The 'Detailed' Guide To Cleaning Your Wheels

Properly Cleaning the wheels on your car can make a hell of a big difference to the overall appearance of your car. Being the main contact point with the road, the wheels come into contact with various types of grime and dirt that if left for any significant period of time might prove to be very difficult to remove. This simple guide will give insight into how we go about cleaning the wheels without the risk of causing damage or swirls to the finish.

The Wheel

1. Beginning on the inside of the wheel, firstly spray with an All Purpose Cleaner (we like SURFEX HD) or similar and rinse to remove as much of the initial surface grime as safely as possible.

2. Now grab your dedicated wheel cleaner (again, we prefer either AUTO WHEEL or most recently INFINITY WAX INCINERATE). Spray it into the wheel barrel and work with a suitable wheel back brush. Use a EZ DETAIL BRUSH (LARGE) for larger areas. The EZ DETAIL BRUSH (MINI) for the tighter areas around the calipers etc.

3. Rinse wheel thoroughly.

4. Next, Repeat this process on the wheel face. again using a LARGE VALETPRO SASH BRUSH or similar for the faces. And the smaller VALETPRO ULTRA SOFT BRUSH for the details and in between spokes.

5. Protect the wheel with a suitable wheel sealant/wax (optional*)

Note that heavily bonded tar and grime can be removed with a tar and glue remover, not listed here. Claying can also help remove bonded grime. Corroded parts of the wheel however, can only be fixed by refurbishment.

Cleaning The Tyre

1. Clean the tyre using an all purpose cleaner or a dedicated tyre cleaner and a small stiff bristle brush to remove dirt and grime from the rubber

2. Rinse and repeat until the produced foam becomes white instead of a dirty brown colour.

3. Dress the tyre (optional) using a tyre dressing (we prefer Q2M TIRE EXPRESS). Rather than spraying onto the tyre, apply with an applicator pad for more even application and less sling.

* Some users may not wish to use a wheel protection product if a lot of brake dust coverage is experienced. While a wheel sealant can make cleaning easier, for some cars the brake dust can still settle easily and be hard to clean, necessitating regular use of a dedicated wheel cleaner in which case a wheel sealant is a pointless addition to the regime.

Health and safety warnings - Always be safe!

• Never go underneath a car supported by the vehicles supplied jack – always use additional axle stands if you wish to work underneath the car (engine undersides, chassis undersides etc).

• Always jack the car up at the manufacturer’s recommended jacking points. Ensure the jack is in stable contact with both the jacking point (see owner’s manual) and the ground. And Always work on level ground!.

• Place a wheel chock (or a brick) on either side of the wheel diagonally opposite to the one on which you are working to prevent any lateral movement of the car.

• Use the spare wheel – locate underneath the body either behind or in-front of the jack as an additional support should the jack fail which the car can then land on – do not rely on this to save you, it is simply one of many precautions!.

• If you have the wheel off the car for any prolonged periods of time (for waxing, polishing etc) and you are using the vehicles supplied jack, put the spare wheel on the car and lower the car back down rather than leaving it on the jack for a prolonged period. The jack is simply designed to hold the car in the air for a short time to allow for wheel changes. Keeping the car in the air for a prolonged time requires the use of dedicated axle stands.

• Wheel cleaners can contain certain harsh chemicals that help with the cleaning ability. These chemicals can be bad for your health, and since you might be working very close to the subject you are cleaning, you are more likely to inhale part of these chemicals. It is very much recommended to wear proper mouth/face covers and wear suitable gloves.

The purpose of this 'mini' tutorial is to simply outline a basic step guide on how to go about cleaning the wheels on your car. It is not designed or intended to be a fully detailed tutorial, but rather give a basic outline of some methods and techniques that most detailers use.