How do you clean your wheels?

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I always find it difficult to clean the inside of the rims, even when using a good wheel cleaner. I used Griot's HD Wheel Cleaner on the truck last week. Worked great but the rims still have areas of dirt. I used one of those elongated wheel brushes to get in between, but it didn't come out 100%. Ideally I'd like to take the wheels off to clean. I may have to go underneath and just hit them from the inside.
 
The wheel design has a lot to do with it. More crevices and tighter openings means more places for dirt to accumulate and making them harder to clean. A power washer would be ideal. I don't have that so I use the jet nozzle setting on my hose nozzle and have at it. That removes a good chunk of the dirt. I then use Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner and that does a decent job. If I want to get them totally clean then after the Sonax I manually wash them.

Applying a sealant to the wheels will help keep some of the dirt off in the first place.
 
I'm using meguiars wheel and tire cleaner, boar hair bristle brush and a separate brush to clean the inside of the wheel. spray it liberally, wait a few minute, agitate, rinse. done. not my favorite part of the car wash though
 
EZ detail brush and APC when i wash it outside with buckets. But I finally invested in some quik jacks and clean the barrels of the wheels with an APC and microfiber every 5k miles when i rotate them.
 
might be a pain but pull them off and clean them well and then apply a sealant to them. then the next time you want to clean them they will clean a lot easier.
 
One or two of these, in various sizes...

[Linked Image from sep.yimg.com]


.. one of these..

[Linked Image from sep.yimg.com]


.. and a diluted spray bottle of this

[Linked Image from todoparatucoche.com]


.. and you're about 95% there. Throw in a high-pressure hose sprayer or pressure washer, and you're there...

Finish with some nice microfiber towels and perhaps a spray sealant to protect and shine, and you're good to go.
 
If the wheels are really bad you might need to take them off and get them nice and clean and then try and stay on top of keeping the inside of them clean after that. Mine are painted so it was easier than raw aluminum. I took them off, cleaned them really well and put on some good sealant.
 
I use basic car wash soap and a mitt for the wheels, with a stiff bristle brush for the tires and wheels woolies for the barrels.

They get deep cleaned every 5k miles with the rotation.
 
I use the same car wash soap and a separate sponge/brush/rag for them. I keep a bottle of Griot's wheel cleaner on hand for stubborn brake dust. I've had Eagle One's A2Z and other acidic wheel cleaners applied at the car wash eat away at OEM wheel clearcoat and corrode the underlying aluminum.

The most aggressive cleaner I will use on wheels is Simple Green.
 
I'm going to clean them from the inside next wash.
 
I just take the car through a car wash and wipe it down afterwards. The key was using ceramic brake pads/Akebono pads, very little brake dust so they don't actually get dirty and I don't really have to clean them.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
The key was using ceramic brake pads/Akebono pads, very little brake dust so they don't actually get dirty and I don't really have to clean them.

There is still a small bit of brake dust with Akebonos or any OEM-level NAO "ceramic" pad. It's not the thick metallic European type that can damage the finishes on your wheels due to the metal dust. The binder helps create the sticky mess from brake dust as well.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by Wolf359
The key was using ceramic brake pads/Akebono pads, very little brake dust so they don't actually get dirty and I don't really have to clean them.

There is still a small bit of brake dust with Akebonos or any OEM-level NAO "ceramic" pad. It's not the thick metallic European type that can damage the finishes on your wheels due to the metal dust. The binder helps create the sticky mess from brake dust as well.


Yes, it's a very thin layer. Seems to come off when going through the car wash and it just wipes off. Don't even notice it before going through the car wash so the wheels basically always looks good. OEM pads use to just make them black.
 
Use two stout floor jacks ? Do your own tire rotations and clean away …
 
Originally Posted by SirTanon
One or two of these, in various sizes...

[Linked Image from sep.yimg.com]


.. one of these..

[Linked Image from sep.yimg.com]


.. and a diluted spray bottle of this

[Linked Image from todoparatucoche.com]


.. and you're about 95% there. Throw in a high-pressure hose sprayer or pressure washer, and you're there...

Finish with some nice microfiber towels and perhaps a spray sealant to protect and shine, and you're good to go.



+1. I used brushes similar to the ones you have listed. Been using Sonax wheel cleaner, purple power or simple green diluted to clean the rims. Have some Meguiars wheel brightener, but haven't used that yet. I will have to use it for the winter tire swap.
 
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