I'm in kind of a unique situation here - please bear with me.

2009 FX4 crew cab w/20" factory wheels.

I'm mostly crippled up now to having RA. I used to be OCD about keeping my truck clean plus doing an intense detail twice a year. Now it is all but impossible to do any of that.

My worst problem is keeping my wheels clean - I can't stand it when they are dirty and/or covered with brake dust (fronts). In a perfect world I would just buy myself a set of black rims and just forget about them but the money isn't there.

So next idea is to apply some sort of protectant on the wheels that will make it easy to clean by hopefully just rinsing off and maybe with some kind of spray cleaner. I'm not being lazy - I just can't get down (or even sit on a stool) to clean my wheels by hand.

Is there something I can coat the wheels with? I don't care if I loose some shine or gloss - just want them to look reasonably clean with maybe a twice a month spray off.

Thanks!

 

First thing I'd do is replace those terrible stock dusty brake pads with some Wagner TQ semi metallic pads. I replaced mine when I first bought my truck new and it solved that problem. Now I have virtually no brake dust build up at all. That alone will help you immensely.

Second thing I'd do is get yourself a good wheel protectant/sealant, you could even wax them and it would help.

I've been useing Poorboys World wheel sealant on my wheels since day one. I usually do 3 coats per wheel every three months and let me tell you, my wheels still look brand new. There are tons of good wheel sealants/waxes etc if you search some detail stores. Maybe due to your situation you can have a son/friend/ brother etc apply it for you.

FYI: black wheels look way worse when dirty than your nice aluminum wheels, I know, I've had 2 sets of aluminum and now a set of black wheels. My black wheels are way more high maintenance trust me.

 

You can try Poorboys World Spray & Rinse for cleaning them.
- Follow the directions on the bottle, most will spray it on a hot wheel, which is not good.

http://poorboysworld.com/shopping_ca..._32oz_wSprayer

Here is a post when I used it on the SIL's previous Mustang.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...ml#post4891637

I gave up on using wheel sealant some time back, and just went 100% Spray & Rinse for cleaning them.

You could Spray & Rinse them and apply something like C.A.R. Bullet proof speed seal to them. This is a spray on hose off application that could be done standing up.
http://stores.theragshack.com/c-a-r-...peed-seal-8oz/

I don't know if this would work any better than just cleaning them with Spray & Rinse on a regular basis.
- If you go this route, you will need to dilute the Spray & Rinse, as not to mess up the sealant application.

I would think since your wheel have never been neglected that the Srpay & Rinse would do the trick for you, without needing to get in there with a wheel woolie or similar.

 

You might also consider an attachment that would hold a wheel cleaning tool to a long pole that would allow you to clean the wheels and tires without having to bend over or squat down.

I saw one of these a couple days ago at ACE Hardware. It screws on to the end of a threaded pole (like what you screw into a paint roller) and then has a clamp on it to hold things like paint brushes. I imagine it would hold a wheel cleaning tool too.

It was not expensive, but I don't recall the exact price or its name. I'm sure folks at ACE would help you find it.

- Jack

 

Some great advise here - thanks!

tg150 - thanks so much for the heads up on the black wheels - that could have been a very expensive mistake!

JackandJamet - a tool like that sounds like a possibility. I now use a mop type devise on an extendable handle to do the washing.

The idea of a sealant had come to mind before posting here but it's so hard to know what products are really good. I had thought of waxing the wheels but not sure how long it would last. The wheels are currently off the truck while running my winter set. Since I can't remove/install them anymore I am just running them until they wear out then keeping the stock rims on. So I will be able to do a good application of something while off the truck before I intstall them later this year.

SSCULLY - that product looks good but I question why you wouldn't use a sealant along with the Spray and Rinse product.

One thing seems to be apparent is the love of the PoorBoys products. That's a big step in the right direction for me. I had bookmarked another product that seemed to get mostly glowing reviews on Amazon called Sonax:


I'm just afraid of ruining the clear coat (?) that is on the wheels so it looks like I will go with a PoorBoys product. My wheels have never seen the winter junk they put on the roads here (50/50 mix of sand & salt) which sticks like glue to everything - just horrible. I actually cringe at the thought of running my factory wheels in the winter but hardly drive anywhere now that I am homebound.

 

There use to be a product called "Clear-Lac"...it was a lacquer spray can clear paint for wheels....Eastwood has something very similar.....but for real low/no maintenance care, clear powdercoating is the best.

 

As Steve already stated, Poor Boy's Spray & Rinse is simply the absolute best / easiest to use wheel cleaner out there - and I've tried most of them. You will be amazed how easily it will clean off just about anything that gets on your wheels.

As tg150 said, getting rid of the things that are causing the dusty mess - your OEM brake pads - will make a huge difference. I went with the Wagner Thermo Quiets on my last two F-150's and would never use anything else. Dusting went to about zero and braking performance actually improved a bit.

Finally, you asked about Wheel Sealants. I may be the only one here who doesn't believe in them, but hear me out. A huge problem with applying anything to protect your wheels is the heat generated by your brakes. Standard Carnauba waxes will break down in just a few hard stops. Synthetic Sealants will last a bit longer, but they too don't like heat. The C.A.R. Bullet Proof coating might be a good bet, but I haven't tried it on wheels yet. In short, I think applying just about anything to wheels on a daily driver will do little more than give you a warm fuzzy feeling. But, that's just my opinion.

 

What about Plastidip?

 

You can but why bother.

You will need to dilute the Spray & Rinse if you are using it to clean wheels with sealant on them.
- Steve @ PB World sells wheel sealant also.

I am with Tom on this one, wheel sealant is more feel good than long term. Spray & Rinse undiluted will clean sealant off of them in no time flat.

One of the guys at PB World put a different mfgr's permanent paint protection on his wheels and washing the wheels like paint it was gone in a summer. This is one that did not have the reload function to the product that I recall.

I was like you, took the wheels off and scrubbed the snot out of them and applied 2 coats of PB wheel sealant 2x / yr. After using Spray & Rinse ( following the simple directions ) I stopped that.

The Mustang wheels in that other thread, I don't know if they were every actually cleaned in their life ( other than tunnel washes ) before I hit them.

 

Another fan of Spray and Rinse here! I just used it yesterday on the Edge. I love it. I also have a tub of Poor Boy's Wheel sealant and it does last around a month for me on my DD. I am like 2Stroked and Sscully in that I really don't bother with it anymore. You are stripping it all off anyway with most wheel cleaners, even diluted. It takes time to re-apply and if the wheels are coming clean anyway, not too much point for me personally.

I'm also a big fan of running the right brake pads, it eliminates a lot of the hassle to begin with.

 

OK folks - that settles it for me. PoorBoys Spray and Rinse and that's it.

I appreciate everyone's advise and wisdom - seems a few of you have "been there / done that" with the sealants. This saves me an unnecessary step (which would be difficult for me) and expense.

 

I looked at poorboys spray and rinse ,they recommended not using their product on bare aluminum or polished wheels . The 20's that came on my truck are bare and polished .45/70SS

 

If you have OEM / factory wheels - which it looks like you do - they are clear coated. In fact they have a much better clear coat than aftermarket wheels. That said, you should have no problems.

 

Most of the spray/rinse products leave a very, very tiny residue that deteriorates the finish over several years......

what I use is...

3 gallon bucket...
Hot water
1 table spoon of dawn dish soap
2 tablespoons of Simple green

 

What he said...