Cleaning CSLs

J

jimmybell

Veteran
 SW London
If anyone else has them on their Z4, or any car.. you'll know what i mean when i say..

I'm so BORED of cleaning my CSLs, it takes ages to do all 4 (without taking them off).

14530156069_f9bacf137c.jpgZ4M CSL by JimmyBell, on Flickr


I've got wheel woolies, IronX, claybars and a reasonable APC, a jet washer and foam gun, and a decent hose nozel, but even with all the kit it still makes me sweat like a ... < insert FOTM sweat joke >... and makes my arms tired, wrists knackered and generally feeling like i've spent a lot of time to get not very much done. I've even tried using some alloy wheel protector, didn't last verylong at all.

So - anyone else who has extensive wheel cleaning experience - how do you do it? Got any secret tips? I'm starting to think it'd be easier to take the wheels off every time i wash the car... :) Just read the Dragons Breath review and that looks good, but ive still got a litre of IronX to use first, and really i think i need a tar removing product.
 
have you tried wheel sealant?

-Planet Polish wheel and shine
-Gtechnic

These two are best and make washing a doddle, also maybe think about changing pads to low dust versions.

Ash
 
Just imagine the envy of all those who haven't purchsed CSLs yet; should keep you going :rofl:
 
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/gtechniq-c5-wheel-armour/prod_878.html (Best)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Polish-complete-Applicators-solution/dp/B004UHZSMO/ref=pd_cp_auto_0 (is good)
 
hopz121 said:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/gtechniq-c5-wheel-armour/prod_878.html (Best)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Polish-complete-Applicators-solution/dp/B004UHZSMO/ref=pd_cp_auto_0 (is good)
Click to expand...
15ml sounds a tiny bottle, how is it applied and how long does it last?

I currently use Poorboys wheel sealant but I was not too impressed, although not sure I put enough on.

As someone mentioned above, low dust pads make a big difference. I use the Textar e-pads.
 
15ml is a tiny bottle but you dont need much of it, 15ml will be enough for upto 2 full applications, it is expensive but you pay for what you get in life (in my opinion) and it has excellent durability.

Gtechniq claim up to a year, but i would say its between 8-10 Months depending on use.

Ash
 
ooh - interesting.. reading the review now..

My dad actually often pics his wheels purely on how easy they are to clean - i used to mock him.. now i understand why :(
 
I have a set of wheel woollies that make the task much easier. That and the poor boys wheel wax seem to do the trick.
 
Those wheels don't look too hard to clean. You need 3 things: a boars hair wheel brush (Wheel Woolies sells one), a boar's hair paint brush (same), and a Daytona Jr or EZ Wheel Brush.

Wheel Woolies themselves are OK, but aren't flexible and bendable like the Daytona brushes. The way to go about it is, clean the wheel faces with the BH wheel brush, then clean the lug nuts with the BH paint brush. After that, clean behind the spokes and the barrel with the Daytona Jr brush.

That is how I clean my wheels, not too different from CSLs.

ymypejag.jpg
 
swanicyouth said:
Those wheels don't look too hard to clean. You need 3 things: a boars hair wheel brush (Wheel Woolies sells one), a boar's hair paint brush (same), and a Daytona Jr or EZ Wheel Brush.

Wheel Woolies themselves are OK, but aren't flexible and bendable like the Daytona brushes. The way to go about it is, clean the wheel faces with the BH wheel brush, then clean the lug nuts with the BH paint brush. After that, clean behind the spokes and the barrel with the Daytona Jr brush.

That is how I clean my wheels, not too different from CSLs.

ymypejag.jpg
Click to expand...

After having 224's and CSL's I can say there is a huge difference in cleaning. There are a lot of nooks and crannies on the CSL's where as the 224's have none apart from between the spokes which are easy to clean. They are also not open like the 224's so it's harder to get to the inners although I find the medium wheel Willie ideal for cleaning the inners.
 
Its the combination of the more complex nooks and crannies, and then the sheer amount of them... then you get 4 wheels worth of joy!
 
Yes but at least you get 12.5mm of extra space between the caliper and wheel rim on a CSL! Makes front wheel cleaning a lot more straightforward! :)
 
original guvnor said:
Yes but at least you get 12.5mm of extra space between the caliper and wheel rim on a CSL! Makes front wheel cleaning a lot more straightforward! :)
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True, but I find that the Megs wheel brush will fit between front Calipers and wheel on the 224's. For the most part 224's are pretty simple to clean.
 
My EZ wheel brush won't fit so I end up cleaning most of the wheel and then reversing the car a few yards and doing the part of the rim that I couldn't get to because of the caliper. A right rigmarole!
 
original guvnor said:
My EZ wheel brush won't fit so I end up cleaning most of the wheel and then reversing the car a few yards and doing the part of the rim that I couldn't get to because of the caliper. A right rigmarole!
Click to expand...

Haha, I thought I was the only one to do that :D
 
For my wheels (were CSL reps/now Apex in a similar PITA style). Before I fitted them I sealed them inside and out with collinite 845 insulator wax. Whilst I clean them regularly I simply use AG car shampoo now whilst doing the bodywork then quickly wipe dry with a microfibre and that's it. With the sealant applied a couple of times a year any dirt just rinses/wipes off and makes keeping them clean relatively easy.
 
The Daytona Jr wheel brush fits between the front wheel and caliper on the standard M wheel. Don't know if this smaller model is available in EU.

utytypeg.jpg


The Montana Boars hair brush is made of soft boars hair fibers that cleans the wheel face and into the spokes. It won't damage wheels and the "hair" is long enough to get into the spokes and intricate areas:

da7utyhu.jpg


The Wheel Woolie paint brush can get into the lug nuts and that area:

by2emeve.jpg


I'm pretty confident you can successfully clean the wheels with these tools. It may not be fast, but its faster than other tools I've tried.
 
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