Switching to ONR... wheels?

I am moving to an apartment complex and have to switch to ONR washes. My question lies with how to safely clean the wheels. My wheels are silver and coated with Gtechniq C5, so swirls are very hard to see.

I would assume some decent MFs dedicated to the wheels, soaked in the ONR solution. I would also have a spray bottle mixed with ONR that I would soak the wheel down with before touching it. Does this sound like a good plan?

 

use Sonex and this little guy! http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garde...ortable-Pressure-Cleaner/4101556/product.html

 

I would assume with C5 applied, you should be good to go with just ONR, only thing I would say is this; normally, you would wash your wheels before your paint so any dirt that goes from the wheels to the paint during this process will be taken off the paint right after. I would still do this, but get a separate bucket and rags for wheels to not cross contaminate to your paint. Or, you can try something like Adams green wheel cleaner.

 

Sonax is not good for normal maintenance cleanings. Plus, with the Gtechniq C5 applied, a hard cleaner like that would be detrimental to the coating. I do like the portable pressure cleaner however. I could see that being very useful.

I think having a mixture of ONR in a spray bottle, soaking down the wheels, and then using a dedicated wheel MF (one per wheel) soaked in my ONR solution, will do the trick. I also think doing the wheels last would be a good idea. This way I would not touch the paint after cleaning the wheels.

Any suggestions on what MFs to buy? Was looking at the black ones from AG.

 

Well, spray bottle could work, but I would still do the wheels first.

It is your call, but I always do wheels, exhaust, etc first to avoid splatter onto freshly cleaned paint, plus if it splatters at all onto dirty paint, well...you were just about to wash the car anyways. Even just water, I would rather not at all have to worry if I got hard water onto the fresh paint and if I have to go back and wipe, I would just rather avoid headaches and steps.

For MF, it is your choice, something soft enough to not scratch the wheel surface. For ONR sprays and detail sprays, many prefer to use the thicker, more plush towels. For wheels however, I am not sure it matters that much, ANY quality MF should do a great job!

 

I'm in the same boat as you, I live in an apartment complex and therefore have no access to a hose. Generally I do a pre-soak of the wheels with ONR at QD dilution or OPC at 3:1 dilution, and then use an old microfiber to clean the wheels and tires. As far as when in the wash process I do this, I do it last, with the remaining ONR I have left from the wash process. I work slowly to avoid splatter and haven't had any issues so far

You'd be surprised at how well ONR works on wheels, for a while I was running the track wheels on my GTI (just 'cos they looked cool and the tires were no longer good for the track). They hadn't been washed since my last track day, and I drove the car for over a month with them on. As a result they had loads of brake dust built up on them. The ONR did a fantastic job, and got the wheels looking spotless again. If they're really dirty I'd suggest doing a second ONR wash on them though and definitely use something like OPC as a pre-soak.

 

Pre-soak the wheels as you are doing your final drying/QD pass. Unless they are caked, it'll be no problem. I've been doing it for years. One tip is to buy some cheapo MF towels, I really like Sam's Pro-Force. Even though V3 is much better, ONR+brake dust=trashed MF.

 

Agreed ^^

Forgot to add - Good protection (sealant) for my wheels and using tuffshine (after a THOROUGH cleaning) for my tires makes ONR cleaning of wheels/tires a breeze. The tuffshine clearcoat keeps the tires VERY clean and a simple ONR wipedown is all that's needed.

My apartment complex does have a covered wash bay (2) w/ pressure washers so I feel pretty lucky I can fortunately tackle the wheels/tires/fender wheels/exhaust and bring my car in the garage for a ONR wash

 

So, should I just get some cheap MFs OTC for this? Would they not cause some micro-marring? I was considering some of the black MFs from Detailed Image. The wheels also have a recent coat of Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour, so they are deff coated well.

 

This is exactly what I did at my apartment for 2 years. Now that I am in my 4 car garage, I don't know what to do. Continue the ONR washes or switch to typical soap and water method.

 

As stated above, ONR with a MF towel at the end of the wash works just fine, unless the wheels are caked up, then you need chemical assistance or more elbow grease.

 

Try PB's bold n bright gel. It cleans and dresses -- ONR cannot. ONR only works on clean ties and wheels (no bonded dust)..