What to use to clean wheel wells?

[bcgreen]

On my previous Audi and now my Porsche, the wheel wells are of the fabric type. What`s the easiest way to clean them?

[kevincwelch]

Pressure washer. Or, you can use a TUF Shine brush and dry brush the fabric before getting anything wet.

Fabric liners are awful. Awful. (I have them.)

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[dontlikemyname]

APC or P21s total auto (made by German`s which compliment our cars) wash are my go to for my Bimmer`s with the same style fabric wheel wells.


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[Ancient_1]

On my car I spray with Tuf Shine tire cleaner then go in with a large wheel wollie soaked with N-914 @ RW strength. It looks like quite a bit of room between the tire and wheel well but can`t get a brush in there or even my PW wand with an angled tip can only get parts. It was while doing a RW this winter while working on my tires and rims I realized the large Wheel Woolie fit and could reach most all the well.



For an extreme case this is the tool I used. On this car which is an Escalade it fit with the tire still attached but would require removal on a car but it worked pretty well.

[dcjredline]

Dry brush first with a fairly stiff brush. Then I power rinse them out. I just let people know with fabric liners if they want every single little piece of whatever out of them they are gonna have to open their wallets. Other wise they get about 5-10 min each wheel well before it would be a waste of time to continue at regular price.

[Accumulator]

Always wondered bout those fabricy wheelwell liners...look kinda fragile to me but I`ve never actually dealt with `em. Wonder how QD-strength IUDJ and/or a Spray Wax would work once they`ve been cleaned....that works well on other textured surfaces. How do those materials wear over time? I can imagine them getting pretty ratty after a while.

As for access, on any remotely normal car/minivan/etc. (i.e., not a truck or SUV), I`d jack it up (yeah, at every wash) so you can get in there properly. It gets pretty quick and easy once you get your routine sorted out. Good time to check out brake/suspension components for any issues too.

FWIW, I do the vast majority of my wheelweel (and undercarraige) cleaning with BHBs, which might work OK on the fabric lining too. The WheelWoolies *are* good for broad areas with no nooks and crannies, though on painted/smooth plastic surfaces you have the usual potential marring issue to contend with (if ya care about it in there Hey, this *is* Autopia).

I don`t get the use of aggressive cleaners...once you get things clean, the same sorta-potent shampoo mix I use on wheels and as Foamgun Concentrate works fine, even for winter-filthy wells. Especially once they`re LSPed. I used APCs (and yeah the P21s TAW is great stuff!) for *ages* before I realized it wasn`t necessary, so I`m not being critical...just learned that it was overkill that was murder on my LSP in there.

dcjredline- How do you Dry Brush that fabric without imparting far more abrasion that you would with lots of liquid? Not arguing at all, simply confused. When I do wells I use a *LOT* of water to flush away all the stuff that builds up in there and I *think* that`s how I`d approach the fabricy stuff too...not that I know from it. I`d be worried about any excess abrasion wearing it out even faster, but again, zero first-hand experience with the stuff.

[bcgreen]

I wonder how it would be for a concourse event, trying to get it look like it just came from the factory? You`ve got to spend a lot of time on each well and how often can you do it before you start creating some damage? Leave it alone vs one of those chasing guys chasing after every last paint flaw.

[Accumulator]

bcgreen- Yeah, I can`t imagine the long-term. Sigh...one more reason why today`s vehicles just aren`t for me I simply couldn`t stand it.

[Mary B]

I have the same fabric wells.
Been using shampoo and the brushes with the looped end meant for wheels,
like Mother`s Brake dust brush and Laitner`s Grip-it 2 loop wheel brush.
Small enough to fit inside the tight area and rounded off to protect the inside back contouring.
When they are caked I break out a bug sponge. You wouldn`t believe the black dirt the sponge removes.

[Boden]

Just an idea: What about using a carpet wet vac. The kind with the little jet nozzle to squirt cleaner in front of the sucking end (?).

[dcjredline]

dcjredline- How do you Dry Brush that fabric without imparting far more abrasion that you would with lots of liquid? Not arguing at all, simply confused. When I do wells I use a *LOT* of water to flush away all the stuff that builds up in there and I *think* that`s how I`d approach the fabricy stuff too...not that I know from it. I`d be worried about any excess abrasion wearing it out even faster, but again, zero first-hand experience with the stuff.

Problem I have seen with using liquid and soap on these is that the soap gets stuck in them just like with todays carpets. They arent carpet they are like brillo pads/trunk liner. Very thin. If you get soap in there and dont rinse it all out then it attracts much more dirt. The dry brush is the same method I use on interior carpets except I use like a wheel brush stiff but soft, a medium stiff brush wont abrade the fabric but gets alot of the crusted stuff out before adding water to it. Then power rinsing it usually gets it to the magic 70% clean. If you like you can use some (TINY BIT) soap and scrub some more before rinsing but I usually avoid that. There is usually plenty of soap in them from my customers bringing their cars through the tunnel washes that I rinse for a few minutes already.

[Accumulator]

dcjredline- Yeah, that need to (thoroughly) rinse certainly *is* a big factor and I often wonder how many people really attend to it.

[Migue]

I hit them dry first by brushing them and even sometimes vacuuming before getting anything wet. I`m not going to shoot for perfection if the customer is not paying for wheel removal and an actual detail of the wells. Agitating them with a dry upholstery brush and even a pet rubber brush makes them look a lot cleaner because it knocks a good amount of browning off which is really dry dust/dirt just sitting on those fibers loosely.