Got new wheels in and wanted to polish or wax them. Since I've never done this on a painted wheel I figured someone out here may have and wondered what they used and the results they got.

I use the same wax I use on all the rest of the painted surfaces... collinite 476. Just can't be bothered to buy a billion different "products" simply because they're marketed more heavily for one application or another.

I guess if you're into the ceramic craze, that stuff would work too. Too rich for my blood though (and I'm an old, grumpy SOB who's stuck in his ways).

Lol!!!! I know what you mean. I just didn't know if car wax can really be used on wheels, didn't think I should try, but then again it is painted.

I've always used Zaino on all surfaces, including my rims/wheels. Sure makes cleaning off brake dust a lot easier regardless of what type of wax/polymer product used.

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As others have said, regular wax is fine, I've used plain old meguiars carnuba wax on both painted and powdercoated wheels, I keep a dedicated tin of wax and applicator for wheels, if wheels have been in use for a while first you can clay bar them too, I've used old clay bar that I no longer use on the vehicle's paint for wheels and it works great. 2 years ago I had some wheels refinished and now I get in the habit of waxing them as soon as I take them off for the season before I put them away, I'm using Akebono Ceramic pads with my Tundra Brake upgrade and I don't ever see a hint of brake dust on my wheels...

I use ceramic pads too. Are spray waxes any good I wonder? I've never used them, I was thinking about giving them a try.

"spray wax" isn't a wax, it's a chemical compound that sorta emulates "wax", but is more technically a "paint sealant". Ceramic is just an evolution of "spray waxes". Wax, real Carnauba wax, is Very hard and doesn't melt till it reaches 180 degrees so all car products are diluted some to make it easier to apply. I don't know anything about the "butter wax", but I'm guessing it's just more carrier than wax to give it the liquid characteristic.

Honestly, this is like "what oil/atf/brake fluid" arguments... it Really doesn't matter "what product", just that you use Something. And even there, you could do nothing to those wheels and they'd look reasonably good for a decade (unless you curb them, or otherwise cause physical damage). Honestly, washing the brake dust from them (and road grime if you live in a salt-state) frequently will do more than using a wax... but then again, if you're going to do one it doesn't take much effort to do the other.

From a detailing point of view, perfect paint can look good with any product applied. It's the imperfect paint that needs some assistance. Ceramic coating doesn't help imperfect paint in the least. "Spray waxes" help a minuscule amount and Carnauba wax helps the most. The help comes in the form of fillers that fill in all the little micro-scratches that come from touching the paint, with most of that done while washing the paint. Learn and use "good" washing techniques and you can limit the scratches and slow the degrade, but you can't stop it. The only "fix" is to polish, and that removes clearcoat so you can only do it so many times before needing a respray.... or hide them with the help of wax.

That's great information. I'll look for a wax with a high carnuba content if that spec is available.