Help!Nylon brush scratched my rims

[jps3b]

Hello all. I'm so bummed. I just purchased a 2022 X5M50i and bought a starter kit from Chemical Guys. It came with a nylon brush. I sprayed the citrus based wheel cleaner on and used the nylon brush to clean the wheels. We have deionized water at work so it makes it really easy to wash my car. The next day, I noticed when the sun was at the perfect angle, I had really small scratches on my wheels. I used the nylon brush specifically because I thought they wouldn't leave scratches. If I can't use a nylon brush, what else can I use? Thank you all for commenting

[JimVR4]

I just put on neoprene gloves and use my hands

[GREENPUS]

The nylon brush scratched? I have the same wheels and never noticed scratches from nylon brushes. I guess I never really looked up close. But then again, 10 seconds after washing, my wheels are dirty again lol

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by jps3b

Hello all. I'm so bummed. I just purchased a 2022 X5M50i and bought a starter kit from Chemical Guys. It came with a nylon brush. I sprayed the citrus based wheel cleaner on and used the nylon brush to clean the wheels.

Without knowing more about how you did it I'd say it wasn't the brush as much as your technique, but, again, I'm only speculating. It depends on how dirty your wheels & tires were but, in general, I wouldn't be putting any harsh wheel cleaners/degreasers/acidic cleaners on a new car / new wheels.

Here's what I did a few days after picking up my x5:

(1.) High pressure spray down, obviously including the wheels/tires
If you wheels are new and haven't been subjected to lots of dirty rain/road film they should be pretty hydrophobic so you shouldn't have a problem with gummed up brake dust & dirt. yet. Your wheel finish isn't any different from your paint finish so, to start, you shouldn't treat it much different.

(2.) Good wash with a very lubby soap
Technique is key! This might be controversial but I recommend a rinseless wash like Mckee's 37 or Optimum No Rinse and no double bucket method as this just ups the risk of scratches IMO. Wet down your wheels with really good soaking via spray bottle of no rinse and let it dwell awhile. You might even do a rinse and then re-spray. If you still see a lot of brake dust and/or dirt you'll have to switch to Brake Buster (see below), but if not, good ole soap/shampoo should be enough.

Next using a either a good microfiber like a Rag Co Everest folded in 1/4s or a good brush (I use boar's hair) lightly agitate the wheel all over & rinse. Re-apply no-rinse and using a good clean microfiber clean all the outside areas of the wheel. For the wheel barrels you can use something like Microfiber Madness's Incredibrush or cheaper alternatives (but you get what you pay for!). Don't forget the calipers! Final rinse & dry, again with clean MF. Never re-use a MF that's picked up dirt. For me, one or two passes and they're done, I grab a new one. Brushes have to be thoroughly cleaned after each wheel!

(3.) Protect it!
Now that your wheel is clean and dry, I'd use a decent paint protectant like turtle wax's flex wax. Their seal & shine lasts longer, but IMO flex was is easier to use, it just requires reapplication every few washes.

If you do this, then your wheel should mostly hose off and you won't need any harsh wheel chemicals (just like your paint!)

I do use P&S Brake Buster if things are pretty dirty because it's non-acidic and works for both wheels & tires. In that case you'd do an initial spray down, possible an initial BB application & spray off w/o agitation, then re-apply brake buster and let it dwell, then rinse and see what it looks like. (if you like foam, use a marolex foamer with bb mixed 1:5 or 1:10) If your wheel is still dirty, them another application of brake buster, agitate as above, then rinse & dry. If you do that, though, you've got to put protection back on as you've killed it with the brake buster.


Net-net:
The scratches likely happened by the brush dragging dirt over wheels, not due to the brush itself (either because the brush got dirty & wasn't cleaned or you didn't rinse first & reapply or the citrus stuff doesn't work).

You can fix the scratches with a light compound hand applied and/or have a detailer do it - should be pretty easy to fix, just maybe a little time consuming.

Using good wash technique & a good LSP will keep it from happening again ... though I'd get some good products & tools. Check out Car Supplies Warehouse for good brushes and unless it's a really bad case I'd stay away from degreasers, acidic cleaners, etc. Just not needed if you're even halfway good about washes.

Once you get the technique down you should be able to do the car in 20-30 min & about similar for the wheels. BTW, brake buster can be used for the tires and then I'd apply something like CarPro Perl.

Here's mine after it's first wash & seal, but I"m still waiting for Perl from FedEx so the tires aren't done, and the barrels aren't either because I don't have easy access to do it right yet



Your wheels are painted clear-coated metal just like the rest of your car so, in general, if you wouldn't do something on your hood you for sure shouldn't do it on your wheels because they're that much dirtier.

[jps3b]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Without knowing more about how you did it I'd say it wasn't the brush as much as your technique, but, again, I'm only speculating. It depends on how dirty your wheels & tires were but, in general, I wouldn't be putting any harsh wheel cleaners/degreasers/acidic cleaners on a new car / new wheels.

Here's what I did a few days after picking up my x5:

(1.) High pressure spray down, obviously including the wheels/tires
If you wheels are new and haven't been subjected to lots of dirty rain/road film they should be pretty hydrophobic so you shouldn't have a problem with gummed up brake dust & dirt. yet. Your wheel finish isn't any different from your paint finish so, to start, you shouldn't treat it much different.

(2.) Good wash with a very lubby soap
Technique is key! This might be controversial but I recommend a rinseless wash like Mckee's 37 or Optimum No Rinse and no double bucket method as this just ups the risk of scratches IMO. Wet down your wheels with really good soaking via spray bottle of no rinse and let it dwell awhile. You might even do a rinse and then re-spray. If you still see a lot of brake dust and/or dirt you'll have to switch to Brake Buster (see below), but if not, good ole soap/shampoo should be enough.

Next using a either a good microfiber like a Rag Co Everest folded in 1/4s or a good brush (I use boar's hair) lightly agitate the wheel all over & rinse. Re-apply no-rinse and using a good clean microfiber clean all the outside areas of the wheel. For the wheel barrels you can use something like Microfiber Madness's Incredibrush or cheaper alternatives (but you get what you pay for!). Don't forget the calipers! Final rinse & dry, again with clean MF. Never re-use a MF that's picked up dirt. For me, one or two passes and they're done, I grab a new one. Brushes have to be thoroughly cleaned after each wheel!

(3.) Protect it!
Now that your wheel is clean and dry, I'd use a decent paint protectant like turtle wax's flex wax. Their seal & shine lasts longer, but IMO flex was is easier to use, it just requires reapplication every few washes.

If you do this, then your wheel should mostly hose off and you won't need any harsh wheel chemicals (just like your paint!)

I do use P&S Brake Buster if things are pretty dirty because it's non-acidic and works for both wheels & tires. In that case you'd do an initial spray down, possible an initial BB application & spray off w/o agitation, then re-apply brake buster and let it dwell, then rinse and see what it looks like. (if you like foam, use a marolex foamer with bb mixed 1:5 or 1:10) If your wheel is still dirty, them another application of brake buster, agitate as above, then rinse & dry. If you do that, though, you've got to put protection back on as you've killed it with the brake buster.


Net-net:
The scratches likely happened by the brush dragging dirt over wheels, not due to the brush itself (either because the brush got dirty & wasn't cleaned or you didn't rinse first & reapply or the citrus stuff doesn't work).

You can fix the scratches with a light compound hand applied and/or have a detailer do it - should be pretty easy to fix, just maybe a little time consuming.

Using good wash technique & a good LSP will keep it from happening again ... though I'd get some good products & tools. Check out Car Supplies Warehouse for good brushes and unless it's a really bad case I'd stay away from degreasers, acidic cleaners, etc. Just not needed if you're even halfway good about washes.

Once you get the technique down you should be able to do the car in 20-30 min & about similar for the wheels. BTW, brake buster can be used for the tires and then I'd apply something like CarPro Perl.

Here's mine after it's first wash & seal, but I"m still waiting for Perl from FedEx so the tires aren't done, and the barrels aren't either because I don't have easy access to do it right yet



Your wheels are painted clear-coated metal just like the rest of your car so, in general, if you wouldn't do something on your hood you for sure shouldn't do it on your wheels because they're that much dirtier.

I really appreciate the long response. You have awesome wheels. I prefer the blue calipers as opposed to my red ones. I purchased three different sized boars hair brushes and some different wheel cleaner from chemical guys. It worked like a charm. I was able to get the hard to reach places with the boars hair brushes. When I got my X5 PPF'd, the ceramic coated the wheels. They took every tire off and did a really good job so they are somewhat protected. Happy holidays