I read through the Detailing 101 instructions (Thanks, agranger!) and it was not clear to me what I should use to wash the wheels? Do I use the same shampoo I use to wash the car? Thanks.

Tony

 

Yup. Some would suggest to use a different bucket and mitt for the wheels, or at the very least dump the water and wash the mitt very well. Some would also claim that after applying Wheel Armour you can wipe down your wheels with a dry microfiber before washing and avoid the need to clean grimy wheels. The important thing is just to 1) actually clean them and 2) be careful about getting wheel grime (from water / mitt / etc) on the car. Bottom line is most wheels are painted so you should care for them like the rest of your paint.

 

yep use the wash water remaining from washing the MINI's body. i never use any wheel chemicals ever.

i'm a single bucket washer - yes blasphemer i know. but, i pre-rinse the car real well and try not to stir up the water. when i dip my mitt in the bucket i only dip 1/3 of the way into it.

after the car is washed and rinsed- and before i start drying it- i take one of those bone shaped sponges and dip it into the left over wash water and do the wheels. after i've finished the last wheel, i go back to the first and "slosh" the remaining water in the bucket onto it and then do the rest of the wheels in the order i sponged them. then i rinse. then after i've dried the car. i take a different towel and dry off the wheels.

every few months i apply a coat or 2 of klasse SG to the rims and buff off. it really helps to keep the wheels cleaner. you can use whatever wax or sealant you use now for your MINI on the wheels though. although if you use a carnauba it probably wont last as long as a synthetic (klasse, zaino, etc) on the wheels.

 

I used to wash the wheels last, but it was taking as long to do the wheels as the rest of the car! (Probably because I'm a fool, and I got white wheels.) This lead to a not insignificant amount of water spotting on the paint from water that dried before I had a chance to take a towel to it.

Now I do the wheels and black edge trim first, dump out & refill the buckets, and then wash the paint. This seems to cut down on the spotting significantly.

Depending on how baked on the brake dust is, regular ol' car wash soap should get off 95% of the grime. It helps if you wipe them down regularly between washings. I just spray on some QD (Prima Slick), and wipe it down w/ a utility microfiber towel.

And if you've swallowed the Prima Kool-Aid, a spritz of Hydro on each wheel, followed by a quick dry/rub down, after you wash them helps make the brake dust that much easier to the remove next time.

 

I do the wheels first with a fresh bucket of water and soap, and a different bucket of course, different mitt and brush, wash the wheels and wheel wells, then get a different bucket and new soap and water, etc, new mitt and wash the rest of the car

 

Mmm! Prima Kool-Aid goodness!

 

+1 Wheels First.

 

I use OXO wheel brush and Griot's wheel cleaner, no buckets. Sometimes I wash just the wheels without washing the whole car because of the brake dust; it takes about 15 seconds to clean each wheel when I use the OXO wheel brush.

 

i use Griot's CarWash and their long handle boar's hair brush. let it
semi-air dry and wipe dry using Hydro on a soft paper towel.

 

I use meguairs all wheel cleaner. you spray it on agitate with a brush for about 15 seconds and then spray off with a hose. this whole process for all four wheels takes me leass than 5 minutes and makes them look new again.

 

I use Meguiar's Wheel Brightener. Spray it on, wait 30 seconds, agitate with a brush (I have a Meguiar's Versa-Angle body brush I use for this - no bending over!) and rinse.

 

I thought about trying that but I've had such bad experiences with "wheel cleaners" in the past that I'm very leery. I've actually ruined two sets of wheels using chemical wheel cleaners...so, I've basically sworn them off.

 

+1 but I only spray and wait and the wheels are clean.
Wheel Brightener is great.

 

If you use Prima Wheel Armour you don't need wheel cleaner. If you use wheel cleaner it will strip any wax. So one or the other. I prefer to just wax them and wipe off brake dust.