibre to wipe them or you will introduce swirls/scratches

only apply product with a good quality m/f cloth or applicator pad.

i use two stages of prep

first i use this stuff.really good at marks and any signs of a potential pit in metal

http://www.raceglaze.co.uk/metal-cleaning.html

ALU TECH POLISH

very very good but will not give you the mirror perfection shine you want

look at it like this

the process needs to be done in stages like prepping a surface for paint
you will not get a perfect finsh for paint using 600 grade paper but similarly you wont remove major imperfections with 2500 grade paper

it needs to be worked through in stages

yes most of the products claim to give you mirror finish etc but logically they will either be to fine cut to remove bigger marks or to coarse to provide flawless finish

so after i have used that to remove harsher stuff you will be left with a surface that has very very very fine marks from the previus product

i now use this after

http://mobilevaleter.com/shop/product_i ... ucts_id=65

MOTHERS BILLET

this is incredible at giving the final mirror finish and will leave surface flawless

i have tried tons of stuff and nothing comes close

but using these two you can maintain them so they are truly like a mirror



but let salt/rain water/brakedust on them and dont wipe it off when you pull up and they will need repolishing seriously
pitting occurs very quickly

jon

[DaveD]

mine have been on a year and have just gone a bit dull so i will be polishing them when the weather gets better(and the car comes out of hibernation) but aren't Adams stainless mine are...they look as though they have been lacquered and the water has reacted to it ..but you are right to send them back .my studs haven't gone rusty at all but i did have a leak but it is an easy job to reseal just a bit tedious

[E30Adam]

Thanks Jon, that's some excellent advice there. I'm beginning to wonder if it was really worth the hassle though as I don't think I've got the patience and dedication to keep them like that although I'll certainly try. I may just keep them for a show wheel.

Yours look awesome Jon, how do you manage to clean around the bolts as this looks a particularly difficult are to polish?

[c76jon]

it is difficult adam

its simply time and patience and loss of finger flesh!!

but if you keep on top of the wheels as above then its far easier

on washing the wheels make sure you dry them straight away and only use microfibre or marks will be made

keeping them as show wheels is the best option

then you can keep them mint

but store them well

even damp will tarnish the exposed polished surface

jon

[pacerpete]

Jon is it true that you lock yourself in the garage for hours at a time polishing ?
Any suggestions what i could use on black 'trim' to keep it smooth and supple ? i have been using some special cream but my stocks are becoming depleted .

[c76jon]

in your case and knowing the "trim" you are talkingabout id suggest possibly two things
#
one would be tesco value lard
followed by a liberal coating of swarfega

this will help to prevent any spilits or cracks that may develop

jon

[harry_p]

just to add, if you plan on using polished splitties as road wheels, pay a bit extra for stainless bolts. chrome plate always cracks or flakes and lets in water, partiularly around small sharp edges. stainless bolts arent as 'blingy' bright, but shouldnt lose their shine or rust!

the white tarnishing looks like they've been left with salt on them for a day or two. i've pretty much given up trying to kepp my style 5s mirror polished for the moment, just doing what i can at the moment to stop them getting too bad and will take them appart for a full re-polish when it gets warmer and they stop putting salt on the roads

[Jamesb318is]

My wheels had to come off for the winter, damn salt made them look nearly as bad as Adams above.
Tackled one of them with some autosol, then the Mothers Billet stuff Jon recommended and its sorted them right out.

[carlos_320i]

This is what I do for a living and I recommend auto sol

[stuartgallafant]

lepspns done mine for me and gave them mirror lip about 3 coats of laquer. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT... i've had absoltely no problems with what-so-ever! they did say to me though, that if they do 'go funny' then they wont be guaranteed, as a stonechip or a kerb scratch/scrape can make water enter inside the laquer and do funny things, but there is NO WAY i would have a mirror lip finish without laquer

mine have been absolutley covered in brake dust, mud, rain water, salt water even got fresh tarmac on them somehow, and they still look like they've just been done. i just wipe them off regularly with a chamois leather or microfibre towel and they come up spot on. im gonna invest in some of that wheel protector stuff though just to be on the safe side

[cliffybabe]

lepspns done mine for me and gave them mirror lip about 3 coats of laquer. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT... i've had absoltely no problems with what-so-ever! they did say to me though, that if they do 'go funny' then they wont be guaranteed, as a stonechip or a kerb scratch/scrape can make water enter inside the laquer and do funny things, but there is NO WAY i would have a mirror lip finish without laquer

mine have been absolutley covered in brake dust, mud, rain water, salt water even got fresh tarmac on them somehow, and they still look like they've just been done. i just wipe them off regularly with a chamois leather or microfibre towel and they come up spot on. im gonna invest in some of that wheel protector stuff though just to be on the safe side

Stu ill give u u uir comments however ur car has been off the road sitting still for a while now, and u only have the lips polished and leppson wont guarantee there work with a polished lip or face, that says it all to me

In fact my merc rims have a polishe dlip and i only run them wheels in the summer and the laqure on them has gone and i had them rub done and polished and they still look like new

Im well pleased with the polsihing Carlos has done with my rims and i would not laqure these rims dude to suggestions made by Carlos and other zoners

[stuartgallafant]

the only reasons lepspn wont guarantee the laquered polished lip is because....

SCENARIO...

i drive like a tit and go though loadsa of gravel car parks doing gay little donuts and then i pull up outside my mates house and get a kerb scrape. I ring lepsons and say "oi, you bunck of *****, my wheels are mash-up, fix them" and they do so, at their loss, even though its not their fault, its mine for treating my wheels like a c**t...

NEVER GONNA HAPPEN NEIL....

when i got mine done, the guy said to me "these wheels will last a lifetime, but if you do stupid things with them, expect bad results. Thats why we wont gaurantee them for you sir, as we cannot prove that you have taken absolute full care of them. Thank you for your custom. Tell your friends". so i did. EVERY lepsons job i've seen is absolutely immaculate, and if you do as they say, you wont get any problems

they dont say "we wont give you a guarantee" coz their work is sh!t, they're just covering ther own back to save themselves money coz they know that dickheads out there will try and pull the fast one

im sorry, but there is no way, if you treat laquered polished wheels properly you will end up with problems...

the only other thing that i know of that is better than laquer is zoop-seal, from the states. designed to be applied to polished metal surfaces and takes ages to apply properly and is ridiculously expensive, but you get what you pay for

[cliffybabe]

Zoop seal is what is 50quid, When i spoke to leppson they said that when a tyre is change etc on a polished lip it could damage the laqure without u noticing a chance im not wiling to take, I know u can have ur tyres done at work and see u they r changed etc but i cant.

Also leppson advise that the laquare can pop due to stone chips potholes etc, None of which i need worry about because they aint laqured.

Each to there own mate, But as i said before its kept in a garage only used weekends and is polished on a regular basis's u of all people should knowhow much i like my shiny stuff

[c76jon]

id would add that laquered split rims are a different ball game
due to the fact the lip is laquered prior to being put back together

problems occur when bolts are tightened and small amounts of damage is done where bolt surface comes into contact with laquered surface as they reach their tightest point

this causes the laquer to splinter and leave a gap where water etc will get in under laquer and lift it

as long as job done right as stuart says on non splitties then unless damage is caused which penetrates laquer surface and regular cleaning is carried out they should last a long time

cleaning well tho is the key as brake dust itself is very very corrosive and hot brake dust will pit the laquer unless kept on top of

jon

[DaveD]

How can you remove old lacquer on wheels....besides elbow grease that is...are there any chemicals?

[stuartgallafant]

as long as job done right as stuart says on non splitties then unless damage is caused which penetrates laquer surface and regular cleaning is carried out they should last a long time

i thought so

How can you remove old lacquer on wheels....besides elbow grease that is...are there any chemicals?

nitromors???

[DaveD]

anything else

[stuartgallafant]

brake fluid?! any sort of paint stripper i should imagine would be suitable

[Speedtouch]

What's the best lacquer to use, i.e., a brand that doesn't go yellow or crack?

cheers!

[stuartgallafant]

What's the best lacquer to use, i.e., a brand that doesn't go yellow or crack?

cheers!

no idea mate, i dont spray stuff, so i havnt got a clue!!!

[caneswell]

My god I had no idea it was THAT difficult. Jon do you ever drive your car??? I don't think I would dare!

Mine are looking horrendous at the moment salt and brake dust have runied them. I was hoping to split them and sort them out soon, so i'm in the process of planing what to do.

Laquer sounds like a bad idea on split rims. Could you apply it after the bolts are fitted, to avoid the cracking?

Bare metal, looks amazing on Jons car but there is no way I would have the patience to keep it like that.

Can you annodize them? How shiney a finish can you get? I can live without a mirror finish if it's tough and easy to keep clean.

[Speedtouch]

Just daub some Hammerite on 'em and be done with it