My dad is about to pull the snow tires off his BMW 1-series and put the summer wheels and tires back on. I figured this would be the perfect time to conduct a durability test of a product combo. I decided to start with a base layer of 845, and then a layer of CG Wheel Wax over it...mostly for looks but also to hopefully improve the durability of the 845. The BMW seems to be a good platform for this test, as my dad drives it a lot for work and it generates brake dust like nothing I've ever seen before. It gets washed regularly so I'll have plenty of opportunities to check up on how everything is holding up :thumb: The real test will come near the end of March...my dad and I are both taking our cars out on a track day and the more intense conditions should really show how well these products work. No before pictures of the wheels, they were initially cleaned at the beginning of winter. I went back with Megs Wheel Brightener 4:1 and made sure that the wheels were perfectly clean, and then hit the tar spots on the inside of the rims with Tarminator. After that I clayed the wheels. Even after the Megs, Tarminator, and clay there were still some a couple spots of really super-baked on brake dust that I couldn't quite get rid of...but this is a daily driver not a show car so I moved on. I applied a coat of the 845, buffed off, and then applied the CG Wheel Wax and buffed off. The results: And a sore back...I carried the wheels up from the basement and they are heavy! At least for a scrawny guy like me As I am still a bit of a newbie so I will end this post with a question. What do you do about really really bad tar spots? The Tarminator worked fine on normal amounts of road tar, but there was a spot the size of a quarter and nearly a quarter inch thick on one of the wheels and I really had no idea how to remove it. I will be updating this post once we get the wheels on the car and after my dad racks up some miles on it. Thanks for reading! Clark
back to summers so early? we're getting pounded by snow once again in my area that even my winter rated all seasons slip and stability control kicks in.
Yup! Knock on wood it seems like the really cold weather has gone for good, at least for our region. And my dad doesn't like his snow tires, they don't grip as well and they're louder than he likes so he's impatient to get the summer tires back on So impatient that I actually had to convince him to wait till next weekend so I could go on and apply these products tonight.
ahh yeah winters wont grip well unless its like zomg cold and theyre in general harder rubber. oh btw you got the automatic backups working? I can help you set it up if ya need, I just finished setting it up on nico's wordpress site.
CG Wheel Wax contains very mild abrassives, so I guess it will remove any wax/sealant that lay beneath.
Really? I've seen other people layer CG Wheel Wax over other waxes/sealants and they never reported any issues...
According to my experience, yes. I guess CG mention about it on ther site. Also,if you take some of it between fingers and rub, You will notice that it's quite gritty.
My brother does the same with his summers on his GTi. Off in the fall, full wash and clay, hand polish and three coats of BF All Metal Sealant. He does the occasional track day and never has to use anything stronger than soap and water to clean them.
If it's too thick for a solvent to take care of you may need to scrape. Use a plastic razor blade to try and break free the bulk of the tar blob (technical term). If you get lucky a hardened blob of tar may come off intact. Then back to the Tarminator to remove any residue. TL
I'll have to check on that. It does say on the container "non abrasive" but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't remove a previously applied layer of wax. *EDIT* So I just looked on their website...it does say that it is mildly abrasive, to remove light oxidation.
Im with TL Mitchell on the blob of tar, etc., on the inside of the wheel - get the plastic razor blade holder, or use a regular single edge razor blade holder, and a box of plastic single edge razor blades. They have been invaluable for me in removing all kinds of little stuff outside and inside vehicles, especially on glass that has no tint film on it. Detailed a 540i last week that had a blob of something on the inside wheel, that was so large, I hope I didnt change the balance of the wheel when I removed it ! Used the red plastic razor blades after a couple of other chemical cleaners had no effect on this blob at all. I know about the heavy wheels, - wait till your have to lug 5 Porsche Cayenne 20" honkers around - these WILL hurt your back, etc., You are doing great work out there - keep it up ! Dan F
