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Brand New CCW Wheels

PolandDogs

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PolandDogs

PolandDogs

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I just finally saved up enough to purchase a set of CCW wheels for my 2008 Shelby GT500. They are raw aluminum with no clear coat and brand new.

 

There is a little bit of residue left on the front of the wheel from the sticky plastic they cover and ship them with.

 

My plan of attack-

 

I am going to use metal polish number two to remove that residue and get out any very minor flaws.

 

A few coats of quick sealant to front and barrels of wheels. Would it be a good idea for Brilliant Glaze next? then finally toped with a coat of Patriot Wax?

 

I have a gallon of green wheel cleaner left is that safe to use for a cleaner?

 

What are you guys using such as towels?

 

I seen Adams came out with Plush microfiber waffle towels that I am thinking about.

 

What are the methods you guys are using after a little drive to a cruise inn that might have developed a little brake dust on your wheels and wanna give them a quick shine at the cruise inn?

 

 

Thanks, Matt

 

 

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bjoeaull

bjoeaull

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Sounds good to me.  I'd think from your post that green wheel cleaner may never really be needed.  I generally hit my "nice weather only wheels" with waterless wash, then detail spray, and randomly quick sealant.  But yeah to throw glaze or waxes into the mix won't hurt bit every now and then.  

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Dan@Adams

Dan@Adams

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I have a feeling Dave (BRZN) will post up in here in the morning, as he has a set of gorgeous CCW SP550's on his GTO that I'm going to steal borrow one day...but I digress...

 

For light cleaning after driving to a show, Waterless Wash just like Chris said would be my choice too, but I would want to use the softest towel I could find for wiping down raw aluminum, so I would go with our Double Soft Towels over the new plush waffle weaves that we launched earlier this week.

 

As for the Green Wheel Cleaner, I haven't tried it on a raw billet wheel, but you may have similar slight hazing issues that Dave describes in one of his threads here when he used Deep Wheel Cleaner to clean raw billet aluminum wheels: http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/23468-dwc-and-raw-billet-aluminum/

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NG13

NG13

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I can't say for sure on either wheel cleaner but I would test it first on something else. Some wheel cleaners will etch raw aluminum right before your eyes. They can be polished but it is hours of work caused by seconds of contact with the wrong chemicals. As the others said, WW, DS, car shampoo, or RW would all be safe and effective if you keep up with it! The trick is to not let them be neglected because the contaminants left on the surface will cause pitting and etching and again cause lots of polishing to get them back.

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BRZN

BRZN

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Hey Matt, CCW's are beautiful when taken care of, so keep after them regularly. If you let them go, the amount of work to get them back is mind boggling!

People say owning a black car in itself is a hobby, a black car has nothing on the care required for raw billet aluminum wheels.

 

When washing these wheels simply use Adam's Car Shampoo mixed at 2 ounces product to 3 gallons warm water. If you allow the wheels to get any dirtier than needing the car Shampoo, you're going to need to wash them more often, not with a stronger chemical. It's also a good idea to have a wash pad and wheel brush that's dedicated to these wheels and nothing else. On the car with my CCW's the wheels are washed last, and one wheel at a time.

Dry them thoroughly and completely immediately after rinsing the shampoo mixture off. Even pure distilled water will leave spots on these wheels. The less you touch the wheels the better, dry them with a Master Blaster or Side Kick.

After every drive, after the wheels have cooled down, I wipe them down with Waterless Wash and an individual Waterless Wash Towel per wheel. Spray the Waterless Wash liberally, not enough, and you'll be inducing little scratches.

 

Get yourself a 16 ounce bottle of Adam's Metal Polish #2, wouldn't hurt to have that size of Metal Polish #1 either, you'll be using a lot of it for maintenance. I tend to use Adam's Wax or Sealant applicators to work the polish as they have the least amount of cut of all his applicators and won't induce any marring of their own. I've also used his Edgeless Utility towels to work the polish with okay results. I'll cut the towel into quarters, and use one of the cut quarters per wheel and throw them away when done. Metal Polish is a bear to clean out of a towel or applicator and makes quite a mess. The only disadvantage to the Edgeless Utility towels are they will leave strike marks in the aluminum. I prefer to remove the polish with a very fine and high quality flannel towel. Flannel isn't very absorbent and is quite a bit of work, but it won't leave the strike marks I get with microfiber.

Learn to love this position!

LOL

IMG_3120resize_zpshurqajcx.jpg

Oh, and it's so much easier to polish these when you can rotate the tire/wheel.

 

adams_zps8e495904.jpg

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PolandDogs

PolandDogs

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Hey Matt, CCW's are beautiful when taken care of, so keep after them regularly. If you let them go, the amount of work to get them back is mind boggling!

People say owning a black car in itself is a hobby, a black car has nothing on the care required for raw billet aluminum wheels.

 

When washing these wheels simply use Adam's Car Shampoo mixed at 2 ounces product to 3 gallons warm water. If you allow the wheels to get any dirtier than needing the car Shampoo, you're going to need to wash them more often, not with a stronger chemical. It's also a good idea to have a wash pad and wheel brush that's dedicated to these wheels and nothing else. On the car with my CCW's the wheels are washed last, and one wheel at a time.

Dry them thoroughly and completely immediately after rinsing the shampoo mixture off. Even pure distilled water will leave spots on these wheels. The less you touch the wheels the better, dry them with a Master Blaster or Side Kick.

After every drive, after the wheels have cooled down, I wipe them down with Waterless Wash and an individual Waterless Wash Towel per wheel. Spray the Waterless Wash liberally, not enough, and you'll be inducing little scratches.

 

Get yourself a 16 ounce bottle of Adam's Metal Polish #2, wouldn't hurt to have that size of Metal Polish #1 either, you'll be using a lot of it for maintenance. I tend to use Adam's Wax or Sealant applicators to work the polish as they have the least amount of cut of all his applicators and won't induce any marring of their own. I've also used his Edgeless Utility towels to work the polish with okay results. I'll cut the towel into quarters, and use one of the cut quarters per wheel and throw them away when done. Metal Polish is a bear to clean out of a towel or applicator and makes quite a mess. The only disadvantage to the Edgeless Utility towels are they will leave strike marks in the aluminum. I prefer to remove the polish with a very fine and high quality flannel towel. Flannel isn't very absorbent and is quite a bit of work, but it won't leave the strike marks I get with microfiber.

Learn to love this position!

LOL

IMG_3120resize_zpshurqajcx.jpg

Oh, and it's so much easier to polish these when you can rotate the tire/wheel.

 

adams_zps8e495904.jpg

Thanks Dave I also read your writeup before

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SCMedic

SCMedic

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I loved the look of CCW's on my Firehawk....but it was just too much upkeep for a daily driver and my OCD drove me wild. (Big brake kit + CCW's + daily driving = imperfections that just drove me nuts!!!)

 

Props to everyone who has raw aluminum wheels...I have a lot of respect for the hours put into cleaning them!!

Matt

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