brianja

Wheel temps get high and any carnuba applied will likely melt off very quickly. Carnuba melts in your hands when you apply it, imagine how it reacts when on hot wheels.

A sealant like Zaino or Menzerna FMJ, or a wheel specific wax like Swissvax Autobahn will last much longer.

brianja

You also have to be careful not to apply cleaning chemicals to hot wheels.... let them cool fully.

daveak05

or anything like that.

I have used this on my cars for years, basically the carnuba wash/wax and also when washing the wheels.

What it DOES do is keept the wheel surface fairly slick with a slight wax coating, and brake dust tends to not stick nearly as much, if at all.

Try it out once and see what you think...

daveak05

especially people at the dealerships who don't care about the car or are under time constraints. The products are overrated anyway, the lazy man's approach.

brianja

Its not that carnuba doesn't work...its just that these last longer than a carnuba will in that application.

daveak05

but what I'm talking about is just having the carnuba in the wash/wax form. Every time I wash my car(and wheels) it's getting a coat of wax that way.

Every 4th or 5th wash I use a straight wash product to keep the carnuba from building up over time, but that's just me.

I'm sure the wheel sealants are excellent, but it's a lot of extra work and can be a pain on dark wheel surfaces.

brianja

a straight carnuba to the wheel instead of the purpose-made products. That made little sense to me.

Personally, I would rather stick to separate wash / wax, so I guess I am stuck using the products I have. Its a preference thing. I would rather apply the waxes to the paint/wheels separate from the wash. I prefer the results and find the process calming.

daveak05

you're right, it's a preference thing.

My cars are garaged, so I very seldom have to hand wax.

I do like the carnuba based wash/wax products because you can see a coat of wax on the car after washing, it's visible. Also, it does not mess up black trim or windows.

It's not the same as an actual hand wax, but it looks good and I know it's offering more paint protection than just a straight wash.

gap27t

I bought the car used about 5 months ago. In the last month, wheels started peeling and at least 2 of them started to get stain spots on them. Took it to my local dealer and they showed me proof that the wheels had been refinished in the past (and not very well). While I think the peeling can be due to a bad refinish job, I can't explain the spotting/staining. Anyway, dealer is having some one come in to see if they can refinish again. I'll post update.

BTW, I tried everything to convince them they should be covered under warranty, but no luck.