My wheels - coat or seal? Product?

[Surly]

Hi all:

I`ve been waxing my wheels for years. Between seasons I`d usually use some leftover M26 Hi-Tech Yellow wax on my winter wheels and P21S Concours on my summer wheels. Waxes don`t usually make it through the season but they look good and make clean up easier.

My wheels are in really good, but not new condition and I`m looking to spend more on product and effort to get them cleaned to near perfection then coated or sealed so they are easy to clean and don`t become as vulnerable to brake dust embedding and corroding like I`ve seen on past vehicles. This question isn`t just about looks - it`s about protecting an investment. I plan to coat or seal the entire wheel, interior barrel and all, not just the exterior visible parts. Hopefully sealing/coating won`t stop balancing weights from sticking.

My vehicle is a 2011 BMW 535i with 30kmi combined winter/summer, so that mileage is spread across both sets of wheels. My summer wheels are style 351M and my winters are style 237 if it matters. The links are clickable to pictures online, not my wheels.

Since I am able to, and routinely do, remove my wheels for seasonal changeover if nothing else, and I am accustomed to deep cleaning and applying LSP to my wheels, do you think I should coat or seal? I`ve read good things about Gtechniq C5 wheel armor, but it`s pricey compared to just using something like Opti-Seal, FK1000p or BFWD (none of which I have onhand yet, but I`m thinking about the last two for my paint). I do have to say, I`m thinking about picking up an Opti-seal anyways because it is priced well and it seems like you can use it on all kinds of things - trim, headlight lenses, interior, possibly even coated leather. Wiping it on my wheels would certainly last longer than P21S carnuba, that`s for sure.

[mobiledynamics]

Oh Vey - P21S nuba for wheels...

I still have a wine fridge full of wax I have not touched in many, maybe too many years.

I`d vote for a spray/rinse sealant (some may call it a coating). Get`s in all the nooks and crannies, easy to apply and more ~even~ and should last longer than your nuba.

[Surly]

Oh Vey - P21S nuba for wheels...

I know, I know. The M26 hi-tech is a bear to get off, but lasts a lot longer so I use it in the winter. The P21S usually does OK to improve ease of cleaning for the whole summer. I can just use soapy water or 10+:1 APC and they come really clean. Looking to do better... I have to say the P21S looks noticeably better than anything else I`ve ever put on wheels, but so what...

[WashRinseRepeat]

Me personally, I would coat. Once it`s done, its so easy to clean, I spend much less time on the wheels now. BTW, I used a bottle of the Blackfire Crystal Coat that was a nightmare to use on paint, so its a dedicated rim coat now. I`ve also used Pinnacle Wheel Coating with good results and its easy to use. However if you want something extremely easy to use, then I would go with Hydro 2. By far one of the easiest products you`ll use and good protection. It wont last as long as a coating but its so simple you could do it every wash (if you needed to).

My 2 cents, hope this helps

[Surly]

Me personally, I would coat. Once it`s done, its so easy to clean, I spend much less time on the wheels now. BTW, I used a bottle of the Blackfire Crystal Coat that was a nightmare to use on paint, so its a dedicated rim coat now. I`ve also used Pinnacle Wheel Coating with good results and its easy to use. However if you want something extremely easy to use, then I would go with Hydro 2. By far one of the easiest products you`ll use and good protection. It wont last as long as a coating but its so simple you could do it every wash (if you needed to).

My 2 cents, hope this helps

Hydro2 looks interesting. I`m a little overwhelmed by all of the coating and almost-coating products that have come out recently. A funny thing is that for my off-vehicle purposes, "rinse off" would actually be a problem. I`d be working downstairs in my basement LOL. I`d probably work on my winter wheels any time now - a full decon etc... outside I guess. My summer wheels would be done inside in the off season.

Should I interpret your comments as no love for C5, or no knowledge of C5?

[mobiledynamics]

Surly -

The hole beauty/concept on the spray/rinse off sealants/lite-coatings if you want to call it that is: ease of use, and IMO the ability to get every nook and cranny. Calipers are done, backs, little *crevices*/profile of the wheel, etc.

No need to think about indoor application or not ? Just plan it during as a post car wash application.

[mobiledynamics]

FWIW, by having this product on hand, you might be inclined to use it on paint.....once you see the benefits of it.

[512detail]

I`d coat with DLUX or something similar, two layers or more

then for maintenance I`d get some Gyeon wet coat or Hydro2 or similar product (mckees makes one too) and use that to maintain (assuming its even necessary)

you could also get some Poorboys Spray and Rinse wheel cleaner and cut it 1:1 with distilled water and it will work In most cases without agitation to clean the coating and not affect it either (this is based on my personal experience so I`d trust recommending this)

IMO you need to be looking into a high temp tolerant product made for wheels as it will last longer

Polish Angel Supersport is also really easy to use but only lasts a few months

[WashRinseRepeat]

Hydro2 looks interesting. I`m a little overwhelmed by all of the coating and almost-coating products that have come out recently. A funny thing is that for my off-vehicle purposes, "rinse off" would actually be a problem. I`d be working downstairs in my basement LOL. I`d probably work on my winter wheels any time now - a full decon etc... outside I guess. My summer wheels would be done inside in the off season.

Should I interpret your comments as no love for C5, or no knowledge of C5?

No knowledge of C5. I`ve also heard good things, though haven`t used it myself, about gyeon rim

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[Marine Clerk]

Used Optimum Coating, when it was available to the general public, years ago to good effect. Never used anything else after that.
Kept the brake dust etc. from turning into IFO and sticking to the surface.

It was a true coating not the polymer that they currently sell. Coating is only available for Professional detailers now.

Will probably use CQuartz UK , a coating, on my freshly powder painted rims,
for the same results.

[briarpatch]

McKees Wheel Coating.....cleanup will be soap and water from then on

[SGM2008]

I run dedicated winter and summer tires on my BMW 535i as well. I use Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating and I switched to Dustless pads. The wheels clean up with soap and water. Every few washes, I`ll use CarPro Reset.

I also picked up the McKee`s Hydro Blue to try on a different car. The Pinnacle is the more durable than the Hydro Blue, but the McKee`s is pretty simple to apply.

[E-Jag]

I should start off by saying I`ve never used a coating on anything, nor am I in a support group because of this. For quite a few years I`ve used 845 on the wheels and Aquawax every couple of weeks. I use 845 maybe 2 or 3 times a year. As an aside, I still sometimes break out #26 and top it with 845. Can`t help it. Also do DG 111 over 105 or 101. I never dwell on what an Autopian disappointment I must be.

[Accumulator]

I use Optimum`s (consumer level) coating on some wheels and FK1000P on the others.

Unless you`re gonna layer Klasse Sealant Glaze at least 65 layers worth, the above are, *IMO/IME* the only sensible way to go unless you plan to redo them all the time. Collinite 845 or 476S didn`t come close, but they did outperform everything else I tried (IIRC), and that was a rather lengthy list as I`ve been waxing wheels since the `70s.

[Surly]

Hey all - thanks so far. A clarifying question for some of you with coating experience....

Because I`m looking for protection from brake dust embedding and the like, I would think this would be similar to an extreme case of fallout protection if talking about paint. I can see just about any old wax making wheels easier to routinely clean, and some waxes lasting longer or shorter than others. I`m not sure I`d expect a wax to protect from brake dust really getting embedded. Perhaps part of that impression is formed by clearcoated alloys on previous cars getting a lot of deep embedding even with M26 on them.

I would guess that sealants might vary - some may have really good fallout/embedding protection but others might be no more effective than wax? I would have thought, but could be wrong, that a "true" coating (even if only a consumer grade one) would really offer the anti-embedding properties I`m looking for (?) On the other hand, I`ve read lots of threads where Accumulator talks about how great FK1000p is at resisting bird bombs and like.

Am I misguided?

I`m going to have to do more reading on the sealer/coating hybrids that seem to be out there, which I assume Hydro2 and the like are.

Oh, and for whatever reason, I`ve found that this F10 produces way way way way (get the jist) way less dust than any other German car I`ve had. Scratch that - any other car of any brand. Still on the factory original pads, which perform like factory original pads. No idea what changed, but the difference is very marked.