Hi All,
What cleaning agent are you using to clean off the dirt and oily marks off your white wheels ??
Thanks,
E50
I don't have white wheels, but I use Motul chain clean to get chain lube off any surface (even skin). Should take care of any gunk. Brake dust and dirt wipes right off dry if you clean your wheels at least once a week.
(http://www.courtneyconcepts.com/images/motul_chain_clean.jpg)
Get some Simple Green. You can get two liters of concentrate for about $7 at Walmart. That's the best stuff I've found to make the gold Brembo brake calipers look gold again. Wheels should be easy. Make sure you rinse thoroughly after using it, especially an aluminum parts that you might have gotten it on.
clean it real well and then wax/buff it. makes cleaning easier the next time around.
theres another thread on here somewhere that basically asks the same question. a couple of people suggested "honda spray." its this pretty inconspicuously-labeled black and white aerosol can (and I believe the newest batches do NOT have Honda branding on them).
Anyways, I was looking for something to clean my black wheels with, mainly to get all the chain grease and debris off the back wheel. this stuff works beautifully, and effortlessly. I was genuinely shocked at how clean and shiny it got my wheels on the first application. it seems to cut grease and leave a just-waxed smooth finish all at once. it costed me a little over $7 for a can from the local honda dealer, but IMO, its worth twice that much. also, a couple members here have demonstrated it's effectiveness on the white wheels, and its every bit as effective as on any other color. go get some!
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=2541.msg32709#msg32709 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=2541.msg32709#msg32709) ;)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2322/2507264318_f78041158f_o.jpg)
Wd40 for caked on stuff. Then Honda polish--like others said--for everything else.
+1 Simple green. good shit.
To keep my S4R's white wheels sparkling clean, I would ...
1.) Spray a liberal amount of simple green on the wheel, let sit a few minutes
2.) Rinse off simple green. 99% of brake dust and debris will rinse right off
3.) Dry
4.) Spray w/ Honda Polish and buff to a lovely shine 8)
I'll be getting reacquainted to this process once I powdercoat my VFR's wheels over the winter* ... ;D
Adam
*And when I get a Pearl White RS in the spring [evil]
Quote from: DrDesmosedici on December 10, 2008, 07:16:39 PM
To keep my S4R's white wheels sparkling clean, I would ...
1.) Spray a liberal amount of simple green on the wheel, let sit a few minutes
2.) Rinse off simple green. 99% of brake dust and debris will rinse right off
2.1) Rinse off simple green.
2.2) Rinse off simple green.
2.3) Rinse off simple green.
2.4) Rinse off simple green.
3.) Dry
4.) Spray w/ Honda Polish and buff to a lovely shine 8)
Fixed. Simple Green can do some damage. Be careful. ;)
Quote from: Spidey on December 10, 2008, 07:26:03 PM
Fixed. Simple Green can do some damage. Be careful. ;)
Sorry, I meant "rinse the crap out of" ;D
Adam
Anyone know what's in Simple Green that will cause damage if left on? Doesn't really seem worth it to me if you have to be careful to rinse it really well...
Your spray polish should be a sufficient duster if you're using q-tips in your bike's deepest, darkest crevasses after every ride. I say "duster" because fresh dust/bugs/guano is all you'll ever have to clean from your bike if you give it a thorough wipe-down after every ride. Except the occasional fresh lube splatter, but even that will wipe right off of an already-cleaned & waxed wheel without the use of any specialty chemicals.
Ideally, you should never even need to use something as corrosive as water on your beloved Ducati. But then riding in the rain/puddles isn't exactly ideal for maintaining a clean machine... :-[
Quote from: wark on December 11, 2008, 03:33:29 AM
Anyone know what's in Simple Green that will cause damage if left on? Doesn't really seem worth it to me if you have to be careful to rinse it really well...
It reacts with aluminum. I haven't noticed a problem with anything else. I just make sure to do an extra rinse cycle for the aluminum parts on my bikes.
Quote from: ScottRNelson on December 11, 2008, 05:12:53 AM
It reacts with aluminum. I haven't noticed a problem with anything else. I just make sure to do an extra rinse cycle for the aluminum parts on my bikes.
+1 it makes marks on my bare aluminum cowl.
either way i switched to Purple Power, much better IMHO. Still has some of hte organic nastys, but it works great on my bear aluminum cowl.
My neighbor's daughter works for the company that produced Simple Green. He saw me using it to clean my wheels and told me to stop. Apparently, it not only oxidizes bare aluminum, but it also wreaks havoc on the rubber. I noticed my tires began to turn brown once I started using the stuff. Oh well, never again.
Simple fix to stop the need to keep cleaning white wheels, paint them black....
Quote from: NAKID on December 11, 2008, 05:23:11 PM
Simple fix to stop the need to keep cleaning white wheels, paint them with a faux-splatter finish on a poop-color background....
That's more like it. [cheeky]
Look people, use the crap I posted.
It took over a year of unwashed crap off my rim in the infomercial style spray on, wipe off style. Really.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2214/2468922963_438a33ff4f.jpg?v=0)
(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/someguy-wheel.JPG)
It also doesn't eat your wheels.
Quote from: E50 on December 08, 2008, 10:11:52 PM
Hi All,
What cleaning agent are you using to clean off the dirt and oily marks off your white wheels ?
ProtectAll spray works for me. It cleans and easily removes crap/dirt from my '07 S4RS white wheels. It also adds a layer of arnuba wax and water beads off. In fact, I use it to wipe down the entire bike.
Honda Pro Shine is hard to come across and expensive but it sure as hell works.
Seriously, keeping your wheels white = impossible. they will always get dirty since everything shows.