Cleaning/Protecting wheels, tires, and wheel wells (a picture tutorial)

[stilez]

I have been getting a lot of questions of how I am cleaning/protecting wheels, tires, and wheel wells these days, so I figured why not write up a tutorial with a ton of pics. Thanks to Patrick Holland for coming out and taking pics for me (with his camera). If I miss anything, please point it out, thanks.



Products Used

-Meguiar`s Wheel Brush

-Meguiar`s Spoke Brush

-Meguiar`s Tire Brush

-A hose with a spray nozzle

-Eagle 1 Wheel Acid cut 50/50 with water in a spray bottle (www.sparkleauto.com)

-Hi-Temp Extreme APC cut 3:1 in a spray bottle (www.topoftheline.com)

-A car wash solution to keep the brushes in (I used Meguiar`s NXT wash)

-Your choice of polish (I used Klasse AIO)

-Your choice of sealant (I used Menzerna FMJ)

-Your choice of tire/wheel well dressing (I used Poorboy`s Bold N Bright)

-MF Towels

-MF Applicators

-An old mitt for the wheel wells (I use synthetic sheep skin)

-A designated tire mitt (I use genuine sheep skin)

-GLOVES and MASK for protection







Here is a before shot. The rims are caked in black brake dust that is in desperate need of removing. The tires are dirty and the wheel wells are no better.











You want to start by hosing down the area to cool it off. If the vehicle was just driven, allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes to cool a bit on its own. Spraying cold water on hot wheels/brakes is a big no no and can cause to many types of failures. For this entire procedure, work in the shade.







Once wet, you want to spray the APC solution onto the tires and in the wheel wells generously. Now, I`ve tried MANY APC`s and some are better for certain things. This Hi-Temp APC absolutely chews up grime. You can see the suds from it turn brown almost instantly noting that it is working. From there you want to take your tire brush and scrub the entire tire working each area about 5 times. With the wells, use an old wash mitt or sponge (and ONLY USE IT FOR THIS). Once done, replace in the soapy solution and agitate contaminants off with hands. Sorry, no pics for this part.





From there, you want to generously soak the rim in the wheel acid solution. Make sure to spray the interior of the rim. A clean rim thru and thru makes for a far better appearance. Allow this to dwell for 30-60 seconds depending on the soil amount. There is speculation on the use of wheel acid. While this stuff can be dangerous, after doing 10+ cars ranging from chrome to painted to clearcoated, I have had no ill effects using these methods. Be sure to steer clear of uncoated aluminum or anodized metal with this stuff. Also, acid should not be used all the time. As noted below, a sealant on your wheels will become a best friend.













Begin with the Meguiar`s wheel brush and agitate every angle spending special time in small corners and around the lug nuts. Then put the brush back in the soapy solution

[stilez]

Continue with cleaning by grabbing the Meguiar`s Spoke Brush. Using back and forth and side to side motions you should see the dust lifting off the wheel. Put the brush back in the soapy solution.













Now its time for the first rinse. Starting with the wheel wells, moving to the tires, then rims and behind, rinse with a high pressure stream of water.









Now check over your work to see what you missed. Upon looking behind the spokes I noticed a little bit of dust left over. I resprayed the acid mix, let dwell, then agitated with my gloved hands. I feel I get enough agitation and a better feel for where I`m working by using my hands.

[stilez]

Next you want to respray, then grab a fresh solution of car wash and a designated wheel mitt. Wash the inside and out of the wheel to neutralize the surface. Rinse and dry.







Following the cleaning is the fun part. Next I go about everything as follows.



-Polish the wheels using a paint cleaner and/or polish with an MF applicator. Be sure to cover all areas, then remove with an MF towel. Some wheels require more polishing so you should step up to something that fits the piece working on. For chrome a good metal polish will do, for painted/cleared, a good paint polish will do.

-Protect the rims with your choice paint sealant. Using a wax I`ve found isn`t as effective. For this vehicle, I chose Menzerna FMJ for its great looks and protection. These two steps not only aid in the look of the wheels but also help guard against future brake dust. Once your big cleaning is done, a simple swipe with your wheel mitt and car wash will bring your wheels back to new. Be sure to coat wheels with sealants every 2 months.

-I then spray down the wheel wells with Poorboy`s Bold and Bright. 3-4 sprays will coat an entire wheel well. Some wheel wells have painted areas. Follow the same instructions for polishing wheels with these areas.

-Move to the tire with an Eagle One tire Swipe. Spray the Bold N Bright onto the applicator and work in a thin coat. By the time you`ve done each wheel, tire, and well, about 10-30 minutes should have passed. From there you should go back with with an older terry or MF towel to wipe any excess from the wheel well and then the tire swipe to insure uniform coverage on the tire.





From here, stand back and enjoy!

















Questions, comments, concerns...fire away!

[brwill2005]

Very thorough. I have found that Extreme APC cut 10:1 is strong enough for tires. Did you allow the APC to dwell while you did the wheels, or did you do the tires/ww first, and then the wheels?

[stilez]

Yup, I let it dwell after I agitated while I did the wheels. The order was tires, wells, wheels.

[zainoshine]

I don`t have any experience with the TOL Extreme APC...perhaps Meguiar`s APC (more familiar to more people) at a 1 part APC to 4 parts water (1:4) ratio would mimick this or do you need something stronger?



Great write up!!!

[stilez]

The Meguiar`s APC will work pretty well. I have used it and it does a nice job on tires and wells but this seems to supercede.

[SilverLexus]

Sean,



Great writeup...thanks!



I have also had good luck using a heavy duty variety sheepsking mitt to agitate the wheel acid (I use A2Z) after a few seconds of soaking...

[imported_hadboosttroy]

awesome :up



thank you!

[carendt242]

what would you use for non-coated aluminum wheels?

[RRacer]

Great writeup Sean :xyxthumbs



One question, does fmj works better than PB Whell sealant??



Akele abraço

[Pats300zx]

Great writeup Sean...:xyxthumbs

[stilez]

Lee: A lighter wheel cleaner will work just fine in many cases, but unfortunately I don`t have the luxury of using such things all the time.





carend: P21s Wheel Cleaner, 4* Wheel Gel, or something along those lines. It must be mild.





RRacer: Haven`t compared them side by side yet, sorry.

[maecrispy]

Awesome writeup Sean! I just realized the last three threads I`ve bookmarked have been writeups by you. :xyxthumbs

[klnyc]

Nice write up, Sean.