Is it smart to put tire dressing in wheelwells?

M

mikebai1990

New member
I have yet to find an OTC product to detail my wheelwells, and I'm getting desperate. Those wheelwells look pretty ugly :) Would it be smart to use a tire dressing? I'm currently using Meguiars Endurance Dressing. I'm sure it would go on and stay on, but I'm worried that dirt/road grime will stick onto the dressing. Would it be okay if I wiped the wheelwells down after putting on the dressing?



My parents van has a bumper plate (it's like a rubber trim), and I have used the Endurance Gel to detail it. It does attract dust pretty badly, but once I wash it the first time, it isn't "oily" anymore, and still retains the dark black color without attracting dust. Howver, I'm not sure whether this would work for the wheelwells.



Thanks for the help.
 
It should work fine with most tire dressings. Some people use unwanted tire dressing as wheelwell dressing...some even use Mop N Glow. I personally use either Armor All Original or Armor All Detailer's Advantage Tire Foam.
 
Previously I have used a low grade (low cost) product 'Bumper Black' It may be called Fender Black on your Side of the pond. It is something Mr & Mrs 'Normal' might use to make ther family wagon look smart for a wedding.



I used a Steam cleaner this weekend, which had the effect of removing most dirt, but they wings (as we call them) were grey but clean.



K1 CERB
 
I personally use either Armor All Original or Armor All Detailer's Advantage Tire Foam.
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I never even thought about using the Tire Foam in there! What a great idea!!:goodjob
 
You're on the right track with a cheap product for the wheel wells. Save the expensive stuff for the tires.

I use Castrol APC with a bathroom scrubber for the wheel wells then rinse. I dress them with Armor All in a mister and mist just enough for coverage, not drippage.

Prepped wheel wells are like a perfect frame around perfect artwork.

-John C.
 
evenflow said:
I use No Touch tire spray for the wells.
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I tried no touch today in my wheel wells, and it seemed to not clean, nor provide a matte finish... I'll try again but this time use more... But I do like using tire foam.
 
I use Armor All. It actually helps make clean-up easier because dirt won't stick as well to it as it will the plastic inner liners. Really helpful on vehicles like the Hummer H2, which seems to have acres of visible fenderwell.
 
hooked said:
Do you guys also clean/treat the rough textured areas of the wheel well also?
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You mean the textured, painted areas, right?



Depends on the vehicle.



I always clean them, but some German cars have factory (wax based) rustproofing that I con't want to clean off so I have to be careful. No such stuff to worry about on my Audis or my Japanese vehicle.



On the S8 where these areas are painted body color and aren't undercoated with anything I'll use a polish and sealant approach- BF seems to work unsusually well for this (I wouldn't try KSG, too finicky even for me). On my wife's A8 (and the minivan) I just clean them and don't do anything else..sorta neglectful perhaps but after 6-7 years they still look fine (if not concours).



Or, you can just use Griot's Undercarriage Spray (good IMO but kinda messy, keep it off stuff you don't want it on ;) ) which will probably be my choice on the M3 where these areas are painted but have a thin film of factory rustproofing on them.



Where these areas are painted black (or are a black body-schutz material) I'd just use the Undercarriage Spray or even dressings. Just because something's painted that doesn't mean you can't still use a dressing-type approach :D
 
The areas I'm talking about don't look like they're painted. It looks more like the popcorn that's sprayed on ceilings. Maybe it's for soundproofing?
 
MCA said:
It should work fine with most tire dressings. Some people use unwanted tire dressing as wheelwell dressing. I personally use either Armor All Original or Armor All Detailer's Advantage Tire Foam.
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Ditto.



I also use Z16 (tire sealant) bi-monthly and this stuff really retains that black appearance along with topping with "failed by-my-standards" OTC tire dressing.:D
 
Frugle said:
I tried no touch today in my wheel wells, and it seemed to not clean, nor provide a matte finish... I'll try again but this time use more... But I do like using tire foam.
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Using more isn't going to matter. You aren't going to clean wheel wells by merely spraying foam on them.





I always make sure to wipe down the wells very thoroughly after dressing them. Otherwise you will get dirt/grime sticking to the excess coating.
 
hooked said:
The areas I'm talking about don't look like they're painted. It looks more like the popcorn that's sprayed on ceilings. Maybe it's for soundproofing?
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OK. I have that stuff but some of it's painted bodycolor and some of it's just black. It's a rustproofing/sound deadener/etc. material.
 
I just spray the tire dressing over the little foam looking stuff. Well the foam looking stuff is much darker then the actual plastic wheel wells, so tire dressing doesn't do too much.



It looks much better with tire dressing spray on the wheel wells. I'd try not to get overspray onto the strut/spring or the tire, because it may make it more slipperly and oily. Plus I'm not sure what overspray on the inside of the strut would do.
 
You are talking about the rubber spray, correct? I wash my fender wells by hand w/a sponge.. Ive never out any kind of protectant on them but I have ASD for them..:heelclick
 
White95Max said:
Using more isn't going to matter. You aren't going to clean wheel wells by merely spraying foam on them.





I always make sure to wipe down the wells very thoroughly after dressing them. Otherwise you will get dirt/grime sticking to the excess coating.
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makes since, I forgot to mention that I did "scrub" them before applying it. But, on my camry, the tires are so close to the wheel well that I can't fit a brush back there, so all I'm doing is rubbing an old MF towel which really doesn't do anything.
 
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