Do you take wheels off to clean the rims?

Do you take wheels off to clean the rims?

  • Yes, always

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Yes, occasionally

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
T

toml

New member
I've accumulated 5000 miles of brake dust on the inside of my rims. They do get hit every week with QEW and the new Megs spoke brush, but they are by no means clean. I've thought about spending the money for an aluminum floor jack (3000 lb. Craftsman for $120) and some stands and take the wheels off to clean, polish, and seal the rims, but $120+ seems like a lot of money just to hit the inside of the rims. I could go for a steel floor jack for less money, but I don't want to lug 90-100 lbs. of jack from my apartment on the second floor to my car on the street ... hence looking at the Sears 60 lb. steel/aluminum jack. I already have a good torque wrench.



Another option is a pair of ramps ($20-30) so I can get behind the tire and clean the inside of the rims.



I will try to detail a rim with it on the car first (4* wheel cleaner, brushes, WalMart MF followed by AIO and UPP) and see how hard it is to do. The hardest part will probably be where the caliper assembly is on the front tires as there's not much clearance on my Accord.



However, I'd like to know how many of you remove your wheels to clean, polish, and seal them ... whether every detail, occasionally, or never. It'll help me decide whether to spend the $ for a floor jack or go another route. If you have any comments, they'd be appreciated too :)
 
I feel I get the wheels pretty clean with out removing them. Realisticly who is ever really going to notice. For car shows, sure remove them and clean them up good. For everyday driver, I woud just do the best you can do.

If you have custom wheels that show the insides then maybe remove them. Or do a once a year removal cleaning.
 
I just spray acid liberally and undiluted behind of my polished fronts, pressure wash it and try to keep it off the polished section. Gets em pretty clean, you can only notice the dust inside from ground level.
 
Do you rotate your tires every 5K miles? If not, you should and that is the perfect time to clean the rims and tires while they are off the car. This may not be often enough for everyone as I do 5K in about 3 months.
 
I have two different sets of wheels. Some 17" C5 replicas for the summer with expensive street tires, and 16" stockers with cheaper all-seasons for the winter.



When I swap the sets, I do a hardcore cleaning of the ones that have just got taken off. I don't bother when they're on the car, too much of a pain on a daily driver.
 
My I have two tire setup's (16's for the Winter w/Snow tires and 18's for the rest of the year w/Performance tires).



When I swap sets is an excellent time to polish and wax them. Otherwise once they are on the car I tend to leave them on to clean them
 
toml said:
. . . I've thought about spending the money for an aluminum floor jack (3000 lb. Craftsman for $120) and some stands and take the wheels off to clean, polish, and seal the rims, but $120+ seems like a lot of money just to hit the inside of the rims. . .
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Too bad you're not closer :( I just bought that set up this spring to do the inside of the wheels on my CR-V. It really made it easy, but now it's sitting in the garage asking me when I'm going to do it again. Since the dealer does my tire rotations, I'm thinking the cleaning might be an annual event. :nixweiss
 
toml said:
The hardest part will probably be where the caliper assembly is on the front tires as there's not much clearance on my Accord....
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On vehicles where clearance is tight, I just move them forward/back after cleaning what I *can* get to. This exposes the area previously obscured by the caliper.



I put about 4-6 layers of KSG on the back sides when I have them off (I voted "occasionally"). I clean them (front and back every time if there's access) with car wash solution and even on the daily drivers, when I pull them off the backs are still nice and clean.



The only time I *don't* clean the backs is on wheels where I truly can't access that side, namely the Jag's wheels, the steel wheels on the 9C1, and the steel winter wheels on the MPV (all have only tiny slots that don't allow for effective cleaning). Even those will clean up OK with all the KSG on them if I don't let it go *too* long. If you rotate regularly it's not a big deal to keep up with it. And there's no reason why you *have* to have the dealer do the rotations if you have the floorjack ;) I like knowing that *I* was the guy with the torque wrench.
 
Somewhat related, I've been known to dress the backsides of the tires of my vehicles :o :D

I don't remove the wheels to do this. I twist and contort myself to reach the entire surface of each back tire. For the fronts, it's easy. I just turn the steering wheel all in the way in one direction for one tire and dress and the other and the dress the second. I spray the dressing on the tires with a pump cooking oil sprayer to hit all the spots of the tires and then spread with a foam paint brush.



I clean the insides of the Cadillac wheels , although they are covered by wire wheel covers by going through the same basic regimen as dressing the backs of the tires. Car wash solution shot via foam gun and a good rinse with a hose will often suffice but I have also sprayed APCs, agitated with long handles brushes and rinses.



As for the wheel covers, they get washed like dishes :D in the utility sink with a heavy car wash solution and my wheel duty sheepskin mitt. I rinse them, dry them with a WW and use the leaf blower to blast away any drips.



The Audi is a snap, I just shoot car wash solution with foam gun in the insides,agitate well with the mitt and rinse.
 
Bill D said:
..I clean the insides of the Cadillac wheels , although they are covered by wire wheel covers by going through the same basic regimen as dressing the backs of the tires. Car wash solution shot via foam gun and a good rinse with a hose will often suffice but I have also sprayed APCs, agitated with long handles brushes and rinses..
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Yeah, with the right protectant on them that will be pretty effective. I always expect the wheels I can't "really" clean to be filthy when I take them off, but they're never all that bad; even the cursory washes seem to keep things under control.



Treating the inner side of the tire doesn't sound nutty to me, it'll probably help prevent cracking.



Got the wheelcover-retention issue solved on the Caddy?
 
:( Nope , not yet. Things aren't looking well. I'm going to have start scouring junk yards in quest of an original metal key. I'm not even going to bother with all my plastic ones any more.
 
Accumulator said:
. . . And there's no reason why you *have* to have the dealer do the rotations if you have the floorjack ;) I like knowing that *I* was the guy with the torque wrench.
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I only do it for "warranty considerations". ;)
 
Since I swap my wheels so often, I just clean the insides whenever I have them off.





Also, my friend bought that Craftsman jack you're talking about, and it broke after I think one or two uses (the front wheel fell off).
 
MattZ28 said:
Also, my friend bought that Craftsman jack you're talking about, and it broke after I think one or two uses (the front wheel fell off).
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That's nice to know. What jack do you use?
 
. Most of the time rotating tire is a waste of money unless you do it yourself. The cost of rotating tires every 5-6 thousand miles will negate any saving on the wear and tear of the tires. Also several manufacturer, such as BMW recommend against it.

In any event, who looks that close unless you are in a contest.
 
tabinha said:
. In any event, who looks that close unless you are in a contest.
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Heh heh, well, *I* sure look that close ;) but then I guess I'm, uhm, "unusual" :o



norahcrv- OK, I can see that, though it sounds like your dealer is a [derogatory noun] if you have to think about that. I'm sorta paranoid about other people taking off my wheels, I give them the sockets I want used and take off centercaps, etc. before they go in for service. I've been know to stand there watching when I didn't trust the tech ;)
 
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