Cleaning Carbon Fiber Wheels

[nmp1]

Sponsored

 

[SL8888]

My GT 350 brother, your post is quite timely.
Those CF wheels sure do look great ! I just got back from
Mid-Ohio and my CF wheels are filthy dirty. What is the product called that you use to pretreat your wheels with ?
I’m going to have to get some and try it. I seriously thought about buying a steamer.
Here is a picture of my front wheel and my electric power washer. Thanks for your input.

 

[nmp1]

I just used a basic wheel cleaner (303 wheel and tire). Those wheels really saw some action, you might want to bump it up to something like (303 Products Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner) or some sort of iron remover. I would give some love to everything in the wheel well too. Ironically I have the same pressure washer.

 

[kilobravo]

NMP, thanks for posting that clip and like Ray, I need to clean mine as well. I'm not a "tracker type" so mine only have a couple thousand street miles on them.

Took them off one time to clean the plasma coating and discovered what an exercise in futility that can be. Even tried a floor cleaning steamer that the wife has and while I knew that steam does a good job from other vids but I found that it has to have some force behind it. Hers was just a steam cloud generator and within a couple seconds, the cloud was so thick that I could no longer see the inner face. <laughing>

Therefive, since I have an electric pw, I will see how it does and why I didn't try that the first time is beyond me. :=)

But, while I intentionally ordered the Snack Pack, my '60's car daddy brain never liked the look of black wheels and eventually, I pulled them off and installed Signature SV108's.

My set has been tucked away in the Signature boxes for some time now so, I'm cleaning them to prep for sale.

 

[WD Pro]

My set has been tucked away in the Signature boxes for some time now so, I'm cleaning them to prep for sale.

No ! Don't sell them, keep them with the car ...

If you must sell them, I think @Tomster is the forum collector of such fine carbon art ...

WD

 

[Tomster]

NMP, thanks for posting that clip and like Ray, I need to clean mine as well. I'm not a "tracker type" so mine only have a couple thousand street miles on them.

Took them off one time to clean the plasma coating and discovered what an exercise in futility that can be. Even tried a floor cleaning steamer that the wife has and while I knew that steam does a good job from other vids but I found that it has to have some force behind it. Hers was just a steam cloud generator and within a couple seconds, the cloud was so thick that I could no longer see the inner face. <laughing>

Therefive, since I have an electric pw, I will see how it does and why I didn't try that the first time is beyond me. :=)

But, while I intentionally ordered the Snack Pack, my '60's car daddy brain never liked the look of black wheels and eventually, I pulled them off and installed Signature SV108's.

My set has been tucked away in the Signature boxes for some time now so, I'm cleaning them to prep for sale.

Magic erasers work well on the ceramic.

Don't sell those wheels Kent. They belong with the car.

 

[MAGS1]

One suggestion, I would not hold the tip that close to the wheel. Even though you’re using a 40 degree tip, holding it a couple inches from the surface you’re spraying does not allow that full 40 degree spread. So you effectively have decreased that spread down to maybe 10-15 degrees and increased your effective PSI. May or may not damage that coating but it could on a painted surface.

As for chemicals to use, an iron remover a couple times a year would break down any small particles that are caught in that coating, any good wheel cleaner should get most of it the rest of the time though. A stiffer detailing brush like the Curveball could also be effective in conjunction with the wheel cleaner.

Just my $0.02

 

[Tomster]

I wouldn't use a pressure washer period. CR says mild detergent only.

I've seen where ceramic can delamimate. I wouldn't use steam or any strong chemical.

 

[MAGS1]

I wouldn't use a pressure washer period. CR says mild detergent only.

I've seen where ceramic can delamimate. I wouldn't use steam or any strong chemical.

I never liked the term mild detergent. Some people will see that and break out the Dawn soap. Do they mean a pH neutral shampoo (I assume yes whenever I see that term)? Is something like CarPro Lift (pH 11 or 12, can’t remember which one off the top of my head) too harsh? Lift is a great soap for unclogging ceramic coatings on cars but also shouldn’t be used more than a few times per year because it is higher on the pH scale. It might be a better alternative than an iron remover or wheel cleaner though if someone wants to avoid those types of chemicals.

Here’s the Curveball if anyone is interested. I use it to clean the honeycombs in the front grille, works great and is soft enough that it doesn’t leave any scratches

 

[Tomster]

I never liked the term mild detergent. Do they mean a pH neutral shampoo (I assume yes whenever I see that term)? Is something like CarPro Lift (pH 11 or 12, can’t remember which one off the top of my head) too harsh? Lift is a great soap for unclogging ceramic coatings on cars but also shouldn’t be used more than a few times per year because it is higher on the pH scale. It might be a better alternative than an iron remover or wheel cleaner though if someone wants to avoid those types of chemicals.

Here’s the Curveball if anyone is interested. I use it to clean the honeycombs in the front grille, works great and is soft enough that it doesn’t leave any scratches

Just a simple car wash detergent. That, along with magic erasers really clean the ceramic well. Just don't let it get to the point where the ceramic is borderline neglected.

Forget about the OCD. It's a simple ceramic barrier to protect against excessive heat from interacting with the epoxy.

 

[MAGS1]

Just a simple car wash detergent. That, along with magic erasers really clean the ceramic well. Just don't let it get to the point where the ceramic is borderline neglected.

Forget about the OCD. It's a simple ceramic barrier to protect against excessive heat from interacting with the epoxy.

I’m way OCD about car cleaning stuff so I can’t help it LOL

 

[SL8888]

I just used a basic wheel cleaner (303 wheel and tire). Those wheels really saw some action, you might want to bump it up to something like (303 Products Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner) or some sort of iron remover. I would give some love to everything in the wheel well too. Ironically I have the same pressure washer.

Just 2 days at the Mid-Ohio HPDE event, OEM pads all around. I'll get some 303 HD wheel cleaner and work the ceramic over with the Magic Eraser pads then post my results

 

[kilobravo]

No ! Don't sell them, keep them with the car ...

Don't sell those wheels Kent. They belong with the car.

Loud and clear, gents but..
..you guys are looking at the situation from a different angle, i.e., keeping the car the way it came. I get that however, from a financial standpoint, it makes more sense to me to sell them separately from any potential sale of the vehicle in the future. That probably will never happen unless I kick the bucket sooner than I'd like. <smile>

Magic erasers work well on the ceramic.

Got some awhile back Tom and they've been waiting for me to take on the job.

I wouldn't use a pressure washer period.

For most pw units, that would be extremely good advice, Tom but if you have a PW that can dial down the pressure, it's not an issue as long as you don't try to "dig in" with the tip an inch above the surface. I lower mine to 600psi when I use the CR Spotless dionizing rig to rinse post wash and it's not much more than a strong pump sprayer.

Forget about the OCD. It's a simple ceramic barrier to protect against excessive heat from interacting with the epoxy.

Again, I hear ya, amigo but you actually put the plasma to the test regularly and don't care if there's a dark spot or two. For us obsessive cleaners, a few just won't do. (And I KNOW you're getting a good laugh from that remark.) <BSEG>

I’m way OCD about car cleaning stuff so I can’t help it LOL

I am the same, Mark, our brains need to satisfy the "clean obsession." <smile>

A stiffer detailing brush like the Curveball could also be effective in conjunction with the wheel cleaner.

Trust me, Markus, the spots on the plasma coating would laugh if you got out the CurveBall. <grin> Super brush for sure but not for this job. Think about trying to use it get an old, baked in oil stain off the driveway. :=) It would be an exercise in futility.

The good news is, the Magic Erasers are reportedly able to get most of them and I shall report back when I get around to trying it.

 

[MAGS1]

Trust me, Markus, the spots on the plasma coating would laugh if you got out the CurveBall. <grin> Super brush for sure but not for this job. Think about trying to use it get an old, baked in oil stain off the driveway. :=) It would be an exercise in futility.

Good to know KB. I’ve driven an R and CFTP but didn’t really do much inspecting of the coating on the CF wheels (too busy giggling like a little school boy from driving such fantastic vehicles ). Sounds like the magic eraser is a good tool for it. They do clean well, I use them around the house for a few things

 

[Tomster]

For most pw units, that would be extremely good advice, Tom but if you have a PW that can dial down the pressure, it's not an issue as long as you don't try to "dig in" with the tip an inch above the surface. I lower mine to 600psi when I use the CR Spotless dionizing rig to rinse post wash and it's not much more than a strong pump sprayer.

If you have to dial it down that low, then it isn't worth doing. I've heard of people using steam, but again, you don't want to run the risk of delamination.

Sponsored