What is your Wheel Cleaning Kit

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pingable

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Here's mine.



Swissvax Wheel Brush

Various Ace Powersticks

Old retireed Sheepskin Mitts



Love the Powersticks for getting inside the wheels.

Swissvax is TOPS as it soft, yet firm enough to brush against the wheel face and spokes and it holds up well.

Sheepskins I usually use on the intial pass on the wheels. Helps me to agitate the product....foam it up a bit, and it's soft/pliable enough that I can usually do a scrub on the spokes both front and back.



However, depending on wash solution, APC's in general kill the SS mitts. They tend to wear out much faster, as the APC'S tend to literally disintegrate the skin of the mitts.



I'd love to find a new, better more robust medium that is soft like the sheepskin so I can agitate the wheel face front, and *turn in* while agitating the back of the spokes......that is more durable than the SS mitts.





I'm going to have the CEO sew me 2 old MF's to use as a mitt and see how well that goes...







I have one of those large headed boars hair brush but I find the bristles are too loose and long for them to be effective on wheel faces IMO. Since the bristles are long...they tend to sling product as you use it as well IMO.





Never did get the variety of misc *wheel safe bristle brushes* out there - the ones that are shaped like a torpedo. I wouldn't even deem those bristles safe enough for my winter wheels.
 
chefwong- Be a little careful with the MF idea. I've given up on that as they tend to retain some really abrasive [stuff] that I'd rather have flush/rinse off my wheel cleaning media. That's a big part of my preference for BHBs.



What I use varies with the vehicle in question.



For my wheel cleaner I always use a sorta-strong mix of regular carwash shampoo (cheaper stuff that the Griot's I use for the rest of the car ;) but nothing too crappy...at least GC). The only time I use a dedicated Wheel Cleaner is when I'm gonna pull the wheels off and redo their LSP. For the cleaning media:



The "too pliable" BHBs that're too gentle generally work OK for me and I use my most gentle ones on cars like the S8. I always use a BHB for wheels of some kind for doing the large areas of all my wheels (yeah, gotta be careful to avoid sling; I probaly use up a lot of time as I work quite deliberately). Then I use:



- a smaller, cylindrical BHB (probably similar the the Swissvax one only I would suspect more gentle) for around lugs and for around the outer lip. I also use this, or another small brush, to do the brake calipers at the same time.



- a small swab for the recessed pocket around the valvestem (if applicable) and for tight spots on the calipers while I'm at it.



- a sheepskin mitt for a quick final pass.



That takes care of the face of the wheel (and the brake calipers).



For the back side I probably do most of the work with the little "three finger" mitts Griot's sells for wheel cleaning. I was shocked how much I like these! Like chefwong, on 5 or 6-spoke wheels I can usually do a good job on the back of the spokes with them, as well as the inner barrel of the wheel. I also use:



- large foam-on-a-stick swabs, which will often fit between the caliper and wheel (not on every vehicle though, sometimes I just have to move it forward/back half a wheel-revolution).



- Quickee Sponge Mops (which I'll only use on wheels I'm not all *that* concerned about due to the rigid metal core...can you say "oops"?).



Yeah, it takes me quite a while to do my wheels. I do the wheelwells at the same time and the whole process can easily take up half an hour. But I canb live with that as the results are satisfactory.



No, I don't use my EZ Brush for wheels, hardly ever. Most of the wheel scrubbers (and even a lot of Wheel Brushes) are just too harsh for my taste, though I might use them for the initial cleanup on a used vehicle or before the big annual-or-so cleanups.



Yeah, if/when I ever get the M3 (with its BBS RGR wheels) back into service I'll be looking into the PowerStick, looks like just the ticket for that type of wheel.



I'll be pulling the winter wheels off the A8 soon, and I might try the steamer for the barely-accessible grooves on the back sides of their spokes, those seem to get a lot of buildup no matter how carefully I try keep 'em clean.
 
I used a dedicated MF towel and this for the rims:

DSCN5798.jpg




Tires take a healthy dose of APC+ and Power Clean :)
 
i choose to remove and clean each wheel, inside and out, and the wheel well.. WHEN a customer asks for it AND pays for the service. much better results in my opinion..

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Flawless Image said:
i choose to remove and clean each wheel, inside and out, and the wheel well.. WHEN a customer asks for it AND pays for the service. much better results in my opinion..

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Click to expand...



What was your process in cleaning these? Ie tools, methods, time, cleaners.. Thx
 
Meg's APC+ 10:1 for regular cleaning

Meg's Wheel Brightener for heavy soiled wheels



Brush Similar to SW one

EZ Detail wheel Brush

Sheepskin brush
 
Accumulator - You will LOVE the Powersticks. I was a little hesitant initially to buy them as I thought they looked *cheap* and would fall apart but it's a very well product that should stand the test of time and more importantly it's soft....



I did forget one more tool in my stash. My black Schmitt which I absolutely love to use if I can get my hand under the wheelweels.



The only thing missing is something I can use under the sport cars when I can't shove my hand in the wheelwells.
 
Flawless Image said:
does anyone else offer the same service? removing the wheels?
Click to expand...



Lots of people do.



I use apc+ 10:1, or eagle one wheel cleaner (I really love that stuff) when they are reallllly dirty. DG501 and DGAW for protection
 
I have a variety of tools for wheels.



For cleaners, I'll typically foam them with Gold Class, then rinse. I then re foam them, and start cleaning. If I need something more than soap, I carry P21S wheel cleaner in the truck.



I use foam paint brushes from the hardware store to get the barrels of the wheels and around the calipers. You can get a pack of like 20 assorted size foam brushes for about $3. I toss the brush at the end of the detail. I prefer these to the finger mitts, as I don't have to put my hand back in the barrel, and risk cutting my hand on brake components (shields, etc...)



I use a Swissvax brush for getting around the lugs, valve stem and other tight areas on the face and rim.



I then use microfiber mitts for the face of the wheels, and rinse the mitt a couple of times on each wheel.



I then seal the wheel with Zaino CS or Optimum Opti Seal after I dry it.
 
Flawless,

Could you share your products and process for cleaning up the inside of the wheels in your pics?
 
Question:



One of my Honda Accord factory rims has metal shavings dug into it due to one of the caliper pins digging into the rotor:hairpull. Is there anything I can do to get the shavings out of the rim?
 
DP Wheel Gel, Meguiar's soft, yellow bristled wheel brush and spoke brush for inside with small sea sponges for tight areas.
 
TObleRONE said:
Question:



One of my Honda Accord factory rims has metal shavings dug into it due to one of the caliper pins digging into the rotor:hairpull. Is there anything I can do to get the shavings out of the rim?
Click to expand...



I wonder how a somewhat aggressive clay would do :think: And/or some acidic wheel cleaner. Maybe even a gentle Scotchbrite pad.
 
Sockmonkey said:
Flawless,

Could you share your products and process for cleaning up the inside of the wheels in your pics?
Click to expand...



its so simple, its actually embarrassing.. purply power concentrate from wal mart and a variety of 3 brushes and a sponge, full concentrate on inner wheels, 50 / 50 on outside. havent ran into one i couldnt get clean yet..
 
Flawless Image said:
its so simple, its actually embarrassing.. purply power concentrate from wal mart and a variety of 3 brushes and a sponge, full concentrate on inner wheels, 50 / 50 on outside. havent ran into one i couldnt get clean yet..
Click to expand...



I use the exact same combo! I have run into BMW wheels that have horrid brake dust on them that I was not able to clean..
 
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