I just bought a used set of iforged classics with a brushed aluminum face, polished lip, and polished inner rim. The inner rim is filthy and I was wondering the best way to clean it. Also, what polish is good to use on the lip and inner rim? Can I use a chrome polish? Here are pics of how dirty my rim looks and where I want it to be.

My rim now:


This is what I want it to look like:

 

Look up P21S Wheel cleaner (Gel kind) It's safe and very effective. You can use any Sealant on the wheels once clean. No need to buy a special wheel wax.

 

I use Poorboys Spray and Rinse tire cleaner along with Poorboy's Bold n' Bright. I've also heard good things about the P21S products.

I actually just wrote up a little "How To" on cleaning rims and tires on a local car club board. Forgive me if linking isn't allowed, i'm not trying to sell anything or promote that site.

EDIT: Actually instead of posting that link, I'll just copy and paste the post itself.

 

In this post I'm going to show you how to quickly and easily clean, detail, and protect your rims and tires. Here's what we'll be using:



Bucket of warm, soapy water (any car wash soap will do)
Poorboys World Spray & Rinse Wheel Cleaner
Poorboys World Bold n' Bright
Lug nut cleaning brush
Medium sized brush
Tire Dressing Foam Applicator
Plenty of quality Microfiber Towels

Here's the wheel I'll be working on. Doesn't look too bad (recently washed)



But looking a little closer with it off.......



Step 1: Remove the wheels off the car
If I'm going to be just washing the wheels, I'd leave them on, but since we're going to be doing a thorough cleaning and detail, we'll have to take them off. Use whatever procedure you normally use to jack and support the car, and then remove both wheels and bring them to your work area. I used a clear area of my lawn. I think it's best to work outside as the wheel cleaner we will be using should be used in a ventilated area.

Step 2: Wash your wheel and tire
Hose off any big debris and rinse off the wheel and tire. Next, you'll want to give the rim and tire a good washing with just the soapy water. Use the brush and get as much dirt and big stuff off and don't forget to scrub the tire as well. I use an old microfiber soaked in the bucket to get into the nooks and corners with my hands. I prefer not to use brushes for the small areas because they either just don't fit, or don't work as well as the old fashioned way with your fingers.

Now the wheel looks like this after washing...



It's better, but far from good.

Step 3: Poorboys World Spray and Rinse Wheel Cleaner

Spray the wheel cleaner all over the rim only. Back to front, front to back, lugnut holes, every single inch. DON'T BE STINGY. To do a full detail on all 4 wheels, I go through an entire bottle easily. You can't cheap out on this process. If you cut corners with cleaning/detailing, it will be obvious. Once the wheel is covered, let soak for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, use the brush and towel to once again wash the whole rim. Take your time, and really pay attention to trouble areas. I used a lug nut brush to help get into some areas I couldn't reach with my fingers





Step 4: Rinse everything off

Rinse the wheel cleaner off. It's best to use a hose nozzle that has adjustable settings. Stream to blast dirt and cleaner off, followed by shower/spread to rinse everything off gently.

(My rim was pretty bad, so I actually repeated the wash step. You may not have to, but I wasn't completely happy with the first scrubbing, so I sprayed the rim again, let soak, and washed another time. If yours is ok, then move to the next step)

Here's my now clean rim





Step 5: Dry Everything

Using clean microfibers, dry off the rim and the tire as well. Once the towel starts to become dirty on both sides, grab a new fresh towel. I normally use 1-2 towels per wheel. Again, don't be stingy. Don't try to make 1 towel last, or else you'll be rubbing dirt and grease back onto your clean rim.

OPTIONAL: I put a coat of wax on my rim to help protect it and make it easier to clean in the future. You don't need to use your top of the line wax you use on your paint, but any liquid/quick apply wax will do. I used some Turtle Wax Ice I had laying around.

Step 6: Put the wheels back on the car, and lower the car

Pretty self explainatory. I used fresh clean microfibers to hold the rim while I put it on, to make sure I didn't accidently get dirt on it in the process. I also wiped my ratchet and socket to make sure that when I put the lugs back on, I wouldn't get any dirt on the wheels again.

Now with the wheels on again, you can really see how it shines.



My rims are forged aluminum/magnesium alloy. No covering or anything, just plain alloy rims. This photo has NOT been altered. That shine and gleam is simply from the flash of the camera. It looks great!

For a comparison, here's the front wheel which I didn't do today....



Very different. Dirty rims and tires make the wheel well look so......dark. Just doesn't look good. Clean rims really make your caliper, rotor, and wheel well pop.

Step 7: Poorboys World Bold n' Bright Tire Dressing

Spread 3 thin, even amounts of tire dressing onto the applicator. Here it's best to start with a very little amount. This stuff goes a long way.



Press the tire applicator against the sidewall with a little pressure. You want it to conform to the shape of your sidewall and tire. Spread the dressing evenly around the whole tire first, and then go back over and work it in.



Make sure to get into the tire bead, over any lettering, etc. Again, take your time and use the applicator to coat all the areas of the sidewall until your satisfied. Now this product is WATER based (unlike many other inferior products which are OIL based and will fly off when you drive away) It will soak into the rubber and dry to a non-greasy finish. The less you use of this dressing, the more matte the result will be. If you want a little more gloss, reapply a little more dressing and repeat the process until you're happy with the results.

I like a matte/semi-gloss finish personally. Here's my finished product.

Right Rear Wheel



Left Rear Wheel



And now a night time shot with flash



Now you can sit back, and enjoy your detailed and protected wheels and tires!!!

 

Great post Antonio thanks

 

you need aluminum polish, not chrome, and not wax...you need a cleaner like Meguires Billet, or aluminum polish. once you get them where you like them, then you can wax them...but they wont be shiny untill you polish them... You can get a motherspower ball which will help but if I was doing those wheels... one wheel could take 2 hours to polish, using power and hand tools. Ive done this a few times
( few hundred times )

 

Adam's Polish is great and easy to use. Then seal it with Zaino Z-CS

 

I use Mother's Powerball & Powercone with their metal polish on my CCW's. Using a corded drill makes it really easy to remove oxidation and water spots.

 

Yeah... the powerball helps But Ive yet been able to get it to leave a mirror finish free of micro-scratches... for the scratches its always taken elbow grease.. I starting ito wonder if a cotton wheel and jewlers rouge (white and red) might make the job easier and better..

The next time Ive got the saddle on Im gonna clear finish the inner drums with either POR-clear or VHT hightemp clear.. that way All Ive got topolish are the lips..

 

I spoke to John at CCW and he recommended "Bush's" Aluminum Polish... so I went out a bought it. great stuff, but as I also had "Adam's" metal polish on hand I used both of the products. I found Adams to actually do a more thorough job... After a complete polishing I coated the wheels with "Rejex"... the stuff is suppose to be wiped-off after it comes to a "haze".... but it never did ! ANyhow, I wiped it off anyhow when my patience ran out. I have three out the the four tires done... one more and I'm ready for summer in Maine ! BTW... the wheels look even better than new (if that's possible). I spent between 2-3 hours per wheel... the rear ones took longer !

 

That's true,and also the reason why I said once cleaned.


Try a less agressive polish with the Powerball.

I personally don't use the Powerball, I use these...

http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country...hing-tool.html

Give them a try.

 

Dang.... I just use good old fashion Simple Green and finish with Zaino.

 

I jack my car up before each wash and roll under to clean the inside of the wheels (chrome) and the exhaust (polished stainless) then lower her back down and finish washing. Much easier to clean often than to try and get all the junk off the inner rims after it builds up. Also ceramic pads and zinc plated rotors help alot.
By the way I did use Rejex on the rims and they clean very easily.

 

That lug brush is pretty sweet. Gotta pick one of those up.

 

we carry 2 different complete wheel cleaning kits. Check them out on our site!

 

Do corded drills do better than cordless with the powerball/powercone?

 

Not real sure why you clean them? the OP has polished lips and barrels.. using the polish gets them black as hell, washing seems like such a waste of time when they get all filled with dirty black aluminum Oxide.

Funny I talked with John and Chip and they told that all they use is
Mother's Mag and aluminum Polish, its the cheapest stuff on the shelf.. Of couse, CCW's when new need almost no polish... But I also use Semichrome on my lips...or Billet.. both products are great and have more lubricants... Semichrome has jewler's rouge I use Zaino to seal between polishing and sealing I use corn meal...

Car is 11 years old, CCW wheels are 8 years old, 80,000 Miles





2nd photo was taken two days ago CCW's are 8 years old

 

I was so happy with that purchase I bought it more on a whim than anything. I figured it's only like 10 bucks, what the heck...I can do it ok with my fingers, small brushes, and some microfibers....it can't be THAT handy...Boy was I wrong. Thing works great lugs on or off. The inside has a cavity so it surrounds the lugnut and cleans it as well as the hole in the rim.

 

Some good info in this thread. Thanks to all.