Power Clean on HIGHLY polished aluminium (uncoated)

[Michael Giorgi]

Hey guys, I have some ADV.1 wheels that I am buying product to show my freind how to clean and maintain properly. The wheels are uncoated polished aluminum. They were polished brilliantly by the wheel manufacturer and I debated that they should have been clearcoated for my freind. He decided he wanted them uncoated as he "heard" they look better on the forum he uses.

 

The BIG problem with these wheels is the deep concave design of the lips and outer face on the wheel. The design is a big lip that has a deep concave spoke face where the spokes come all the way out the end of the lip. making them have them look like a 1 piece wheel along with hidden hardware. The spoke design takes up a lot of the lip. very cool. The big problem with this style is that it makes the wheel's lip almost impossible to polish by hand or machine without dissassembling the wheel. the spokes are in the way of aggitating the polish in any effective manner. Also its impossible to polish under the spoke in the gap between the lip and the spoke face. but theres still a small gap there where you could visually see the lip if it was to get hazy under the spoke. so if you hand polished it would look like crap not being able to polish under the gap. So again, this leads back to dissasembling the wheel to polish it how it should be done up to my standards (especially when you consider there 10K+ dollar plus custom wheels) (which is why I say they should have been polished then clear coated).

 

So this leads to my question about Optimum Power Clean. The car (BMW M5) is driven hard and is rear wheel drive so theres lots of dirty tires that need to be cleaned often. I am very worried about getting APC on the polished aluminum when I clean the tires. So for now I have been putting the car on a lift and cleaning the tires while there dry with APC sprayed on a MF towel and MF applicator. and rinsing the APC with a solution of ONR. Then dressing wtih OPT Tire Shine (my favorite looking dressing and ZERO sling).

 

If I am going to use Power Clean to degrease and clean the tires, I want to know if there is a dilution that will remain TOTALLY safe for uncoated polished aluminum. I know that when I'm doing the detailing I can safely clean the tire without getting and cleaners on the wheel. But I know for absolute sure that when I provide the products to the customer to clean the wheels on his own, he will not be as careful as I am. So thats why I am looking for a safe dilution tha I know will not haze or dull the finish on the wheels.

 

I asked on the Autogeek online forum and did not get any solid answers besides people responding as if I did not know how to clean a tire properly (LOL) because I said I was using MF to clean them instead of a brush. (on 10K dollar wheels that are not mine, your damn right I am not going to risk using a brush that is stiff enough to scratch the lip, and if I use a really softer brush that wont scratch, I feel that a MF applicator is actually more aggressive than it). Some of the expeirienced memebers on Autogeek online recommended I ask Chris for Optimum or come here to ask. So hear I am.

 

I am looking for solid direct answers about the dilution of power clean I should use. I know Power clean is a very safe product and I use it on paint but I just want to be positive from the manufactur about the recommendation.

 

thanks in advance.

[Obsessive Detail]

I've used Power Clean on uncoated many times with a problem. You want to make sure that the wheel is completely cool and out of the shade if possible. Also, once your spray Power Clean on the wheels, don't let it dry completely. If you follow these precautions, you should be good to go. After you are done cleaning the wheels with OPC, follow it up with some Optimum Metal Polish for that awesome shine!