Steam Cleaning Wheels & Arches...

[Bigpikle]

Spent some time today with the wheel off the Saab as I wanted to paint the hub and calipers. While I was at it I took the opportunity to try steam cleaning the wheel and arch, to see how it did...



I decided last year that i wanted to eliminate as many chemicals as possible from my detailing routine, and develop the most eco-friendly techniques I could, so with some advice from Yvan and Jim here, I took the plunge and bought a steamer the other week. A few test sessions went well but now was the real test - could I completely clean a dirty wheel and arch with NO chemicals, especially tar removal and tough dirt etc?



1. Steam Cleaning Wheels



These wheels have never been off the car in almost 2 years and about 23k of miles, but being quite an open design they are pretty easy to clean completely and protect. These wheels had a full detail at the start of winter, with a couple of layers of FK1000 for protection, and have been cleaned reasonably frequently since with shampoo, ONR etc. They are not horrendous but wearing a winter of grime, tar and general muck...



Before



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2152.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2153.jpg



During



The steamer produces a pressurised stream of steam that lifts and emulsifies the dirt, making it simply wipe off with a MF. I worked about 25% of the wheel at a time, running the nozzle around the area for about 10 seconds and immediately wiping off the emulsified dirt with a cloth :thumb:



50/50



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2154.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2155.jpg



After



the final result was superb :thumb: Very clean wheel, with only the worst tar spots, old glue residue and a few bonded contaminants left. The steam removed minor tar spots and with a bit of elbow grease some pretty bad marks. Only the glue from an old wheel weight needed any extra attention (visible in the shots below at the top of the wheel), so a dab of Tardis and a flexible scraper was needed on that 1 spot only. The rest of the rim was clayed to remove the bonded bits and it left a super clean finish :)



As you can see in the pics, there was ZERO run-off from the entire process, with no water or grime hitting the floor. This could easily be done in a garage or anywhere else where there isnt the luxury of safe chemical disposal. It didnt use any chemical, there was no need for agitation or soaking, and no rinsing needed :D



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2156.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2157.jpg



It left a perfect finish for a layer of Prime Strong and 3 x FK1000 for max protection :thumb:



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2163.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2164.jpg



2. Steam Cleaning Arches



I also decided to clean the arches while I was at it. I wasnt going to initially, as i had painted both the hub and caliper a little earlier and neiter were 100% dry yet, but decided with the lack of run-off and no rinsing needed it would probably work....I hoped.



The arches are NOT regularly cleaned on this car, as I hate doing it, and since switching exclusively to ONR, they havent even had the usual regular blast out with a PW. Considering all that they werent in a terrible state, but far from clean :o



Before



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2167.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2165.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2166.jpg



During



Same technique as the wheels, with small sections steamed and wiped with an old MF..



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2169.jpg



I actually went over most of it a 2nd time, as it needed a little extra to get them really clean and I missed a few bits the first time due to the cloud of steam developed under the arch itself - the learning process I guess :nixweiss The entire thing took probably 3-4 mins maximum though and only needed 1 cloth :D



After



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2173.jpg



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2171.jpg



They then had a wipe over with AG Bumper care, as it was all I had available at the time, and the final finish looked like this...



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2175.jpg



I have to admit to being surprised what a difference it made, and how fast and easily it worked. I hate cleaning arches, but this was superb for 3 reasons:



1. NO spray and splash all over me while I did it :)



2. Very fast, easy and effective - and I only have a small domestic Vax steamer



3. Only a few drips hit the ground and the cloth covering the freshly painted caliper underneath, and with a little more care and attention those could easily have been avoided :thumb:



http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj12/bigpikle/Detailing/IMG_2170.jpg



My Conclusion



Steam is very effective as well as speedy and clean. I used perhaps 300ml of water for this wheel and arch and a few other bits I did while it was fired up, needed no chemical except for some tough old wheel glue removal (and next time I have a better way to attempt that) and there was no run-off or rinsing etc needed. This was my first attempt, so it should get even quicker, but I reckon you could do 2 wheels with 1 MF, and I could clean 2 arches in this condition with 1 MF, which includes drying. Not bad considering I use that pretty much to dry after a wet wash anyway :thumb:



A very worthwhile session for me, in terms of results and learning, and the first step on getting the most from my steamer.

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

nice, how much was your steamer? any pics?

[Bigpikle]

nice, how much was your steamer? any pics?



thanks - it was only a very cheap domestic Vax V-081



http://www.argos.co.uk/wcsstore/argos/images/4052968A65UC227797M.jpg



but it did a surprisingly good job :D

[imported_Detailing Technology]

Champion write up. I use one also. Its amazing what it can clean.

[Irkie500]

anyone use this steamer? McCulloch Heavy-Duty Steam Cleaner MC1275 at BrandsPlace.com (http://www.brandsplace.com/0133-mc1275.html)

[supershineMJ]

Does it take a long time with steam?

[Bigpikle]

Does it take a long time with steam?



takes less time IMHO - just hold the steamer nozzle on an area, then wipe off. Its that quick :)

[Accumulator]

Bigpikle- Glad things worked out so well for you! The steamer oughta be a good addition to your ONR regimen :xyxthumbs



Yeah, my steamer was the only way I could get the never-cleaned calipers on my `84 RX-7 clean without trashing the factory cad plating. Heh heh, the back side of your wheels wasn`t all *that* bad in the "before" pics, it`ll go slower on wheels that`re in really nasty condition ;)



Yeah#2, the AG Bumper Care is nice for jobs like that, does a little bit of extra cleaning too. It`s a good product that doesn`t get much attention here.



One caveat for people trying this sort of thing with the steamer: if the vehicle has factory undercoating/sound deadening, especially the wax-based stuff common on European cars (the stuff that`s often incorrectly called "cosmoline"), be a little careful. It`s not too hard to melt/soften/compromise such coatings if you get a little too aggressive with the steamer. If you heat the stuff up to the point where it gets "milky" looking you`ve gone too far.

[Bigpikle]

Bigpikle- Glad things worked out so well for you! The steamer oughta be a good addition to your ONR regimen :xyxthumbs



Yeah, my steamer was the only way I could get the never-cleaned calipers on my `84 RX-7 clean without trashing the factory cad plating. Heh heh, the back side of your wheels wasn`t all *that* bad in the "before" pics, it`ll go slower on wheels that`re in really nasty condition ;)



Yeah#2, the AG Bumper Care is nice for jobs like that, does a little bit of extra cleaning too. It`s a good product that doesn`t get much attention here.



One caveat for people trying this sort of thing with the steamer: if the vehicle has factory undercoating/sound deadening, especially the wax-based stuff common on European cars (the stuff that`s often incorrectly called "cosmoline"), be a little careful. It`s not too hard to melt/soften/compromise such coatings if you get a little too aggressive with the steamer. If you heat the stuff up to the point where it gets "milky" looking you`ve gone too far.



yep - they werent too bad before ;) I dont do `wheels off` on other people`s cars though.



I hope to try steam on some underseal I need to remove on my `69 MG, so I hope it softens it up to help me get it off...

[metalmania31]

For second there I thought you actually laid the wheel face on top of the rocks. lol

[mose]

anyone use this steamer? McCulloch Heavy-Duty Steam Cleaner MC1275 at BrandsPlace.com (http://www.brandsplace.com/0133-mc1275.html)



Yep!! That`s the steamee I use!! I am on my second one. It amazed me everytime about what all can be cleaned with this thing!!

[Greg Nichols]

Hello there guys...Your steamer had done a great job..I bought a steamer with the same model as yours and it really cleaned up my wheels pretty well..The pictures you have posted really made me convinced that the steamer really works well..



:beware:beware:beware:beware



You place a hyperlink to a wheel web site, and you say you bought the same steamer and it worked well, only to say the thread convinced you the steamer works well? Smells like spam to me.



Cheers,

GREG



Removed link from quoted text. --Tort

[Bobby G]

Hello there guys...Your steamer had done a great job..I bought a steamer with the same model as yours and it really cleaned up my wheels pretty well..The pictures you have posted really made me convinced that the steamer really works well..



Nice spam Mr. Parts Train!

[Bobby G]

Spent some time today with the wheel off the Saab as I wanted to paint the hub and calipers. While I was at it I took the opportunity to try steam cleaning the wheel and arch, to see how it did...



...



A very worthwhile session for me, in terms of results and learning, and the first step on getting the most from my steamer.



Thanks for the nice pictorial and writeup on what looks to be a great little home steamer.



:tribe::kewlpics

[XRL]

Bissel has a tiny little steam cleaner that looks interesting. Anyone tried this thing out yet? I might have to buy one of these from work (gotta love the employee discount!)



YouTube - Bissell Steam Shot Handheld Steam Cleaning Tool (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQhg7LBjD7M)