cheaper alternative to wheel woolies?

T

The Enforcer

New member
I love the reviews on the wheel woolies, but no way in hell a weekend warrior like myself is gonna spend $50 on a 3 brush set. Is there something that's comparible in design/quality/function that's prices cheaper? Even household products that aren't designed for detailing. I've got most of the other types of brushes...but really digging the woolies!
 
I'm with you on spending that much for a weekend hobby.  I took an old sheep skin wash mitt, cut it into the appropriate sizes and glued it to 3 different lengths and thicknesses of PVC with Gorilla Glue.    Been over a year now and they're holding up pretty well.


 


There's allot of ways to save a few bucks if you're not doing this for a living-- a $3 toilet brush works well for the wheel wells, inexpensive pastry brushes are great for cleaning small areas like around emblems--they're made of the same materials as expensive "detailing brushes."
 
I've had the E-Z and the Daytona wheel brushes and the Daytonas are much better built, I think the on-line stores have then for 25-30 for a kit (big and little) sometimes. If you had to pick just one, I'd get the big one and just use the old terry towel on a tooth brush trick for tight spaces. I still use a bug sponge that got too ragged for paint as my wheel cleaner, cause sometimes you just have to put on the rubber gloves and reach around those wheel spokes.


 


I agree, 50 bucks for some sheep wool on a stick ain't happening in my garage!
 
I've got the EZ brushes and they are just too flimsy to EASILY clean barrels...I may give the Dayton's a try. I may get ghetto and wrap an old microfiber around a toilet bowl brush lol! I call myself a "weekend warrior" but I like to do one full correction per week if I can. Just a little side gig I'm getting pretty busy with...
 
Just grab the big woolie if you're not down for the set. I've used the two smaller ones only a few times. It's the big one that gets used 95% of the time. A woolie with a daytona brush makes for unstoppable wheel barrel cleaning. 
 
If you want inexpensive, get yourself some bottle cleaning brushes - some of them come with foam and some even with a microfiber. Way cheaper and serve the purpose.
 
 if you want something to clean the spokes on rims/wheels, check out the carrand sheepskin wheel cleaner, and you can buy it OTC at pepboys for $8...
 
I use this from OXO.  Works great and is pretty cheap at $10.  They also sell a MF refill for $6.  Best of all, no splatter like the traditional brushes.  Only real negative, they take some time to dry after use. I got mine at Target, but I believe Bed Bath and Beyond also sells them.  So far it's held up pretty well.  After some good use, I had to mend the MF attachment point (to the handle), but no big deal.  They now show it in red, but mine is white.  Last I saw at Target, they were white.   


 


http://www.oxo.com/p-1212-microfiber-hand-duster.aspx
 
I have a set of wheel woolies and the large Daytona wheel brush. I can say that when the woolies are gone they will not be re-ordered.  :(
 
Knowing how "pristine" you keep things George - just box up the brush and send it to me now, it'll never wear out at your house.
 
JuneBug- It's kinda funny about the Wheel Woolies, I resisted trying them for a *long* time, using those Quickie Sponge Mops (eh, I can't find the link to them...) instead despite the risk from the steel-loop core, but *oh man* do I like the WWs *for certain applications*.


 


I still use the little sheepskin mitts and sponges (gotta for the back of the spokes anyhow), but the WWs were a lot better than I ever expected.  No argument about the price though.


 


I still use the brush for some stuff on the undercarriage, so it won't be showing up in your mailbox any time soon :P
 
get them when on sale, not when regular price at $50


 


they usually go to $38 for the set when on sale.


 


works out to $12 a brush 


 


or like others mentioned, just buy the larger woolie when sites have sales, 25%
 
Paintball barell swabs?

Some that I had were a wool like substance on wooden dowels.

Not sure of the material, but if wool can be found can it be cheaper?
 
Google long spoke wheel brush and look at images. I use the tampico bristles for really dirty wheels and the horse hair for a light cleaning. Work great, last long and inexpensive.
 
Other than the BHBs, most all Wheel Brushes are far too aggressive for my taste.  If I wouldn't use it on the hood of a black car I won't use it to clean my wheels.



The biggest Wheel Woolie is generally *too* big for my wheels.  Even the smallest one won't fit between the wheel barrel and the caliper most of the time.  So I still end up using the big swabs ("foam on a stick") for those areas.  And I always seem to  need something else to clean the back sides of the spokes.  My Wheel & Wells bucket has a *lot* of different things in it.
 
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