alloy wheel stain removing & rain proofing windows

[AKhan87]

the person who I bought the car from showed this product to me for removing the stains on that wheel, it was actually working rather quickly. But I rather have the confidence of BITOG recommendations on what will work best, as I don't mind buying the right products but I don't want to use less effective products and waste time & money. I only intend to this once as I'm not into making my car "shine" but I rather don't want it to look oldish. Another recommendation I'm looking for is Rain X Glass Treatment I have a few friends that use this and say it works, is it really that effective? just follow the procedure on the back of the bottle or you guys have additional steps I should do? also how often should something like this be applied? last but not least, I use the turtle headlight restoration kit to clean up the yellow on our headlights, I get em fairly clean but not like how some of you guys get them to be almost new looking, if I decided "buffer" is the way to go then which one would I buy for this purpose and how much? we have some air buffing tools at the family shop but I have no idea which pads to get from where that fit. The yellowing returns fairly quickly as to make my efforts useless, I was recommended this Optimum Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating how effective is that? it's a little steep for the cost, I mean how many applications and how long will it last? I can get replacement headlights for a little more and would be new... Headlight Lens Sealer here is another product as well, any info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[285south]

Rain-X works. It's effective. Go out and buy a bottle and apply it. Since you are so hesitant, have one of your Rain-x friends hose down your windshield as you are in the driver seat playing with the wiper controls. See the magic that is science

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: 285south

Rain-X works. It's effective. Go out and buy a bottle and apply it. Since you are so hesitant, have one of your Rain-x friends hose down your windshield as you are in the driver seat playing with the wiper controls. See the magic that is science

lol thanks, I'm hesitant to use a lesser product if a better one is also available at a reasonable cost, my celica is already aerodynamic enough I have used my wipers only twice in 20-25 times its been in rain but I would love to add the effect of not having to use the wipers at all! (obviously severe weather will dictate otherwise)

 

[Donald]

Looks like brake dust on silver painted wheels to me. You can clean off the brake dust stains but I see some rust starting on the edge. As for headlights, the Turtle Wax kit works fine. I thought it included a sealer now? 3M makes a sealer also.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: Donald

Looks like brake dust on silver painted wheels to me. You can clean off the brake dust stains

what product would you recommend for that?

 

[tdpark]

With the Rain x- follow the directions- then after you are done- buff the window with a clean towel so it is clear. I know people who did not follow the directions and then complained the window was all greasy and the stuff smeared all over the place.

 

[Vikas]

From what I remember from using Rain-X, I hated it with passion after using it for few days. When it starts wearing out, it makes the situation way worse than before the Rain-X.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt

Originally Posted By: Donald

Looks like brake dust on silver painted wheels to me. You can clean off the brake dust stains

what product would you recommend for that?

You need to find out if you have allow wheels or just silver painted steel. Different products. But some car wash soap/water and a brush for wheels would be a good start.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: Donald

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt

Originally Posted By: Donald

Looks like brake dust on silver painted wheels to me. You can clean off the brake dust stains

what product would you recommend for that?

You need to find out if you have allow wheels or just silver painted steel. Different products. But some car wash soap/water and a brush for wheels would be a good start.

it is alloy, what kind of brush and product? I don't want to ruin the surface I guess. I have three different brushes made of either Nylon, Brass, or Stainless Steel, which one would you recommend?

 

[Zeus33]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt

I have three different brushes made of either Nylon, Brass, or Stainless Steel, which one would you recommend?

NEVER use brass or stainless steel brushes on any wheels. I wouldn't even recommend the nylon brush.

 

[razel]

Those look like painted alloy wheels, so that Stratch-Out will be fine. Don't expect it to work miracles on rust or baked in brake dust. If you need it to be more aggressive use a drill and buy an attachment. Mother's PowerBall Mini works well for wheels and headlights. Otherwise, have a good meal and stretch those arms. Put wax on the wheels after you are done. Remember it is paint.. actually clear coat, so treat it as such. I learned my lesson when I used magic eraser on mine. Luckily the stracthes I put were mild enough to be removed with that PowerBall and polish. I have tried Rain-X... My love for it had ended. Hydrophobic wax and you dry products are far easier to use. I ended up using Wax as you Dry to clean the outside of my windows and rims now.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Don't understand the gripes about Rain-X. It must 6 days out of the week here recently, and mine is holding up, 6 weeks after application. Even the industrial fallout near the warehouse hasn't managed to put a dent in it. Difference? Look at my rear windows vs. the front. Compare this to the appearance of my clean, but non-Rain-x rear windows. That's not a fresh application, either. That's 3 weeks old in these pics.

 

[The Critic]

If those are really rust/iron stains, you can try CarPro Iron-X. For windshields, try CarPro FlyBy30. On the headlights, just get new ones. I have tons of Opti-Lens, but I am not confident that it will be equivalent to an OEM-like durability. You are better off getting new lenses.