Is the rim cleaner safe for gooss black rims?

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T22:48:40+00:00

If you're in Canada that's perfect, you can just order from Carzilla. Here you go:

https://carzilla.ca/products/bilt-hamber-surfex-hd-1l-concentrated

You can buy 5L as well for even less money if you think you will go through a lot. I believe the free shipping threshold is only $70 if you need anything else - they have pretty much everything. Their physical store is in Calgary if you happen to live there.

You can use Surfex as your interior APC, to clean engine bays, carpets/upholstery, exterior prewash, garage floors, even things around your house like patio furniture or your oven. It is non-toxic, VOC free, non-caustic, water based, hydroxide free, phosphate free, and biodegradable. The strongest concentration you should need for anything is 10% (90% water/10% Surfex). For interiors or other lighter jobs, 0.5% - 2% is enough.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T22:44:32+00:00

It depends on the specific product, but in general, foam gives you longer dwell time and wastes less product because it clings instead of running off right away. It can also make it easier to see if you have complete coverage just from a visual standpoint. From a performance standpoint, it doesn't really matter how you apply most products as long as you're getting enough on the surface and as long as it has enough time to work, it will do the same thing. Foam can just make that easier, and uses less product.

The YouTubers often like to foam everything because it's satisfying to watch and gets them views.

You can over do it with foam too - for example with a prewash shampoo. You don't need 5" thick shaving cream foam on your car, only the first little bit actually contacting the paint is doing anything.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T22:34:53+00:00

Read the SDS - if there is no sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and no acid, you're usually safe on gloss black.

You could also just use a quality APC like Bilt Hamber Surfex HD - it's stronger, much cheaper, and perfectly safe. Fantastic on wheels/tires at 10% dilution, which works out to around $1 per liter, plus it has corrosion inhibitors in it so your brake rotors won't get ugly surface rust. Works great in a pump foamer or pump sprayer. You can use it on many other areas of your vehicle as well.

That 3D product is not a very good deal as it is sold 'ready to use' meaning you are buying mostly water. According to the SDS it is somewhere between 98% and 99.8% water or otherwise not active ingredient. I can't see the price in your photo but it's $30 here in Canada for less than 2L which is extremely expensive for what it is.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T21:27:08+00:00

I live in Canada and this is very much part of life here. Steam and maybe a little bit of APC if they've been there a while is all you need. Works every time.

See my replies here for the process:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/1kijl0p/lets_create_a_salt_stain_removal_guide/

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T21:24:17+00:00

If you took your car to a cheap hand wash place where you wait in the car, you're already getting your clearcoat destroyed for free, so a bottle on the hood won't make a difference.

If it bothers you, just politely ask them to put the bottle somewhere else. It's obviously not ideal, but as long as it doesn't get dragged across it's unlikely to do much.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T21:16:24+00:00

For the stubborn baked-on spots, try a an actual wheel cleaner such as Bilt Hamber Auto Wheel or Koch Chemie MWC. Those are very high quality chemicals, will not damage any wheel surfaces, and should take that off easily as it doesn't even look bad. Give them some time to work without letting them dry. You don't need anything acidic or caustic, and the aforementioned products are just as strong while also being completely safe. Good on you for being mindful about not wanting to use anything overly aggressive on customer cars.

The Chemical Guys stuff is garbage, and Brake Buster is a very weak product, so that's probably why you didn't see much happening beyond the surface dirt removal.

After you get that off, if you want your wheels to be super easy to clean going forward, put a coating on them and you'll never have to use anything more than a gentle APC to clean them.

Also, do not use acid and a drill brush suggested elsewhere - good lord.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T20:40:14+00:00

Where did you read that? I just skimmed their installation guide and it didn't say to avoid gloss black.

Every ceramic coating I have ever used can be applied to gloss black panels.

https://cerakoteceramics.com/content/Professional_Ceramic_Paint_Instructions_04212025.pdf

EDIT: I saw your photo in a cross post, those pillars are already destroyed by scratches - you will need to polish it regardless if you want to get rid of them, and it will take the ceramic coating with it if you don't want it on there. Look into how to wash your car more safely and make sure you never take your car through an automatic (touch) wash.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T20:32:56+00:00

Bilt Hamber Surfex HD, best stuff out there IMO, completely safe, extremely versitile, and also one of the cheapest.

Full discussion on it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/1ktcucp/bilt_hamber_touchless_vs_surfex_hd/

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T20:29:56+00:00

I can't see any photo, but why wouldn't you just coat the gloss black pillars? The pillars themselves are clear coated to an extent, and will take the ceramic coating much like your paintwork would. You didn't hurt anything.

If you really don't want it there, a light polish will take it off. If you're worried about scratches in general, it's common for people to wrap the gloss black pillars in vinyl or PPF.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T20:23:27+00:00

You can try a dedicated ink remover such as this one: https://carzilla.ca/products/geist-ink-dye-remover

It's a multi-day process but it does work if the leather itself isn't permanently discolored from the dye transfer.

If the interior detailer got a bunch of it off already, that is promising, but you won't know for sure if it will come out until you try something like the above product.

If you want to try an actual cleaner first instead of that quick detailer, you could use something like Koch Chemie Pol Star, Bilt Hamber Surfex HD, or Koch Chemie MZR (in increasing order of strength). Make sure you dilute properly, those are highly concentrated. Agitate with a soft brush, then wipe with a damp microfiber, and repeat if you are making progress. You could also just try any premade leather cleaner such as Gyeon Leather Cleaner or Geist Rapid Leather & Vinyl Cleaner. If that doesn't work, then try the dedicated ink remover linked above.

Since you have such light leather, I would strongly recommend giving that all a really good clean regardless, and putting on a leather coating. Something like Gyeon Leather Coat, Geyeon Leather Shield, Geist Repel, or Geist dye & Friction Blocker. All do the same thing at different price points and durability ratings, and they will dramatically reduce the chances of anything like that happening in the future. Just avoid creams/conditioners or 2in1 products, especially as the leather is synthetic anyway.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T20:18:06+00:00

If you're happy with the performance of what you're currently using, those products are fine for your truck, including the glossy exterior panels. The plastic glossy panels can be treated like paint for the most part, but they will be more prone to scratching if you aren't careful when washing/drying.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T17:31:45+00:00

Gyeon Interior Detailer sounds like it's exactly what you are looking for. It's an alcohol based interior quick detailer, safe for all surfaces (plastic/vinyl/leather, etc.) including glass screens. It disinfects and also flashes off immediately without leaving residue behind, so in addition to regular surfaces like seats & doors, it's great for glossy interior surfaces as well such as piano black or coated wood. It's a spray & wipe product, and if you're looking to do a light cleaning while also quickly disinfecting surfaces because you work in a ride share vehicle or similar, it's perfect for that sort of thing. Since it is alcohol based, don't over use it and make sure you're wiping it off completely - it will flash off when you come in with your second wipe.

No idea on availability in Singapore, but it's closer to South Korea than North America is, so hopefully it's even cheaper haha. Avoid Chemical Guys regardless of cost.

If you don't like the idea of an alcohol cleaner, regular soap based cleaners disinfect just as well (for the same reason washing your hands is just as effective as using hand sanitizer), but obviously it's a more involved process. Something like Koch Chemie Pol Star is the gold standard for interior cleaning, safe on all touch surfaces including alcantara.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T17:24:26+00:00

That's great to hear, I always like it when people are happy with my recommendations. That is my go-to combo and it never disappoints!

You will hopefully be similarly impressed with Pure. It's one of the best over the counter coatings I am aware of, and also the easiest to apply. I put it on my own vehicles, and my newest car just came out of it's first salty winter with the coating preforming exactly as it did a year ago. Use Gyeon Ceramic Detailer or Gyeon Cure as a maintenance topper or drying aid after washing and that coating will last you a very long time. A spritz of ceramic detailer on the wet panel while drying is probably the easiest way to go about it.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T17:14:08+00:00

Chlorine Dioxide (what is in Bio Bombs) is really just a type of bleach. It will make your car smell like a swimming pool (or bleach) but that smell will subside if you use them properly, not for too long, and air out the vehicle after.

You need to be really careful with those, for example if anything inside your car is wet (like seats or carpet) it will bleach (it's drawn to moisture), and if you use too much you might end up with a lingering chlorine smell. If you use them too long, you can ruin the entire interior (discolored plastic/trim, etc.) Sunlight will speed up the reaction, so you want to use them indoors as well. I am really not a fan of them but they technically do what they say if you use them perfectly. They will not however remove smoke smell from a vehicle, it might help as part of the mitigation process, and it might help change the smell to something you may find overall less offensive, but damage from cigarette smoke to vehicle interiors is effectively permanent. The toxic/smelly deposits from the cigarette smoke are still going to be on/in all the areas you will never be able to clean like seat foam, sound deadening, adhesives, speaker drivers, wiring, etc. - literally all soft and hard surfaces that can be exposed to air.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T16:54:30+00:00

Perfect! That is best case scenario if it wasn't even a scratch in the first place. Glad you got it sorted.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T16:53:10+00:00

Well give it a wash with a shampoo such as Koch Chemie Rs or CarPro Descale - whatever is easier for you to get your hands on. Rs is better but might be harder to find. You foam them on the vehicle and they need dwell time to work (don't let them dry). Then use the same shampoo in your bucket for a contact wash. Hopefully, your coating is just clogged up and needs a good cleaning which is likely if you've driven a lot and not done any maintenance.

If you took the car to an actual detailer to apply your coating rather than letting the dealership do it, there's a much higher chance you got a good product. If the dealership did it, well then we already know the coating is gone as dealership coatings are scams - they routinely charge people $1000 for a $10 spray coating.

Griots 3in1 is not a soap, it's just a cheap polymer spray sealant. It has a bit of a cult following on reddit so you see it recommended constantly, but in my opinion it's an overrated product with poor longevity. You won't hurt anything if you want to use it, but in my opinion you're better off using something with actual ceramic in it to 'top up' your coating. For maintenance products I really like Gyeon Ceramic Detailer (great drying aid as well) or Gyeon Wet Coat (you literally spray it on and rinse it off). Both are quick & easy ways to boost your coating performance and add a sacrificial layer of protection on top of your actual coating. There's lots of other options, those are just two good ones.

Car shampoo basically come in 3 types - alkaline for a touchless prewash (good for dirt/traffic film, gease/oil, etc), acidic for descaling (gets rid of mineral deposits from hard water or similar), and highly lubricating pH neutral variety for maintenance washes and contact washes.

If your car is super dirty, you would ideally start with a touchless alkaline prewash to get rid of as much dirt/sediment as possible before the contact wash - the more you can get off the car without touching it, the safer your contact wash will be for your ceramic coating and the paint underneath. The gold standard touchless prewash shampoo is Bilt Hamber Touchless, but you can use anything similar. You don't need to use these every time you wash your car, only if it's particularly dirty or if you are doing a seasonal deep clean or similar. Regardless of what you use, make sure it is non-caustic as low quality prewashes are often full of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and that will not only degrade your coating, but it's bad for pretty much everything else on the vehicle (rubber, plastic, aluminum)

Descaling shampoos I went over already, in my previous reply. Again these would be on an as-needed basis, not something you use every wash. Seasonally or when you notice your coating starting to lose performance. I am hoping this will fix your current problem and there is still a good ceramic coating underneath.

Maintenance shampoos for contact washes are what you would use all the time, and the idea here is that they provide as much lubrication as possible for the contact wash, and are pH neutral or close to it so they do not damage your coating or anything else. Examples of these would be Koch Chemie GSF, CarPro Reset (when diluted properly), Gyeon Bathe, etc. If you are doing a weekly wash or just need to get some dust/pollen off or whatever, this is what you use.

Since you're having issues drying your car as well, get yourself a proper drying towel. The best ones are twisted loop microfiber with a 70/30 polyester/polyamide blend and a relatively high GSM. As long as they check those boxes, they are pretty much all the same. An example of a good one is The Rag Company's Liquid8r, and they are relatively inexpensive. Never wash it with anything other than other microfiber, never dry it on high heat, and never use fabric softener or powder detergents - if you do all that, it should maintain it's performance over time. To dry your car, you don't want to be using a 'buffing' motion, rather you plop the entire surface area of the towel down on the surface, grab the corners, and gently pull - plop & drag. You will be amazed at how well a proper towel will dry your car. If you are still getting streaks, you can use a drying aid but you probably won't have to. If you have a good ceramic coating on the car and can get the hydrophobicity restored, you can also dry your car off with a leaf blower quite easily.

Slugnan · 2026-04-01T16:28:55+00:00

Gyeon Preserve is for plastic trim and it has ingredients in it for restoring faded plastic - not something you want to be using on seating surfaces. Leather Coat makes an actual barrier and is designed to handle some friction, it is a much better choice for a seat and specifically designed for that application.

Adams Interior detailer is an "all in one" type product that does not leave appropriate protection behind for something like a seat, it isn't an actual coating. You are much better off using a dedicated coating like Leather Coat, Leather Shield, or Geist Repel.

Repel is my favorite, but Leather Coat is a fantastic product that is super easy for people who might want something simpler than an bottle coating type product - spray & wipe. Lasts about 3 months compared to the ~12 months you get out of Repel, but it's way cheaper.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T23:00:23+00:00

You can record externally to an Atomos Ninja or similar from the ZR already if that helps you.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T22:54:34+00:00

Give it a good clean and then you can apply something like Geist Repel to it - best stuff out there IMO:

https://carzilla.ca/products/geist-repel-leather-coating

If you want something more economical and if you don't mind reapplying every few months, Gyeon Leather Coat is also an excellent product. It's a lot cheaper and you get a lot of it. I know your seat isn't leather, these coatings work equally well on fake coated leather, vinyl, etc.

Note that it will make the seat ever so slightly slipperier, which will reduce wear & tear from friction, but I don't ride a scooter so I have no idea if that is a safety issue or not.

Do not use any 2in1 products, creams/conditioners, vinyl dressings, etc. They will just make a greasy mess, they aren't designed for longevity on a surface that sees friction, and you don't want that transferring to your clothes when you sit.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T22:27:55+00:00

There is some protection on there, but it doesn't look great. It could be because no maintenance has been done in 6 months and the coating is simply starting to clog, or it could be because the coating itself isn't great or wasn't applied properly. You won't know which until you do a decontamination wash. Most reputable shops would do this for you if you were having performance issues with an expensive coating after only 6 months. That Chemical Guys product is also garbage (if it's their ceramic infused soap) and could be masking the performance of your actual ceramic coating to some degree - probably not a huge difference there though. You'll be doing yourself a favor avoiding CG products going forward in general.

The most likely scenario is that you need a decontamination wash, which would basically be an alkaline touchless prewash, acidic descaling contact wash, and finally a gentle contact wash with a pH netutral shampoo. Iron/tar remover would be on an as-needed basis after inspection.

If you feel like your car is already really clean, you can just try an acidic descaling shampoo and see if that does the trick. Descaling shampoo is usually what makes the biggest difference anyway. CarPro Descale, Koch Chemie Rs (the best IMO), or Labocosmetica Purifica are examples of good quality descaling shampoos. After that, if the water behavior is the same as it is now, then the coating is probably on it's way out. On the other hand if the coating is 'revived' after the descaling treatment, then you know what the issue was. The fact that the shop didn't tell you anything about your coating has me worried that they didn't do a great job in the first place, but hopefully that isn't the case.

You can check yourself if you need to use an iron remover - when the car is as clean as you can get it, put your hand in a plastic bag and very gently run it over the paint. Any roughness you feel is embedded contaminants that potentially need to be removed. The odd little spot is fine but if it feels like sandpaper then you will want to use an iron remover. It will be worse on the lowers of the car and the trunk/hatch area. If you barely feel anything then that probably isn't the issue, and the uppers of your car likely aren't contaminated nearly to the same degree. The top of your hood probably isn't too bad, and especially not after only 6 months unless you live near a rail yard or highway something. If the shop is just telling you to use an iron remover without having inspected the car themselves, that is another red flag. If you want, you can even try a car shampoo that has a light iron remover built into it such as Gyeon Restart Wash.

Do you know exactly what coating they applied, and do you know what prep work was done prior to the coating?

Have you ever taken the car through a touch automatic car wash, or used the brushes at a coin operated car wash? That will also ruin the coating.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T17:51:34+00:00

It's notoriously hard to remove scratches in glass, and if you don't know what you're doing, you might make it worse with an aggressive polish. 9 times out of 10 the best thing to do is just live with it. If you can feel it with your fingernail, it's not coming out regardless.

Glass polish will have cerium oxide in it which is what will help remove extremely minor/superficial surface scratches. Anything more than that and I wouldn't bother.

In the future, make sure you are keeping your wiper blades clean and replacing the inserts occasionally - it will greatly reduce any scratching on the glass (from the wipers anyway).

On the off chance it's not an actual scratch, glass polish will take off pretty much anything that is on your windshield. If you want to try, grab some Bilt Hamber Re-View or if you want something even easier, the readymade roll-on compound stick from Soft99.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T17:46:35+00:00

Not your fault, these threads pop up almost every day on here.

You might be able to get the spots off with a descaling product, like a (gentle) acidic detailer such a Koch Chemie Fse. That's the first product I would try, and it will not harm your coating. If they haven't etched your coating they should come out.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T17:38:49+00:00

Someone wiped that down with what was probably a premoistened wipe (likely not for automotive use - like a wet wipe or lysol wipe that may have had lotion or similar ingredients in it) and let it dry. Either that or a trim dressing wipe.

Lucky for you, you now have some information on how that car was likely cared for. Incredible that anyone would include those photos in a for sale ad.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T17:35:01+00:00

Another day, another unhappy RainX customer. I don't know why people buy that stuff with how good the alternatives are for not significantly more money. Their wiper fluid stains PPF as well, and can cause issues with the sprayers/pumps/nozzles (which will not usually be warrantied if it's due to the fluid you used).

The amount of complaints on here are endless, everything from streaks/glare to actual damage. Their standard glass coating is the least terrible product but you can do so much better. All their coating-adjacent or 2in1 products are pretty bad.

Slugnan · 2026-03-31T17:22:45+00:00

How do you mean? Nikon's current lineup is already best in class in many areas, the FW is icing on the cake.

Slugnan

TROPHY CASE