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5) Wheels and Tyre dressings

18K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  DaveR 
#1 ·
Wheels are those areas that can be a real pain in the rear to clean up and make look good - but again, with the right products can be done with relative ease.

Everyone will have their own thoughts of when to clean the wheels. Some people do them first, some people do them last of all, I like to do them after the pre-wash and snow foam stages however. My reasoning is simple - the dirtier the wheel, the more soaking that they need before you get intimate with any kind of wheel brushes, so the combination of Citrus Pre-Wash, then Snow Foam and the pressure washer are all put to good use before I clean the wheels. Once the car has been foamed and rinsed, I crack on with washing them.

Wheel cleaning falls into 2 areas - maintenance cleans and deep cleans. The differences will be apparent as we go. Both our cars get cleaned at least fortnightly - a different one each week, so the wheels never really get chance for huge build ups of brake dust and contaminants, so a weekly wash is a maintenance wash. The deep clean is usually every other month to fully remove contamination and re-seal wheels to protect them. Lets start with tools and products.

Below is the regular products I use to clean wheels, a normal detailing brush, and simple carplan wheel brush and a Vikan wheel brush. The Vikan brush is great because its thinner at the tip (great for getting behind wheel spokes and scrubbing) and larger at the handle end for getting between areas in the middle of the wheel. You can buy any number of wheel brushes from £3 to £30 - pick one you like and learn to use them. A good tip for anyone worried that the plastic bristles may scratch your wheels (and they can..) - put them in warm / hot water for a few minutes first - it softens the plastic up :wink: Especially for winter use that one...


Wheel Woolies are the latest thing for wheels, no chance of scratching wheels with these bad boys:

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So for a deep clean up - Id get spraying first with a metal fall-out remover, in this case Autobrite Purple Rain (remember to use gloves with this stuff):


And Id leave it to react for a while: (a few minutes)



Then Id get the smaller detailing brush to work:


Then the bigger wheel brush:


At this point - once I was happy the product had been thoroughly worked in - Id pressure wash off the fall out remover. Then i'd use wheel cleaner (Valet Pro Billberry used here) and get in and get a final clean onto the wheels with a wash mitt :


During this process, its important to clean the sidewalls of the tyres, as this helps any tyre dressing products you want to use stick to it. 'Tyre fling' is caused when too much tyre dressing is used, or it hasn't set on the tyre yet and it 'flings' up the side of your car. A good scrub of the tyre wall helps stop this:


Once the wheels are fully rinsed again - its time to dry the wheels and carry on with your normal car wash routine, before finally returning to dress the wheels. It's also worth checking for tar spots to be removed at this stage too - Tardis or clay can remove that easily enough though :)

Wheel cleaners are mostly Alkaline based, however, sometimes they aren't strong enough to remove every bit of baked on contamination - this is where Acid based cleaners get used. These are very strong and should not be used very often on your wheels - too much use can dull or damage the lacquer on your wheels.

A good wheel sealant is essential in stopping wheel grime build up on wheels. It means a 'weekly maintenance wash' can be achieved with a simple pressure wash off of all the dirt and brake dust that sticks to the wheels. Normal car wax CAN be used for this process, however, because wheels get hot during use, the wax that's applied has the opposite effect for what you want - It ATTRACTS dirt and dust to the wheel. You can also find that in the summer - on the odd hot days we have, you get a similar effect on your bodywork. Spray sealants (Carpro Reload and Auto Finesse Tough Coat) are fantastic products to use on these if you use the products normally, they go on and off VERY easily and give a great shine and last about 8 weeks. Carpro Reload has been applied here on both the wheels and brake calipers to protect them from dust:


Another product that is highly recommended on wheels and exhaust trim, is Planet Polish Wheel Seal and Shine, a fully dedicated sealant that can last up to 3 months (or longer) this is what we Ive used in the next picture. It only takes a few minutes to apply - leave to bond for 5 and then buff clean.


For a final finish - tyre dressing is used. I apply mine with a microfibre pad as it makes application very easy indeed. Normally - the more you apply - the glossier the finish. If you've applied too much dressing - give it a wipe over with a clean cloth until you are happy with the look achieved :cool2:


Auto Finesse Gloss is used here, however there are loads of recommended products out their:

Auto Finesse Satin
Orchard Car Care Glitz
Valet Pro Traditional
Meguiars Endurance
AutoGlym Tyre Dressing (although it doesn't last as long as the others mentioned here)

The finished look!


 
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#2 ·
Was intrigued by this post as I'm the only one out of my group of friends who bothers to clean the inside of the wheels as IMO this makes all the difference.

When I collected my new car I was provided with a Supaguard valeting pack, which included wheel cleaner and sealant sprays. Must admit, I have been impressed with the sealant spray.

I get a little OCD about the cleanliness of the wheels (which is not good as I do a fair amount of miles each week) and reading this post I now know that I have been applying too much tyre dressing to get that "wet look"; which is down to me not cleaning the tyres sufficiently.

I'll use this new found knowledge over the weekend!!

Great post!!
 
#5 ·
carty80 said:
Was intrigued by this post as I'm the only one out of my group of friends who bothers to clean the inside of the wheels as IMO this makes all the difference.

When I collected my new car I was provided with a Supaguard valeting pack, which included wheel cleaner and sealant sprays. Must admit, I have been impressed with the sealant spray.

I get a little OCD about the cleanliness of the wheels (which is not good as I do a fair amount of miles each week) and reading this post I now know that I have been applying too much tyre dressing to get that "wet look"; which is down to me not cleaning the tyres sufficiently.

I'll use this new found knowledge over the weekend!!

Great post!!
I keep a scrubbing brush just for the sidewalls then pressure wash them clean. It's easy to over apply tyre dressing too - you won't be alone with this, wiping it down after makes quite a big difference :)

Glad it's helped though :)
 
#6 ·
Thanks for another useful thread!

So are these applicators better for applying the dressing evenly? I'm looking at getting some Meguiars Endurance High Gloss Tyre Gel unless anyone has any other recommendations?

I will also be giving this a go as the reviews seem to be good. Has anyone used it?

Also need some sealant....I'm getting a little addicted lol
 
#7 ·
Gary_LB said:
Thanks for another useful thread!

So are these applicators better for applying the dressing evenly? I'm looking at getting some Meguiars Endurance High Gloss Tyre Gel unless anyone has any other recommendations?

I will also be giving this a go as the reviews seem to be good. Has anyone used it?

Also need some sealant....I'm getting a little addicted lol
Glad you like them :cool2:

Megs Endurance is one of the better tyre dressings out their BUT, its very prone to not drying very well, and you end up with splatter marks up your bodywork. I can HIGHLY recommend GTechniq T1 tyre dressing - its one of the best on the market. It lasts considerably longer than Megs Endurance too. Lots of tyre dressings look good initially, but some heavy rain or sun on them and they are gone in a few days. T1 lasts WEEKS, even in winter. Im currently testing CarChems offerings so will report back.

The dressing applicators you are looking at are great at applying tyre dressings, but the sponge always pull apart from the holders, thats why the standard ones are better as they are cheaper and last the same time. Look here:

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Full Effect by Sonax is regarded as the best wheel cleaner / fall out removers on the market - not cheap but you pay for the quality. Bilt Hamber Korosal and CarChem Revolt are both up their with it, and dont get the praise that they deserve, but do the same job :thumbs: Worth looking at :cool2:
 
#8 ·
I'm not a fan of T1, but I'm interested to hear how you find CarChems product. I've been using Zanio Z16, has a nice satin finish, not to glossy and usually keeps the tyres looking black for a few weeks.

I've also tried RD50, but to glossy for me
 
#10 ·
JonD said:
I'm not a fan of T1, but I'm interested to hear how you find CarChems product. I've been using Zanio Z16, has a nice satin finish, not to glossy and usually keeps the tyres looking black for a few weeks.

I've also tried RD50, but to glossy for me
How can you not like T1??!! Lol

Got some ADS tyre dressing en-route, and I've got AngelWax Elixer to play with too...

Gyeon's new dressing lasts 4 weeks apparently, just a shame they only looking for high end suppliers at the moment :-(
 
#12 ·
Blackroc said:
How can you not like T1??!!
TBH its more like I was disappointed in it. I bought two bottles from the very first batch that went on sale, majority of which brought by DW members. Looking back my decision to buy was made off the back of all the hype and pre-release marketing. it did give a nice finish but lasted not much longer than Meg's endurance hence my disappointment. They may well have changed the formula by now as many of these companies do. carpro pearl is another I can't seem to get along with, lots rave above it but again I just don't rate it.
 
#15 ·
Blackroc said:
Gary_LB said:
Thanks for another useful thread!

So are these applicators better for applying the dressing evenly? I'm looking at getting some Meguiars Endurance High Gloss Tyre Gel unless anyone has any other recommendations?

I will also be giving this a go as the reviews seem to be good. Has anyone used it?

Also need some sealant....I'm getting a little addicted lol
Glad you like them :cool2:

Megs Endurance is one of the better tyre dressings out their BUT, its very prone to not drying very well, and you end up with splatter marks up your bodywork. I can HIGHLY recommend GTechniq T1 tyre dressing - its one of the best on the market. It lasts considerably longer than Megs Endurance too. Lots of tyre dressings look good initially, but some heavy rain or sun on them and they are gone in a few days. T1 lasts WEEKS, even in winter. Im currently testing CarChems offerings so will report back.

The dressing applicators you are looking at are great at applying tyre dressings, but the sponge always pull apart from the holders, thats why the standard ones are better as they are cheaper and last the same time. Look here:

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Full Effect by Sonax is regarded as the best wheel cleaner / fall out removers on the market - not cheap but you pay for the quality. Bilt Hamber Korosal and CarChem Revolt are both up their with it, and dont get the praise that they deserve, but do the same job :thumbs: Worth looking at :cool2:
You sir are costing me a fortune lol! Seriously though thanks again for the advice I'll go with your suggestions
 
#16 ·
Kernowlad said:
Well the T1 has been applied - looking pretty good but my fingertips are now so slippery, I keep dropping things!
Will report on durability.
If the weather is a bit rubbish, give them a quick wipe over with a microfibre after about 5 minutes so that the excess doesn't run and turn into 'sling' on your car :)
 
#17 ·
Kernowlad said:
Will do!

Just to make sure, I did check your website first but couldn't see it so bought off TeaBay. I didn't miss it did I? I'll always check your site first when I need new stuff!
You didn't miss it - Gtechniq wanted me to purchase a horrific ammount of stock up front, so its not one of my suppliers....one for the future though :)
 
#18 ·
Just looking through your website Blackroc, looking good! I'm going to put a small order in tomorow and am looking at getting maybe some CarChem Revolt for the deep cleaning of my wheels every couple of months and then some Angelwax Bilberry for the basic wash every couple of weeks. Would these both be ok for my standard M135i alloys? Is the Angelwax Bilberry safe enough to use on the standard painted surface as i dont want the alloys to dull or discolour? Or would i be better off with other products?

Thanks in advance, Richard
 
#19 ·
Hi Richard - thanks for the comments regarding the site, it's still a bit work in progress, with a few tweeks here and there going on!

Your plan for deep cleaning with Revolt, and the maintaining with the Bilberry is perfectly fine, it's designed to be used on all wheel types (except stainless steel) so won't cause any issues :)
 
#20 ·
Blackroc said:
Hi Richard - thanks for the comments regarding the site, it's still a bit work in progress, with a few tweeks here and there going on!

Your plan for deep cleaning with Revolt, and the maintaining with the Bilberry is perfectly fine, it's designed to be used on all wheel types (except stainless steel) so won't cause any issues :)
Brilliant thanks for the quick reply! You will have my order soon!
 
#23 ·
Would you recommend Autoglym clean wheels for m135i wheels? I used it on my a4 once in few months to remove all sort and it worked well but I think it is quite strong. I still have a third of the bottle left and I'm preparing to give my car a deep clean this weekend.
 
#25 ·
I must admit that I've had a great deal of success with Meguiars Ultimate Wheel cleaner, unless anyone knows any better? Its quite expensive to use every week to be honest, but used once a month just to bring the wheels back up to standard
 
#26 ·
Blackroc said:
Below is the regular products I use to clean wheels, a normal detailing brush, and simple carplan wheel brush and a Vikan wheel brush. The Vikan brush is great because its thinner at the tip (great for getting behind wheel spokes and scrubbing) and larger at the handle end for getting between areas in the middle of the wheel. You can buy any number of wheel brushes from £3 to £30 - pick one you like and learn to use them. A good tip for anyone worried that the plastic bristles may scratch your wheels (and they can..) - put them in warm / hot water for a few minutes first - it softens the plastic up :wink: Especially for winter use that one...


Wheel Woolies are the latest thing for wheels, no chance of scratching wheels with these bad boys:

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Hi Blackroc

Thank you for posting such a great, useful guide.

One thing I'm left unsure about is cleaning the wheel arches. Is it okay to pressure wash up into the inside of the arches, and is there a specific brush or type of brush that you would recommend using to agitate or scrub off any dirt from the inside of the arch? What about using some kind of pre-wash inside the arch, to loosen off any dirt first?

Thanks,

David.
 
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