andrethx Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 i've been pretty busy with work & family stuff these past couple of weeks, so i haven't had big chunks of time to work on my car. so i've taken a bit of time each day to tend to my wheels. my philosophy is, keep moving forward. i got these alloy wheels as a set, to replace the steelies that came with my car (steelies went to a friend). they look pretty good from a distance, and they are very straight & have almost no curb rash. the wheels also came with the original stickers, which were in pretty good shape except that most of them were applied crookedly (that's how i know they were original ). thus, i removed them; i found that i liked the look, so i probably won't replace them. unfortunately, the wheels had a bit of brake dust that had settled in over the years. two of the wheels looked pretty good (the driver's side wheels), so they needed only minimal cleaning. rather than use some of the more aggressive cleaning methods i've read about in the detailing forums, i decided to use a good-quality cleaner at least once a day over many days, in hopes that i could remove a little bit of the dust at a time and avoid having to refinish the wheels. i used sonax wheel cleaner with a brush: every day over the last couple of weeks, i'd go out to the car once or twice and apply the cleaner, let it dwell, brush it around a bit, then hose it off. it certainly works, the following wheel was black in the crevices that now only have a bit of the dust residue: unfortunately, the paint on the driver's side wheels is coming off. was it like this before, and just hidden under the dust residue? or did my daily brushings loosen the paint? i suspect a bit of both. you have to be very close to the wheel to see it, but it's there. i was going to remove the wheels and clean the inside barrels with the sonax and some 4O steel wool (a technique i read about in the detailing forums), but now i'm certain that this will remove more of the paint. so i'm not sure at this point if i should continue with the cleanings or just wait until i get around to having the wheels refinished. comments, opinions, advice etc.? andre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushgo Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Try using a Terry cloth towel and some your cleaner and lots of elbow grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushgo Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Mine actually Had surface cracks in the paint so I sanded them down and painted the glossy black on the turbo. I like the way it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 If you had gone for the Turbo/V6 alloy wheel type, it would have saved you this stress. the Turbo type dosent store dirts or dust from brake pads because it dosent have have anywhere to stay. the wheel is plain & flat. everything washes off as you wash the wheel. i face similar problem with mine. I never wanted the GTI wheels that mine came with (the one you pictured). Well, when my car arrived, the wheels had so much black dirts that wouldnt go off for quite a long time. but with patience & continous cleanining, they are now 90% clean off those dirts. take your time. you will succeed. As for me, once i have the opportunity, I wont hesitate to replace the 4 on mine with a set of turbo/V6 type in good conditions. ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Andre, you should also know that the Turbo/STX alloy is heavier & wider. It sizes 205/60 & 225/65 tyre size better than the GTI type you have. Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 I guess my were post were biased. To correct myself, I would note that one stores dirt more than the other. Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted September 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 phil -- i like the terrycloth idea, that seems like it would be just a bit more abrasive than the brush (but not overly so). will probably end up refinishing the wheels at some point...i'm thinking i'll go with the original silver color, black wheels look good on your dark car but my car is a very pale, silvery blue so i think silver is the way to go. ikenna -- you are right, the later style alloys would be easier to take care of. the GTI-style wheels that i have look a bit more aggressive, though, and i like them a bit better than the others...they are more unique and have more "personality." also, they are more plentiful here, the late-style wheels themselves are not too difficult to get but the plastic centers (in good condition) are pretty rare. in the future, i will replace them with something a lot more modern & performance oriented...right now, i am working to get my car to "stage zero" (as rabin calls it) and looking nice... andre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N9TE Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 I found that Griot's new Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner does almost the exact job Sonax does at a better price point. It also turns red. A better and cheaper product is Duragloss 821 wheel cleaner. Auto Parts stores affiliated with PartsAmerica carry the Duragloss line. Worth knowing for quality items you can buy retail. I've found that cleaning wheels is usually a matter of effort - A LOT. Heavy duty tools can be used on the barrels, but you're right that you should keep things mild with the fronts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Couple things: Ikenna the 15" wheels Peugeot used are all 15x6 inches - there's no advantage to the newer flat spoke wheel for sizing. It's contoured differently on the backside and as such fits the later cars with ABS brakes while the older wheels will only fit the front when the brake pads are 50% worn. The only advantage they have in design is that the flat spokes don't collect brake dust - but the pockets in between the spokes are exactly the same and they too collect the exact same brake dust as the older design. Andre: I too prefer the earlier style wheels. Plain flat sided cars look much better to my eye with multi-spoke wheels. As for refinishing, I can tell you the surface paint may come off easy, but the primer / under coat they used on these wheels wears like iron. I would HIGHLY recommend sending these out to be bead blasted and professionally powdercoated if you want the wheels to last. Painting looks nice for a while, but even simple things like a slipped lug wrench / socket can chip the paint even if it lives a sheltered life. Another option - which I regretted not doing when I had my wheels lips repaired - would be to paint then wheels a darker colour, then have the wheel face machined. I had the curb rash on lips on 2 of mine repaired and the shop commented on how easy it would have been to put a machine finish on the whole wheel while it was on the lathe. It was going to cost double to do it after the fact since they'd have to spend a lot of time chucking the wheel up again so I left it. You can either leave the machined finish, or have them do an ultra fine cut so that they can be polished out to a chrome like shine. I don't like chromed wheels - but polished alloy can look awesome. This option only works on the early style wheels - the flat spoke style has a plastic center so your only options are painting unless you do a fair bit of custom machine work to the center. If I could cost effectively machine the early style wheels to fit the ABS suspension, I'd much prefer them than the flat spoke wheel. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 koll -- will definitely look for the duragloss 821. i am nearly out of the sonax from so much cleaning! rabin -- so that's the undercoat i've been seeing, not the bare rim. i feel a bit better about that, will keep cleaning since seeing that is preferable to seeing black spots on the rim. i had talked about doing some of my own powerdercoating in an earlier thread, but i've recently heard about a place in east LA that's pretty inexpensive and does good work. so i'm thinking i'll take some of my less-critical parts (front license plate bracket, etc.) to them as a test run, then maybe have them do my rims later if they do a good job on the simple stuff...will probably stick with light silver finish... thanks for the input, guys... andre PS -- ukit told me that he thinks the later-style rims look like something off of a volkswagen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 volkswagen! Very funny! I still prefer & admire the later-style rims though. Rabin, you maybe right about the size of the earlier & later wheels been the same. But from what i have seen over here, 205/60 fits well on the later/flat style wheels better than the earlier stlyles. The 195/60 on mine (earlier style) look oversize on those rims. I wonder how 205/60 would look like on them. But i have seen number of 205/60 on some 505's with flat wheels looking matched. Maybe am seeing what i want to see. About the weight, someone that have 2 505s with both wheels told me that the flat/later style on his 505 V6 has more weight than the earlier style. He could be right or wrong. Afterall, i have never owned the flat type. Americans with passions for aggressive looks! Thats why you prefer the earlier style wheels Andre. Also thats why 504 & 505 American specs look aggressive, because Peugeot knew they would sale more or attract buyers in Noth America with such looks. Likewise Honda & Toyota are not left out. All their American spec products all have different designs from Euro specs, with aggressive look. Maybe, if 405 sold in North America have had aggressive look or design, different from Euro spec, it would have sold more & would make Peugeot to remain in North America. At least, America would have had 605! Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peugeottogo Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Andre, quick question? What did you use to remove those ugly black decals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Rabin, you maybe right about the size of the earlier & later wheels been the same. But from what i have seen over here, 205/60 fits well on the later/flat style wheels better than the earlier stlyles. The 195/60 on mine (earlier style) look oversize on those rims. I wonder how 205/60 would look like on them. But i have seen number of 205/60 on some 505's with flat wheels looking matched. Maybe am seeing what i want to see. About the weight, someone that have 2 505s with both wheels told me that the flat/later style on his 505 V6 has more weight than the earlier style. He could be right or wrong. Afterall, i have never owned the flat type. I think it's just your perception - wheel size is identical. You are likely right on the weight of the flat spoke wheel - the early style is known to bend easier, the later flat spoke is supposed to be much stronger. (IE if you rally your Peugeot you should use the flat spoke alloys) It would make sense that if they're stronger - they're likely heavier as well, but I doubt it's very much at all. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted September 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Jeff - heat gun to remove the decals, mineral spirits to remove the residue... andre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 I would HIGHLY recommend sending these out to be bead blasted and professionally powdercoated if you want the wheels to last. I keep going back and forth between powdercoating and painting, I've read that powdercoating can actually weaken alloys. I have not confirmed any of this or seriously looked into it as of yet, but the wheels will have to be sand-blasted and resurfaced somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 the chrome on one my car's Alloy wheels (the Andre's type) fall off the other day without my knowing, while driving. I went in search of another for it today & was supprised to find it in new. I bought it at the price of N500 ($4). So cheap. I tried to upload the pics but the sizes are too large to upload. Andre, the wheel you pictured dosent have it. Is it that you cant find a replacement or that you removed it intentionally? Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted October 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 ikenna, you're talking about the center caps, correct? i have about ten of them, some are great and some are terrible. when i get the wheels looking a little prettier, i'm going to put on the best 4 i have and keep the others as spares. andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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