Cleaning and Waxing Fuch wheels

[Arnie]

For my 89 Turbo it says to seal the wheels with Vaseline but if you do that it picks up brake dust. Do you have to do this to protect Oxidation or will any regular wax work?

[mdaino]

The purpose is really twofold with the Vaseline; one is to seal the clear and black anodizing which as you already know is very sensitive to oxidation and corrosion and the other is that it does give the wheel a nice sheen. The dust sticking to the wheel is definitely a problem though. Not only is the dust unsightly but the particles are abrasive as well. The only product that I have used to remove the Vaseline and brake dust is WD40 sprayed on a clean cotton cloth but that is very time consuming. If you do not subject the wheels to an environment where they are susceptible to corrosion (such as salt and dampness) then I think a good quality wax would work well. I would recommend a wax without abrasive cleaners if the wheels are already in good to excellent condition. A cleaner wax would work better if the wheel surface is already showing signs of oxidation.

[mdaino]

An interesting note on this subject is that if the wheels have been refinished by a reputable wheel shop then they are not longer anodized as that process is prohibitively expensive to do on a single wheel basis. The wheels would then be clear/tinted with paint or powder coating depending on the refinisher. In that case the finish would have considerably higher strength that the original finish.

[Arnie]

[QUOTE=mdaino;83]An interesting note on this subject is that if the wheels have been refinished by a reputable wheel shop then they are not longer anodized as that process is prohibitively expensive to do on a single wheel basis. The wheels would then be clear/tinted with paint or powder coating depending on the refinisher. In that case the finish would have considerably higher strength that the original finish.[/QUOTE]

Thanks they are original Fuchs. I will just wax them and wanted to make sure.