Prepping and Protection for Brand New Alloys?

[Joneeboy]

Evening All,

I've purchased a set of brand new 'mint, boxed' alloys and want to give them the full protective treatment before fitting tyres and valves.

Have you any product recommendations/hints, techniques, etc?

Thank you, in advance.

Jonee

[Iggy]

Having just purchased some new alloys I'm very interested in this too. My plan was to just give them a good bit of wax all over.

[Ringo]

Look at this product. I use this on my rims and it does protect them and make them easy to clean. But not cheap.
https://www.cleanandshiny.co.uk/product ... iq-c5-30ml

[rally-chris]

Carpro Dlux sealant: https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/carpro-d ... gLekPD_BwE

Chris

[Joneeboy]

Look at this product. I use this on my rims and it does protect them and make them easy to clean. But not cheap.
https://www.cleanandshiny.co.uk/product ... iq-c5-30ml

Thanks, Ringo.

[Joneeboy]

Carpro Dlux sealant: https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/carpro-d ... gLekPD_BwE

Chris

Cheers, Chris. I'll have a look at the website.

[Joneeboy]

Having just purchased some new alloys I'm very interested in this too. My plan was to just give them a good bit of wax all over.

Hi Iggy. I think while they are still at their 'just out of the factory' stage and will never be this clean again, unless you have them refurbed in the future, I think cleaning and protecting both the face and the rear of the wheel is going to prolong the surface life and make them so much easier to keep clean for a longer period.

[PerryGunn]

Another vote for Gtechniq C5 - wonderful stuff, just make sure you follow the instructions

[BeeEmm]

Firstly you need to use a good polish to remove residue and prepare the surface for wax or ceramic coating. I recommend Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish. None better in my opinion and I have used lots of polishes. If you choose to use wax the best I have used is Swissvax Autobahn which I have used for many years on two cars and far outlasted Gtechniq C5. Many people will recommend C5 but in my experience, it does not last. Ceramic coatings are the way forward and there are many out there. Worth considering these, Gyeon Q2 Rim and Kamikaze Stance Rim Coat. Have a look here https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/ and also Polished Bliss, both carry a good range and Polished Bliss give give excellent guidance on how to use the products.

If you don't have them already, get a good set of wheel brushes to clean the wheels when dirty. You will need a soft long-reach brush as well us one to get into the corners. You can also buy brushes where the handle is bent, so you can clean behind the spokes (I know OCD but you do get a build up of crud there). There are some good Microfibre 'brushes' which are kinder to the wheel surface. All can be found on Clean-your-car and Polished Bliss.

[Burple]

Another +1 for Gtechniq Wheel Armour. Has this on my 19's (not new) since March, and it still works very well, makes the wheels much easier to clean. It should last easily for 18months.
I've just had my winters refurbed - powder coated, and hopefully getting the Gtechniq on them tonight or tomorrow.

If your wheels are 19s, you'll need the bigger bottle for full coverage. I was lucky this time round, the winters are 17s so I ordered a 15ml bottle, but I got sent a 30ml bottle in the 15ml box! WIN!
I got mine straight from Gtechniq https://gtechniq.com/products/auto/perf ... eel-armour and got it 2 days later.
Like others have mentioned, make sure your wheels are as clean and dry as they can be before applying, and give it 14 hours to cure before it gets wet. Great stuff!

I also have their G1 glass protector https://gtechniq.com/products/auto/perf ... mart-glass on the windows, that's been on for about 14 months now and shows no signs of the beading wearing off.

[Beeacon]

In a similar vane to the Gtechniq above and CarPro Dlux sealant, the Gyeon Q2 Rim sealant is good too, I think it works on the car exhaust too.

[Joneeboy]

Another +1 for Gtechniq Wheel Armour. Has this on my 19's (not new) since March, and it still works very well, makes the wheels much easier to clean. It should last easily for 18months.
I've just had my winters refurbed - powder coated, and hopefully getting the Gtechniq on them tonight or tomorrow.

If your wheels are 19s, you'll need the bigger bottle for full coverage. I was lucky this time round, the winters are 17s so I ordered a 15ml bottle, but I got sent a 30ml bottle in the 15ml box! WIN!
I got mine straight from Gtechniq https://gtechniq.com/products/auto/perf ... eel-armour and got it 2 days later.
Like others have mentioned, make sure your wheels are as clean and dry as they can be before applying, and give it 14 hours to cure before it gets wet. Great stuff!

I also have their G1 glass protector https://gtechniq.com/products/auto/perf ... mart-glass on the windows, that's been on for about 14 months now and shows no signs of the beading wearing off.

Thanks for the info, Burple!

[Joneeboy]

Firstly you need to use a good polish to remove residue and prepare the surface for wax or ceramic coating. I recommend Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish. None better in my opinion and I have used lots of polishes. If you choose to use wax the best I have used is Swissvax Autobahn which I have used for many years on two cars and far outlasted Gtechniq C5. Many people will recommend C5 but in my experience, it does not last. Ceramic coatings are the way forward and there are many out there. Worth considering these, Gyeon Q2 Rim and Kamikaze Stance Rim Coat. Have a look here https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/ and also Polished Bliss, both carry a good range and Polished Bliss give give excellent guidance on how to use the products.

If you don't have them already, get a good set of wheel brushes to clean the wheels when dirty. You will need a soft long-reach brush as well us one to get into the corners. You can also buy brushes where the handle is bent, so you can clean behind the spokes (I know OCD but you do get a build up of crud there). There are some good Microfibre 'brushes' which are kinder to the wheel surface. All can be found on Clean-your-car and Polished Bliss.

I'll take a look BeeEmm, thanks.

[Joneeboy]

In a similar vane to the Gtechniq above and CarPro Dlux sealant, the Gyeon Q2 Rim sealant is good too, I think it works on the car exhaust too.

More useful info Beeacon, thanks.

[Joneeboy]

Another vote for Gtechniq C5 - wonderful stuff, just make sure you follow the instructions