My son says I'm obsessed. I rotated my tires yesterday and while I had them off I decided to wash the back side of my rims. He's like "Why, no one will ever know they're clean because they can't see that side". I told him"I'll know".

As I was cleaning them some door-to-door salesman walks up and says, "Man, I've never seen someone take off their wheels just to clean them".

Some folks just don't understand

 

You do seem a bit obsessive, but that's normal around here.

CROC 411

 

i did the exact same thing when i rotated my tires.

 

I thought everyone did this

 

That's what I do too.

 

If I've got the wheels off at home and have the time, I'll at least give the insides a quick wash out... it's a lot easier to get the inside barrel clean from the back side than fighting all of the wheel spokes and brake calipers with a brush to clean 'em while the wheels are mounted on the car.

You are obsessed. Admit it. Own it. Love it. Welcome to the club!

Speaking of that, my fresh coat of powder on the wheels should be well cured and off-gassed by now... time for a wash and a coat of Zaino on the inside!

 

My kids say I'm old and a loser. Don't listen to them!!

 

I usually clay bar and wax them too.

 

Yeah, that way when you're under the car cleaning the exhause pipe the inside of the wheels won't gross you out!

 

I have a star wheels and use a tire brush and take the time to clean all the way back. So on the rear tires you can see the chrome shine all the way through. Join the old Farts Club too.

 

Yes.

So is everyone else here.

Motor On.

 

Guilty also!

 

Yeah, same here, clean the inside as well and wax both sides. Looks good for a long time especially when you've switched to different pads making a lot less brake dust.

 

Wow... you wanna talk about misplaced modifiers? What do the kids say when you are clay bar-ing and waxing them? Should teach 'em right for talking bad about their elders!

 

I think my response would have been: "Do you wash things so that they are CLEAN or just to look good to other people?"
Seems like a good opertunity to explain the diffrence between purpose and shallowness. Reminds me of a verse...
Mat 23:25-27
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.

 

You are not obsessive at all. However, keep in mind I store Windex and paper towels in the back seat area, on the floorboard. I clean spots and smears that pop up on occasion, on the dash, vinyl, etc.

One time I was at a long stop light and saw a spot. I did my typical cleaning. Looked over and these two hot girls in the car next to me were laughing. Kinda like this:

[I prefer, of course, to think they were flirting with me. Leave me to my delusions, thank you.]

 

I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I plan to let the dirt cake so thick on my car that I'll be able chip it off in two pieces and make plaster casts of the car.

 

Your comment confirms that this was indeed YOUR MINI I saw the other day. Is that white stuff residue of the plaster casts to which you refer? Not to tell you your business, but the plaster kinda ruined the right hood stripe.

 

He he. I will let my MINI get a little tough looking, but will eventually have to clean her.

 

He's right, of course.

I once polished and waxed the insides of some polished aluminum wheels. My excuse was that they were raw aluminum. They had to be polished to clean off the oxidation, then waxed to keep the brake dust from doing damage. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 

I've only done this once but it felt good.

 

I was so going to wax them too but the heat got to me.

 

You are. So as everyone over here, including myself. May be I don't get to wash the back side of my wheels that often, but you bet I will when I have the chance.

 

You are not obsessed, this is normal, routine care of your MINI.
I wash the back of the wheels and the wheel wells, then dry everything off. A clean MINI is a happy MINI

 

rain could make the brake dust drip from the upper back to the lower front, so it seems good to clean them