I have a set of HRE's with gloss black painted lips. They looked fantastic when I bought them but after accumulating road debris/brake dust and a few washes, they look like hell. 'Swirls' (not circular but linear streaks) are making them VERY hazy. Don't think anything is thru the clearcoat, though. Now if I had a small backing plate, I would use a 3401 to try to get them out. But since that isn't an option, I'll have to do it by hand. Any tips on technique? Not much room to polish except in the direction of the defects. What products would you suggest I could use to minimize repeated damage once I've (hopefully) polished out the wheels?
id try doing it by hand first too, something with light cut and able to finish nicely, something like Menzerna 106FF or 85RD you could try hiding them as well, with something like Poorboys Black Hole, Bilt Hamber Auto Balm or layering Zaino Z5-Pro HRE use regular clear coat, and itd be super thin at that - they are not anodized, that is one of the reasons they are swirling up so quickly the wash process would be no different to washing a soft solid black car - you gotta use a wheel cleaner first to remove as much dust etc as possible, then use a dedicated wash mitt for the lips, and another for the wheel face. Dont use wheel brushes for the face of the wheel. Then pat dry with microfiber
Thanks! I'll try some 106FA (I only have that or SIP which I assume will be too abrasive). Which pad would you suggest? I'm using DD's Uber pads. I assume a blue or green? What would you suggest for protection afterwards?
i use Lake country pads so not familiar with the color system of uber. start with a fine polish pad and work up from there. a 4" pad would be best to get inside the dish and offer even pressure on a curved surface ive tried alot of dedicated wheel wax products but still think the best protection has been Zaino Z-AIO + Layered Z2-Pro or Z5-Pro + WheelWax (this is the only dedicated wheel product ive found that reduces brake dust as advertised - but doesnt last more than a couple weeks) atm im trialing Z-AIO + 2 layers of Collinite 476S (on oem gloss black GTR wheels) and its holding up very well
There are a few people here who regularly use Rejex on wheels and seem to use it a fair amount, however it is a product with mixed opinions as some like it but some don't. I don't see why it shouldn't do the job if you already have it, but there are many options out there for less money that will most likely have better durability and ease of use such as any of the Collinite waxes (476s, 845, 915) or my personal favorite Planet Polish Wheel Seal and Shine which is from the U.K. I am now skeptical of any LSP or protection product really adding a tangible amount of gloss to paint, especially if it is well taken care of, but this stuff left an immediate increase in gloss that really shocked me as I have never used a product that added so much to the finish. It is not used by many in the states but I bought it on a whim and love it.
