Have a 04 stratus rt. are these rims coated with a clear coat? If so, what to I polish them with? car wax? aluminum polish (will it hurt the coating)?

 

yes they do have clear coat on them. I wouldn't use a brush on the wheels, although that is what the clearcoat is for, to protect from scratches n such. Go to autozone or somwhere n they prolly have a polish just for clearcoated wheels, car wax would do okay, not real sure on aluminum polish tho.

 

Most aluminum polish is made for bare aluminum. Mothers make polishes that are for clear coated aluminum.

 

thanks, i'll look for something like that. What about washing these rims? I can't get the brake dust off with car wash soap, I need something stronger that won't hurt the clear coat

 

I would wash them with a soft spong or was mitt to get most of it off then use the polish to polish out the rest of it. The polish will act almost like a wax and help keep the crud from sticking to the rims.

 

just use all purpose wheel cleaner to get the brake dust off. i used to wash cars for like a year, and we used degreaser. neither wheel hurt ur rims. once brake dust gets packed on its hard to get off. just keep a rag in ur car and wipe ur wheels often, thats what i do. those wheels do look nice on the new rt's.

 

be carefulof some wheel cleaners and degreaser some of them can cause damage to clear coats. Even bleach white states right onit do not allow contact with aluminum as it can damage it.

 

i can see it damaging it if it doesn't have a clear coat. but im also just saying use it when the brake dust is really hard to get off. otherwise just use soap and water.

 

I agree some cleaners may help to remove the brake dust. I was just stating to be careful because some cleaners can be really harsh and to read the package and see what it states.

 

I have polished aluminum 18"inch Z06 rims on my Z and I can tell you they are a pain in the a$$ to keep clean. I generally use dish soap and water, as some wheel cleaners are very harsh on the wheel itself. Obviously dish soap isn't as strong as other cleaners, but if you clean the rims often you'll be okay. I have 15" OZ Racing 5 stars (black) on my Accent and I use car wax once a year and use dish soap the rest of the year.