Aluminum wheel protectant

'05 S197 coated wheel, looking for a protectant to keep brake dust, tar etc. from building up on the inner wheel. Spent a little time this afternoon w/ WD40 removing wads of tar and gunk on the inner.

First thought was just a liquid carnuba wax off my shelf but a few of many googles says carnuba may actually retain brake dust and gunk. It cleaned up pretty well. Like to apply something to keep the tar and gunk off for the long run.

My automotive OCD kicked in and I just had to clean 'em up. With new springs/ struts, I plan on only running these a few hunnert miles or so before I pull 'em for a new wheel/ tire combo and alignment, plan is subject to change as usual tho. Might sell this set or keep w/ the car as original.

Prefer to clean and protect once for the short term but just may end up going long term. Wax OK or is there better?

I use wax … if I'm conscientious enough .. when I get home I pull the wheels and rinse off the brake dust … if I let it go the dust turns to rust almost over night

It may just be wishful thinking, but I think a paint sealant works better than wax in my experience. It seems to hold up a little better to the heat.

that's something I hadn't thought about … thanks

Plasti-dip and remove one a year?

Regular wax will work. You can get wax specifically designed for wheels (google 'wheel wax') but I don't know if it's any better or if it's just a marketing gimmick.

In reply to stuart in mn:

I did the Google for Wheelwax. After 3-4 spelling errors I lost confidence.

I just clean them regularly. Every time the wheel is off the car for rotation or brake check they get cleaned. Works out to about every 5k miles give or take.

I let a set of Rota slipstreams (white) get away from me (autocross tires) and the brake dust build up resisted any and all cleaners I could fine (and I tried at least a dozen) … finally took them to a media blasting place … left them with a matte finish … so they're getting repainted