so... the finish on my wheels has gotten more dirty looking and less BLACK. anyone have a product they can recommend? even autopia was kinda useless on this subject. i dont think clay and wax is a good solution because i want to avoid shine. also i dont know if they would leave some sort of residue.

 

Wax is a no no on flat black.

 

What kind of wheels are they?

 

tenzo-r dc5

 

is there any insight into this?

 

this is what i use on mine and it works great..

 

i've never used a "wheel cleaner" because i was afraid it would do something to the finish. i always just wash them with the meguiar's nXt wash like the rest of the car. if you use this on flat black wheels and you're satisfied, i'll give it a shot. thanks

 

just make sure you get the one for all wheel finishes, not the one for chrome

 

Black magic in general sucks
I'd try p21s' wheel cleaner. works well for pretty much any wheel

 

i use eagle one wheel cleaner on my OZ's and they work great

 

Do not put any of this crap on your wheels Tony, you are correct...
If its Flat Black you pretty much cannot do anything to it other than washing...
Any of these products shown will eat right through your paint,,,
Im guess the wheels that these other people have are not anything near flat, the OZ's for example have a top coat on them which is semi gloss, in that case use what ever you want, but flat black is a very delicate thing to have,,,
I cannot even risk getting tire shine near the lips of my wheels,,,, or wheel cleaner,,,

 

off topic, but any insight on flat black on a car? is it difficult to maintain? will someones greasy hand stain this type of paint?

 

ok thats what i thought i'm glad you chimed in. now i need to find out what is the best possible thing to wash them with and the best possible way in which to wash them.
i'll take close-up pictures the next time i'm home, but the dirty look doesnt seem to go away, even when i just cleaned them. i've found meguair's quik detailer to be safe on my surface, but it doesn't get me the clean i'm looking for

it slowly gets less flat and becomes more of a satin. lets try and stay on topic. as far as my research goes, there has never been a real, documented answer to this.

 

Gotta disagree...
There ARE safe wheel cleaners out there. Off the top of my head:
P21S wheel cleaner (100% acid free)
or
Chemical Guys citrus based cleaner (the orange one, can't remember name)
Of course, if it cleans with just regular car soap, there's no need, but for really gummed up wheels, I'd rather use a chemical than elbow grease (and possibly shining up the flat black)

 

ok so i was just on discount tire and i came across my wheels and it says that they're powdercoated flat black. this is news to me. i don't know if they're correct, but if they are powdercoated do i have more options?

 

^ you might want to double check that. They might be right.

I do remember cleaning those wheels last spring before you put them back on the car and it seemed like no matter what we used to clean them the finish always kinda dulled out.

 

So the definitive answer is: Water to wash. Because any cleaning solution will dull the black?