Wheel polishing and a note of caution

[MoHoGo]

Was on the way down South on I75 after the great open house at NIRVC. Stopped at Blue Beacon in Tifton GA to get the coach washed. Whlie in line I was approached by a guy working out of his minivan that offered to machine clean all the wheels with rouge and then hand polish / seal
them with Blue Metal. Price was 75 dollars in 1 1/2 hours and I couldn't pass it up.

I've included a picture of the guy doing the process just to highlight why I was keeping a close eye on what was going on since this was not being done by a BB employee. Well he finished up all 6 wheels and did a great job. Was it the best job, probably not, but very close.

Here is the note of caution. The first thing he asked me for was a flat blade screwdriver, I asked why he needed that. His response was to pop the hub caps off the front steers. I said "hold on partner" and got him the Spartan wrench for the hup caps. Funny part was he said he had been polishing
wheels for 15 years and had never seen a cap of that type. I was glad I didn't just leave him to his task and go off to get something to eat. Would be hard to imagine what the caps would have looked like if he had been prying on them to get them off.

I'm a newbie and this is the first time I used one of these lot guys that many write about doing wheel polishing at truck stops...so
I am just passing this along as it seems most caps just pop off.

[Gary.Jones]

Jim

That is the way that my Dynasty wheels were done the first time. a right angle polisher and "Jewler's Rouge". The job was fantastic and lasted well over a year. My cost was double that cost ($25 a wheel). The polishing pad was not as flat as that one .... more like the thick wheels that you find on most bench polishers, but it sure too the dullness out of the wheels. And yes, I think that this is the sort of job that one tends to find working in truck stops. Had not heard of blue magic before, but I am sure that quite a few truckers would avail themselves of the service.

Gary

[Gary.Jones]

Jim, on a related issue.... how satisfied have you been with blue beacon. I have never used them and always been a bit concerned that I didnt trust them doing my coach.... what has been your experience?

Gary

[MoHoGo]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Jim, on a related issue.... how satisfied have you been with blue beacon. I have never used them and always been a bit concerned that I didnt trust them doing my coach.... what has been your experience?

Gary

BB is a mixed bag. Yes I am happy with what we got, but it is no where as good as what you would get with an RV specialist wash. Just looking at our bill, 35 dollars for our coach, 12 dollars for Rain X (question if that is worth it ) and 4 dollars for wheel dressing ( cheaper than buying a bottle from you local auto parts.


What we have found is that you sit in line at least 1 hours with the trucks. Not a problem if you have the time, but not a place to have a wash if you are in a hurry. Also, the BB in Tifton was close to the Florida border and some of the trailers were getting a wash out which I think was a agriculture requirement before entering the Sunshine state.


My reasoning is that BB does the heavy lifting, then when I get to the park I can go over the coach with 303 or something like that without the need to get the grime off. Many comment that they get micro scratches from the brushes. I don't see them, but you can request "no brushes on the paint".


On our last trip through, the DW made a hot lunch while we were in line and we made good use of the time. With the wheel polish and wash our time at the BB was just short of 3 hours. Just BB alone would have been < 1 1/2, but there were a couple of the trailers getting the back washed out and that can delay things quite a bit.


Just a note, they rinse with DI water so absolutely no water spots as it drip dries.

[brobox]

Those independent contractor wheel polishers at truck stops do a good job. If not, they have to answer to the truckers

As for the Spartan caps, I have been around big trucks na d MH's a lot of years, these caps are also the first ones I have seen needing a special wrench.

[brianw8602]

We use Blue Beacon to "clean" the coach after driving over rain soaked roadways. The coach seems to get the dirtiest then. We request the no brush approach. This gets the road grime off, with the intent to spruce the coach up by hand at the next stop. FMCA members can download a coupon online that is good for a free RainEx application

Hope this helps, Brian

[MRUSA14]

I agree that after driving in rain the coach is really grimy, and I will occasionally go to Blue Beacon to get that grime off. They do a good job of de-grime-ing but they do not dry the coach and therein lies the rub. The water that they use is not the cleanest and if left to dry by itself will leave streaks in your paint. I have had mineral streaks that could not be removed by washing but needed to be rubbed out using polish, which is a lot of work as they were all over the coach. So I advise if washing at Blue Beacon or the like, pull over immediately in a safe place and dry the coach manually before the water drips can dry by themselves.

[RubiconTrail]

Similar. Good for getting the big dirt off only. The micro scratches with the brushes are bad. Had to polish the whole rig after a year of BB. Now I do no brushes, no dry, and pull off for my own DI rinse within a mile of the wash job. Polish the brightwork (windows, handles, mirrors, etc) and on my way.

[two-niner]

Blue Beacon in Las Vegas has changed to a very soft "brush". Leaves no marks or scratches.


The RainEx works very well. Our 2012 Tour roof is like factory new, I've never washed roof.

[Mr_D]

Alcoa used to sell their own brand of polish/sealer. I got a Meguiar's ball, my drill and a bottle of the polish/sealer and did my own. Came out looking like chrome wheels, still get comments about how good they looked. The polishing job still looked over a year later.
But, the last time I went looking for the polish/sealer it was no longer listed on the US Alcoa site.

[D Lindy]

On run of the mill trucks the front hub cover does take a screwdriver/flat tool to pop the cover off. Spartan is the only one I've ever heard of requiring a special wrench to remove the FRONT hub covers. Rear axle caps are a different story all together.

[Matt D]

I've polished my wheels with my Makita just like that guy did. It's a really good method if you're very good with the wheel. It's also a quick way to mess things up if you're not completely proficient.

I don't care for the spatter from the wheel and typically use soap and water, then acid wash and rinse, then hand polish.

Regarding washing, I've tried many different techniques and now use a CR Spotless DIC-20 married up to a ElCheapo Northern Tools electric pressure washer.

I just washed it with my brush system and rinsed, and let it air dry. Zero spots!

Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of this system, especially considering how much time it saves.

-Matt

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Alcoa used to sell their own brand of polish/sealer. I got a Meguiar's ball, my drill and a bottle of the polish/sealer and did my own. Came out looking like chrome wheels, still get comments about how good they looked. The polishing job still looked over a year later.
But, the last time I went looking for the polish/sealer it was no longer listed on the US Alcoa site.

It is shown on the European site though: AlcoaWheels Europe -- Care and maintenance aluminium wheels

[BillJinOR]

Aren't the newer alcoa wheels coated and "they"say not to polish? Especially machine polish. Won't it take the finish off? I must have misunderstood the stuff I read on this. I've only had older non coated wheels.