Cleaning satin wheels (Carbon Edition)

[SamRS]

After having my carbon edition for 5 months I feel I'm slowly descending into madness by trying to clean the satin black wheels.

I've got an enthusiasts level of detailing knowledge, but never had to deal with satin black wheels before, and despite trying a multitude of products (Auto Finesse, Bilt Hamber, Autoglym) I am still finding the wheels are covered in brake dust / general road grime after a thorough wash (this includes using Bilt Hamber Touchless snowfoam afterwards which works exceptionally well on the bodywork).

Any recommendations on a wheel cleaner for satin wheels? I am using a barrel brush, microfibre cloths and towel drying, but still a lot of filth.

 

[northpole]

Satin wheels that aren't coated in a clear oat will always hold some brakedust simply because the paint isn't flat. How I deal with mine i use a soft wheelbrush a sponge and a microfiber cloth. Than when the wheel is done i wipe it down with either wd40 or gt85 sprayed onto a clean microfiber cloth. And yes even that still removes brakedust. But it's way less than during the wheel clean.


This summer I actually am respraying the wheels 2 tone as the extra work is highly annoying.

 

[Chasriff]

I had the same problem with my wheels, as my usual wet rag and dry rag wasn't cutting it. I found Dr Beasley's Matte Wheel Cleaner and Matte Wheel Seal. The sealer slickens up the surface (without making it glossy) and makes it much easier to clean. It makes it so much easier, I rarely need to use the cleaner anymore, just a wet rage and dry rag. I need to reseal it after about five cleanings. Not sure if this is available in the UK, but there must be something similar available.

 

[Barmybobuk]

This summer I actually am respraying the wheels 2 tone as the extra work is highly annoying.

I thought the gloss black 20's on the TTRS were a PITA to keep looking good, but these wheels are worse!

Annoyingly I had mine coated when it was new but that doesn't appear to have helped. If I can't find a way to make these wheels easier to clean and keep looking good, a re-paint, or replacement will have to be considered.

 

[northpole]

I thought the gloss black 20's on the TTRS were a PITA to keep looking good, but these wheels are worse!

Annoyingly I had mine coated when it was new but that doesn't appear to have helped. If I can't find a way to make these wheels easier to clean and keep looking good, a re-paint, or replacement will have to be considered.

I was going to ceramic coat mine and i know it helps keep them clean however a ceramic coating isn't forever... it needs to be topped up just like the wheel sealers... but since i'm going to respray mine in a 2 tone (breaking up the murdered look, black everything except for the s-line badges and the roof rails on my b7 avant) I'll cover them in 6 layers of clearcoat... that way i know the finish will be smooth and easy to clean. Once they've hardened after a few days i'll ceramic coat them that way they should be very smooth and easy to keep clean.

But brakedust is always a royal PITA especially on black wheels, even worse on a satin or matte finish