My Volk wheels have brake pad dust and water marks on them.

I did some search, but seems like everybody has their own opinion on what works best to clean that stuff off and keep wheels clean... wax, polish, clay, sealant etc etc. I'm lost between all these products.

Preferably, I want to clean them with water and soap and then use, if possible, 1 product to clean off the water stains and brake dust. Btw: the dish is aluminum and the lip is anodized. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

 

insert Waijai maguire's plug here __> followed closely by blueBoB's zanio rebuttal.

 

^ What do you use Jon?

 

I usually clay then use Maguire's glass cleaner, then wax.

 

There are two basic kinds of water spots or water marks found on automotive paints.

* Type I Water Spots - Above Surface Mineral Deposits
* Type II Water Spots - Below Surface Water Spot Etchings

Type I Water Spots
Type I Water Spots are what Meguiar's refers to as Above Surface Bonded Contaminants. A Type I water spot is some type of deposit, often times a mineral deposit that was suspended in the water source to begin with, then after the water evaporated off the finish the mineral is left behind where it bonds to the finish usually in a circular or pattern or shape.


Type I Water Spots - Mineral deposits sitting on top of the paint






How to Remove Type I Water Spots
If you discover Type I Water Spots on your car's finish, it will often times require the use of both detailing clay and a paint cleaner to completely remove all trace of the mark left behind.

* Step by step process for removing Type I Water Spots

Step 1 - Wash & Dry the Car
First wash the car thoroughly using a quality car wash to remove any loose contaminants and to also remove any portion of the mineral deposit that has not yet bonded to the paint. After washing the car, dry the car to remove any standing water and to prevent further accumulation of Type I Water Spots.

Step 2 - Clay the Paint
Use Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit to clay all affected paint panels. Meguiar's Detailing clay is a special clay that you knead into a wafer or patty, somewhat like a pancake, and then rub over the finish using Meguiar's Quik Detailer as a lubricant between the clay and the paint. As you're rubbing the clay over the finish, the specialized abrasives will loosen and remove any deposits sitting on top of the paint and trap them into the clay and our clay will do this without instilling scratches into the paint.

Because as you're claying, you're removing these mineral deposits and trapping them into the clay itself, you'll want to take your clay patty and fold it into itself and then re-knead it to expose a fresh side of clay. Also keep a microfiber polishing cloth handy and wipe down the clayed area as you work to remove any excess Quick Detailer from the paint so that you won't have to re-wash the car.

Repeat the above process until you've clayed all of the horizontal panels on your car and possibly even the vertical panels should you discover Type I Water Spots on the sides of your car's paint.

Step 3 - Clean the Paint with a Paint Cleaner
After claying the finish, re-inspect the affected areas, the paint should look smooth and clean as well as feel smooth like a piece of new glass. If you see any trace outlines in the paint where the water deposits were previously, then you'll now need to use a paint cleaner like ScratchX to remove these imperfections out of the paint.

Any water spots or marks left in the paint after claying the paint are actually etchings in the paint and must be removed using a paint cleaner. Water Mark Etchings are what Meguiar's calls, Below Surface Defects, that is these water marks are where the mineral deposits, (left after the water evaporated off the finish), actually etched into, or ate into the paint. This is why the detailing clay did not completely remove these marks, it's because these marks are below the surface and detailing clay only removes contaminants sitting on top of the surface.

ScratchX is a paint cleaner that uses Meguiar's Microscopic Diminishing Abrasive Technology to safely remove swirls, scratches and other below surface imperfections out of the paint. Simply apply ScratchX using a clean, soft foam applicator pad and then work the product against the finish with firm pressure. Work a small area or directly on the affected area for 2-3 minutes and then immediately remove any leftover product from the paint and inspect. If the mark is no longer visible, apply a coat of wax to protect the paint. If the mark is still visible, then repeat paint cleaning step using ScratchX. Some swirls, scratches and water spot etchings will require multiple applications to remove depending on how hard the paint is and how deep the defects are.

 

Type II Water Spots - Etchings below the surface

Type II Water Spots are what Meguiar's refers to as Below Surface Defects. A Type II Water Spot is actually an etching in the surface where whatever was in the water was strong enough in its chemical composition to actually eat or dissolve the paint and thus etch into the paint.


Type II Water Spots - Etchings below the surface



Closeup of same photo


If you discover Type II Water Spots in your car's finish, you can use a paint cleaner by hand such as ScratchX and the procedure outlined above in Step 3 for removing below surface etchings left by Type I Water Spots, or you can use a machine applied product such as a Meguiar's paint cleaner, or cleaner/polish to remove the water spot etchings using Meguiar's G100 Dual Action Polisher.

Meguiar's Dual Action Polisher will safely clean your car's finish removing a small amount of paint in an effort to level, or smooth-out the paint. The goal is to remove just enough paint to level the upper most portions of the surface with the lowest depths of the defect you're trying to remove. In some cases you may want to check with a seasoned professional for their advice before attempting to remove below surface defects like Type II Water Spots.


Important Note: Anytime you use detailing clay and/or a paint cleaner on your car's finish, you need to reapply a coat of wax to the paint as detailing clay and paint cleaners will remove any previously applied wax off the paint.

How to prevent water spots from coming back
There are two important things you can do to help prevent water spots from coming back, one is to remove water from the finish before it can dry and potentially leave a water spot. Meguiar's offers a number of different tools to help you do this including, our waffle weave Water Magnet Drying Towel, our Soft Touch Microfiber Chamois, and our Premium-Natural-Chamois which comes in 4 different sizes.

Besides keeping water off your car, the next best thing you can do is to keep maintain a good coat of wax on all the painted surfaces, to help with this Meguiar's offers a number of different waxes to suit everyone's preferences including, NXT Generation Tech Wax, Gold Class Liquid Wax and Deep Crystal System Carnauba Wax.

 

I'm about to use a combination of Meguiar's Hot Rims Aluminum Wheel Cleaner(the blue stuff), Meguiar's Hot Rims Mag and Aluminum Polish(the pink peppermint smelling stuff) and Poorboy's wheel wax.

I'm gonna do it tonight. I'll post before and after photos

 

Maybe I need to clay my wheels. Brake dust stains FTMFL. I polished them with Meguiars Polish and an orange pad, but it didnt' get all of it.

 

How to Remove Type I Water Spots

would this work on a rotor hat that came painted from DBA ..

rotor hat has spots from wheel cleaner that i sprayed on the wheels while the rotors were hot. left stains on the rotor hat ..

 

Umm....I am not reading those big long paragraphs that waijai wrote but he is wanting to get water spots off his wheels, not his paint. Since wheels are more porous, they typically trap dirt more and are harder to clean and maintain.

What I do to keep my black wheels as bright and clean as possible is to spray them with Black Magic Titanium Wheel cleaner (chrome & aluminum safe) prior to washing my car, then wash my wheels as normal. Dry them with a cotton rag to prevent water spots. When they are completely dry, polish them with Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish using it sparingly. Let dry and buff residue off.

Mother's polish is the chit and it is a mild abrasive which will remove any remaining brake dust or water spots after cleaning them. The only thing that cannot be removed would be the oxidation that occurs on chrome wheels. It is not just for wheels either. You can use if for your faucets in your house to really make them shine better than new. It also leaves a layer of protection to keep dust from sticking so that the next time you wash your wheels, you wont have to polish again. I polish my wheels about every 6 months.

 

Removal of water spots is the same weather it's on a cars paint or on the surface of a wheel. Not sure where you got aluminum wheels being porous.

Volk lips are sensitive to caustic cleaners, even if they're deemed aluminum safe. Volk lips are clear coated, so I wouldn't risk it.

 

Sorry to point you out, but I didn't specify aluminum wheels, I said wheels in general. And yes, specifically alloy wheels are more porous than your clear-coated paint. In my experience, chrome and powder-coated are the least porous of wheel finishes.

Most people tend to cover their car in wax (drive-though car wash or otherwise) which provides a thin layer of protection and filler to prevent staining and mineral deposits.

The problem is that most people don't wax their wheels like they do their paint, making it harder to remove water spots and dirt.

 

Oh you're referring to a wheels finish being more porous...not the actual wheel material. Most all of us run aluminum wheels in various finishes. No steelies for me.

 

I tried claying my wheels last night....didn't help much at all. The brake dust streaks are still there. I might try to get one of the powerballs and some heavy duty polish to see if that will help. My wheels are powdercoated so I'm not too worried about the abrasive stuff.

 

Yeah, please don't use wheel cleaners on Volk's. It will destroy the clearcoat (which protects the anodized finish).

I clean my wheels with Magiuar's car wash by hand when I wash my car. I then dry them off with a dry clean microfiber towel. I drive around the block a few times to get the water out (Volk GTM's are a biotch to clean), and then dry/clean them with another clean towel and a little Maguiar's detailing spray. From time to time I will clay bar and put a coat of quality wax on the wheels to make them easier to clean (I am currently using the Maguiar's NXT wax). If I need to, I wipe them down with the detailing spray and a microfiber towel. I can usually get the water spots out with detailing spray and a little elbow grease.

I have a few small nicks and scratches from road debris, and I may try Maguier's ScratchX on a small one to see what it does. I will let you know how it works out when I get around to it....