shahedC

I have had my 2007 SLK for 10 days.. I put a 1000 miles on it, and also drove it through the mountains last weekend.

Needless to say, the wheels became extremely dirty.

I took it in for a complimentary 1000-mile service, and the cleaned up the wheels.

However, driving it from Arlington to Fairfax made the wheels dirty again!

I want to clean the wheels myself every week.. do you have any tips/recommendations?

Thanks in advance.
Shahed

amcgrath815

I've tried several different things on my SLK's wheels (I drive it from Alexandria to McLean every day to work, and you're right, the wheels get dirty FAST), and the best I've found so far is Meguiar's Hot Rims wheel cleaner, or their Gold Glass wheel cleaner. I get it on www.cleanacar.com for a great price. It takes off everything but large pieces of tar, which will require bug & tar remover.

I spray it on, brush it thoroughly with a soft wheel brush, and rinse it off. You can dry/buff with a soft towel if you want, and it wouldn't hurt to wax them every once in a while.

I've had my SLK since April '05 and the wheels look GREAT.

Good luck!
Ann

shahedC

Thanks for the tips..

Even though my SLK looks better than my C230 used to look, I still think the C230 had hotter wheels than my SLK wheels!

I think I need some wheel upgrades for my SLK!

jbanks15

i clean them in the am at work with just a paper towel and water. when i return home at night i repeat the process. this keeps the dirt off considerably. but i am also **** about keeping my car clean. here is my daily/weekly cleaning schedule.

m-f am/pm wipe fenders by wheels with rag to get off road dirt
clean windows
gel tires
wipe down
vacuum in pm
wipe down rims
wed and sat zaino leather in a bottle
weekend wash and wax

shahedC

That sounds like a good way of keeping it clean daily.

I will attempt to do this several times a week.

thanks,
shahedC

Duo-Art

There have been reports of people putting a couple coats of Zaino on their wheels which makes cleaning them much easier.

bmwnomore

Yep, that's what I did. A quick coat of Zaino once in a while and my wheels wipe clean with no effort at all. They still get coated with brake dust, especially the fronts, but it comes right off. After I apply the Z-7 (gloss enhancer) to the paint (I do this once a week when the car is clean), I use the same rag to do the wheels. It still has a little of the gloss enhancer in the rag and gets the rims clean and shiny.

-1-

Sorry, I never liked the factory SLK 350 10 spoke wheels. Ordered new wheels two days after buying the car and installed them the first week. I have the AMG five spoke 18" wheels. I like the look and they're super easy to clean. I can clean the inside of the wheel with little effort. Many wheels available. My recommendation is AT LEAST 18", if not 19" wheels. Consider something easy to clean that's stylish.

-1-

I admire your dedication. I do most of the above, but not daily. Wash at least weekly and clean the inside as required. I keep the tires shiney, almost daily. Sorry, I'm not much for waxing. My wife is lucky. I do all the work, she gets to drive a nicely detailed SLK. She loves the car and that makes it worth the effort.

shahedC

yeah, definitely the 5-spoke wheels!