Are there any wheel brushes that do NOT have a metal support and rubber tip?

B

BluBrett

New member
I installed some wheels on my BMW recently that just barely clear the calipers. In fact, my Daytona brush cannot get between the calipers and wheel at all.

As I clean the barrels of these dual-8 spoke wheels (16 times in and out per wheel), the brush sometimes gets stuck and I have to somewhat yank it out from between the dust shield and rotor. It’s only a matter of time before I lose the rubber tip and end up scraping the satin black wheels to the silver aluminum.

Do wheel woolies have the rubber tip like the Daytona brush? Anything made of plastic instead of metal? Not necessarily worried about flexibility or longevity. Just don’t want to scrape the wheels.

https://i.imgur.com/BCu5dAO.jpg
 
No metal or rubber tip on the Wheel Woolies, just a plastic handle and a synthetic wool head.

I’ve had mine for years, I tossed any brushes I had prior.
 
Yeah the woolies are awesome. Cleans well and nothing to scratch. Make sure to get the small one too.


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I love Wheel Woolies, I have many sizes. I also have the big EZ Detail Brush. I have found that going out and purchasing a kit of assorted vacuum caps gives me the ability to replace the tip on the end of the brush.
 
Just FWIW, I don`t use my Wheel Woolies nearly as much as my little "three finger" sheepskin mitts. I use those and my various BHBs every time I clean any wheels, but the Woolies are usually just for the first quickie passes in the barrels before I follow up with the little mitts. Gotta get in there with the mitts to clean the back sides of the spokes anyhow. And even the smallest Woolie won`t fit between some calipers and the wheel barrels.

Sure not hating on the Woolies, just don`t use `em much. I had expected to use them all the time, especially on the `93`s BBS wheels, but that`s not how it works out.

Note that I *DO* simply love the Wheel Woolie brand of BHB for wheels! It`s so much better than the ones from Universal/etc. that it`s almost silly to even compare them. That`s one of the three BHBs that I use every time I do wheels.

Regulars here know what I think of the EZ/Daytona Brushes ;) so I`ll save the bandwidth.
 
Thanks everyone!

Amazon had a sale on the Griots 2-pack so I ordered those to try out. A bit thicker than expected so hopefully they fit. From what I understand, the wheel woolies are no thinner anyway.
 
BluBrett said:
Thanks everyone!

Amazon had a sale on the Griots 2-pack so I ordered those to try out. A bit thicker than expected so hopefully they fit. From what I understand, the wheel woolies are no thinner anyway.
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I have that set and while nice they are very small. However, they work great for tight areas between calipers and wheel barrel.

While expensive, the Microfiber Madness Incredibrush Flat, is also fantastic. I have Enkei TM7`s and large brake disks that have maybe 3/4" of space to fit a brush into and the Incredibrush works perfectly. I do still have to use the larger of the Griot`s brushes to fit between the caliper and wheel barrel. If you ever get tired of the Daytona brushes flinging wheel cleaner back at you the Incredibrush is worth a try.
 
For those using the Wheel Woolies or the Incredibrush, how easy are they to rinse out while your using them?

I noticed while driving my car in the winter or after a day of autocrossing in the rain, not only are my wheels caked in brake dust, they will also collect fine grit in the barrels and other tight places. That stuff would really gum up a dense brush and turn it into sand paper if you can`t rinse it out. My Daytona brush is really easy to blast clean with the hose while cleaning the wheels, but looking at the Incredibrush or Woolies, I`m not sure the same would apply. Lots of material there to hold grit and make it really hard to clean.

I have the same clearance issue with my brake calipers and the wheels on my car and when I down-size to my winter wheels it gets REALLY tight. Highly doubt anything will get around the front brake rotors while in "winter mode".

EDIT:

Another thought. After looking at pictures of the Griots brushes and the Incredibrush, is the shaft of those brushes or the Woollies any thinner than the Daytona? Getting the shaft between the wheel and caliper seems to be the biggest problem. The Incredibrush says it`s good for areas 1.25" and larger. Pretty sure my Daytona will get into smaller areas than that.
 
For *really* tight caliper-wheel situations, an old MF can fit, but I generally find it easiest to just jack the vehicle up so I can rotate the wheels while cleaning them (yeah, it does take two jack + stand combos in most cases due to LS differentials..).

Gridlink- If not for the cost, an Incredibrush + multiple extra covers might indeed be perfect for a lot of vehicles. I can be *so* tempted...but I`ve resisted so far :D

Desertnate- Ah, you`ve brought up a great point (and not just with wheels ;) ) there! It`s not just the wash medium, it`s the stuff you`re cleaning off that can cause marring. I get as much off with the pressure washer as I can before I start touching them. That`s another situation where being able to spin the wheel while working on it is very handy; I can get the vast majority of [stuff] off with that pre-rinse.

(I`m assuming everybody has LSPed their wheels so that [stuff] comes off readily, right?)

Also worth comment is your mentioning of *rinsing them out*. It takes a little more doing than with brushes; I have to squeeze them in the Rinse bucket in a pretty deliberate way, and while it`s tempting to do as much as possible between those rinsings (remember to rotate the Woolie as soon as the contacting surface gets soiled) it`s best to err on the side of caution and rinse frequently. The Woolies hold less wash solution than my other Wheel Cleaning Media, which is perhaps another reason why I don`t use them that much.

Oh, and I bet the Incredibrush fits in smaller spaces than that 1.25" and that they erred on the side of caution with that. But hey, I`m just guessing...seems to *me* that in this context, 1.25" is a mighty large gap!
 
Thanks Accumulator! I think you saved me some money. I don`t see how the other options are any better than what I already use. They might actually be worse.

I`d love to jack up my car to properly clean the wheels and calipers, but my driveway isn`t level and I don`t have that kind of time. The only time I`m able to clean to that level is when I swap the summer/winter wheels. Fortunately, I`m able to get in just about everywhere with my current brushes. Only the deep places on the calipers are really neglected.
 
Desertnate- Heh heh, I hope those thanks aren`t premature...but sometimes the "solutions that`re perfect for almost everybody" aren`t quite right for a handful of folks, and this might be one of those cases.

I just can`t shake the idea that if the Woolies were All That *for me* I`d reach for one...they`re often in the Wheels/Wells shampoo bucket anyhow..but they usually just stay in there as I pull out some other wash media instead.

I dunno if jacking the car up *really* takes more time (or at least *much* but gee that`s so subjective), but the wrong surface sure can factor in. I bet you`re doing a great job anyhow.

If you ever *do* try the Wheel Woolies, I really hope you`ll post back with your take on `em, *especially* if you prove me wrong and find they`re perfect for you.

Oh, and note that the finish on most wheels is pretty tough, marring-resistant, stuff. At least it`s not like BMW Jet Black (heh heh heh) so the [stuff] you`re cleaning out of the barrels is *probably* not gonna cause you grief. I hope ;)
 
Hi just want to let you know for some reason I can`t reply to your PM to me....forgot to tell you when I was cleaning my car glass I noticed on the trunk lid was markings look like I put on to much coating or didn`t wipe it good....took compound and re done the lid with coating....
 
Accumulator said:
Desertnate- Heh heh, I hope those thanks aren`t premature...but sometimes the "solutions that`re perfect for almost everybody" aren`t quite right for a handful of folks, and this might be one of those cases.
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I don`t doubt those other tools aren`t good, I just don`t see them being a big enough improvement over what I have now. I`m happy with the cleaning ability of what I have now, I just wanted something that was thinner and would pass between the barrel and the caliper on my car. Sounds like they are all about the same size and I would encounter the same issue regardless of my weapon of choice. The grit stuck in the wash medium is only a side problem.

Oh, and note that the finish on most wheels is pretty tough, marring-resistant, stuff. At least it`s not like BMW Jet Black (heh heh heh) so the [stuff] you`re cleaning out of the barrels is *probably* not gonna cause you grief. I hope ;)
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I`m not too worried about the barrels as the paint is pretty tough, like you say, and it`s a satin-like dark gray so any scratches won`t be visible. My worry is the dark gray paint on some of the other wheel surfaces the brush passes over on it`s way to the barrel and small gaps between some of the spokes which are tight enough where the long brush is the only thing I can use. I`m not convinced it`s all that durable and have a feeling any scratches will be really visible.
 
Desertnate said:
I don`t doubt those other tools aren`t good, I just don`t see them being a big enough improvement over what I have now. I`m happy with the cleaning ability of what I have now, I just wanted something that was thinner and would pass between the barrel and the caliper on my car. Sounds like they are all about the same size and I would encounter the same issue regardless of my weapon of choice. The grit stuck in the wash medium is only a side problem.



I`m not too worried about the barrels as the paint is pretty tough, like you say, and it`s a satin-like dark gray so any scratches won`t be visible. My worry is the dark gray paint on some of the other wheel surfaces the brush passes over on it`s way to the barrel and small gaps between some of the spokes which are tight enough where the long brush is the only thing I can use. I`m not convinced it`s all that durable and have a feeling any scratches will be really visible.
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The little wheel wooliie is about an inch and i can squeeze it between my 20” wheels and calipers on my mustang. I’d guess space is 3/4” to 1.25”. If that is to thick i’ve read alot of big brakes have success with incredibrush.

The small one cen get to the back of my 10” wide wheels but i have alot of space between spokes to get in their

This is what im cleaning

2405cbd69f50779e867b3db5de6e578d.jpg




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Coatings=crack said:
The little wheel wooliie is about an inch and i can squeeze it between my 20” wheels and calipers on my mustang. I’d guess space is 3/4” to 1.25”. If that is to thick i’ve read alot of big brakes have success with incredibrush.

The small one can get to the back of my 10” wide wheels but i have alot of space between spokes to get in their

This is what im cleaning
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I believe on my car there is only about 3/4" at most between the barrel and the caliper with my 19" summers. On my 18" winters I`m down to about 1/2" to 1/4" clearance at most. It`s pretty tight.
 
Heh heh...you guys with a whopping 3/4" have it *easy*!

maurocfc70- Ah, glad you caught that *now* rather than later :D Wonder what`s up with your PMs...
 
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