Cleaning Wheels

[detailR]

I said I'd do this ages but time got away from me... but here it is at last.

My little guide on how to clean your wheels!
This is always the first port of call when cleaning the car. If you wash the body work first, you're likely to flick up some of the dirt from the wheels off of your brushes.

We start off with the dirty wheels.





Step one. Rinse the wheels.
This will release the dirt and brake dust sitting on the very top - the loosest part.



Step two. Apply your wheel cleaner.
Choosing a good wheel cleaner is tricky with all the different varieties out there. Non-acidic cleaners are the most popular choice. These tend to be a strong alkaline. My go to is Auto Finesse Imperial.
Ensure the whole wheel is covered including the barrels and allow to dwell for a few moments to allow it to start braking down the dirt and brake dust.



Step three. Ready your brushes.
Different wheel designs will need different shapes and sizes of rush to get between the spokes and designs.
I favor Wheel Woolies, Envy detailing brushes and valet Pro brushes.
Get your self a bucket full of water with a few drops of shampoo in to rinse your brushes as you go and provide further lubrication and ease cleaning.



Step four. Initial cleaning.
Clean the wheel backs first...



Then the faces...



And your calipers.



At this point it helps to roll the car so that the wheel rotates 180 degrees allowing you to check you haven't missed any bits.

Step five. Tyes and arches.
Apply an All Purpose Cleaner to the tyre walls and wheel arches. Agitate with brushes to remove old tyre dressings and crud from inside the arches.
Here I'm using Auto Finesse Verso.



Step six. Give it a rinse.
Thoroughly rinse away all of the wheel cleaner and dirt.



Step seven. Fallout Remover.
The most fun part of cleaning wheels. The fallout remover bonds to and iron particles from brake dust that has embedded into the wheels paint. it turns a cool purple colour as it breaks it down. This one is Auto Finesse Iron Out.







Agitate any stubborn bits with your brushes before rinsing away.





At this point you can go on to remove any tar spots with a Tar Remover - Step eight.
Clay the wheels if needed - Step nine.
Then polish - Step ten.
I didn't take any photos of that stuff

Here's one cleaned, polished wheel with Meguiar's Endurance tyre gel applied - Step eleven.



The next step, where are we? Step twelve?
Protecting the wheels. There's two main options here. Long term coatings, or wheel specific waxes.
Here I'll show you waxing the wheel With Auto Finesse Mint Rims.

Apply a thin even layer to the entire wheel surface. Get your hands in to coat the barrels and calipers too.





Buff away the residue once the whole wheel has been waxed.



And there we have it. Nice clean and protected wheels









I hope that helps. If it's terrible just say and I'll try again

 

[papps]

Great post mate!

 

[andybond]

Worth knowing !

Are tyre waxes different to car waxes ?

And do you water down your fallout remover ?

 

[Pigsnake]

Great job as always bud.

 

[detailR]

Cheers guys

Worth knowing !

Are tyre waxes different to car waxes ?

And do you water down your fallout remover ?

Do you mean the wheel waxes? They are more resistant to the high temperatures that the wheels are subject to.
A regular car wax will usually start to break down at anything over 60 degrees (not every wax, just an average from testing under a hot pressure wash).
Wheel waxes are generally synthetic based and made up of ingredients with a much higher melting point which allows them to protect the wheel for longer.
I use them on exhausts too.

Also... I finally have my own workshop :bo:
The camera lens was filthy so all of he photos came out terrible on this car.

 

[andybond]

Do you mean the wheel waxes? They are more resistant to the high temperatures that the wheels are subject to.

I did ! Thank you for the explaination

I finally have my own workshop

Top stuff ! Good luck !

 

[detailR]

Thanks @andybond it's exciting, haha!

 

[Larsson7]

Prefer using Gtechniq C5 on the wheels, stuff is awesome, even better if overcoated with EXO.

 

[detailR]

@Larsson7 C5 is a great product.
I done a thread on wheel coatings around this time last year actually. I use Gyeon these days.

 

[Larsson7]

Any reason in particular you prefer the Gyeon?

 

[detailR]

I just prefer the application of it. It's all down to preference, some people still favour C5.
I've got a wheel wax at the moment that due to come out from another manufacturer, seems promising so far.

 

[gtmatt]

would you get c5 or auto fianesse wheel wax , as they are the same price more or less ??

 

[detailR]

It depends if you want something quick and easy, or if you don't mind putting the time into a coating.

C5 will last a very long time from 2 layers. Upto 2 years in some cases.
Mint Rims will last about 4 months at a time. But the pot will last a few years at least.
I personally use Mint Rims out of the two. It's really nice to use and protects very well.

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

10/10 Dr @scratcher!!

Will get myself some wheel brushes bought I think...

Out of interest, where do you recommend buying all this cleaning stuff?

 

[detailR]

Thanks @Big Steve - Raider

I'd say Polished Bliss.
They're very competitive with prices, free shipping and carry all the brands you'd want

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

Thanks @Big Steve - Raider

I'd say Polished Bliss.
They're very competitive with prices, free shipping and carry all the brands you'd want

Thanks for this @scratcher, I've just spent this weeks pocket money at Polished Bliss!! :be:

 

[detailR]

Sorry @Big Steve - Raider I should've warned you that you get carried away, haha!

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

Here goes @scratcher ...

 

[detailR]

What did you think to the products @Big Steve - Raider ?

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

What did you think to the products @Big Steve - Raider ?

Had a go with @Millie_Bee's porker wheels today & it cut thru a lot of the crap!