Cleaning wheels

[tmchow]

What is recommended to clean wheels with? Normally I wash them last with the left over wash water I just used for the paint. Just use a regular wash mitt? wash brush?

[JasonC8301]

Once you touch the mitt, sponge, or wash pad to a dirty wheel, NEVER EVER let it touch the paint again. Brake dust will scratch.

Some on the forum jack up their car and take off their wheels and clean them then. A good wheel and tire cleaner is EF Hi-Intensity. Wet down the cool wheel, spray on a small amount of EF, let sit for 1-2 minutes, then agitate with a foam brush/sponge. Rinse.

This usually gets 99% of the brake dust and dirt on the wheel, even on cars that have not been cleaned in 2 months.

Follow up with a quality sealant and you can use a seperate bucket, seperate wash mitt, and shampoo to wash down the wheels weekly to restore that shine.

Hope this helps,
Jason

[Dave C.]

Not to undermine Jason's advice in any way but I would be very careful about letting any product sit for any longer than say 30 seconds (if that). Personally, I just use P21s wheel cleaner, and an O-Celo sponge before I wash the car. I hose the sponge off, so I don't need a bucket. As Jason said a good sealant really aids in cleaning them.

[PrinzII]

It depends on the kind of wheel you have. In the case of my Maxima, I use a small wash mitt to clean the wheels and wheel wells. I use EF HI and it works nicely at full strength.

[YoSteve]

Remember to treat painted wheels like your body paint. seal and wax, us a non-stripping shampoo. Only use wheel cleaner when you need it and want to rewax your wheels again, and make sure it's clearcoat safe wheel cleaner. My wheels bead after washing with a shampoo, wash it with a wheel cleaner and they will come squeaky clean but will be unprotected by wax.