Gone through the previous threads on this and didn't see what I was looking for so here goes...

What to use to get the wheels clean? I use either mystique or P21S total autowash depending on whether or not I'm applying wheel armor and how much I've neglected them lately. But I haven't found a good tool that I like...

Old lambswool wash mitt was just a bit too large and floppy
Cheap microfiber sponge thingy from the auto parts store was too big to get into the crevices
Older microfiber was ok but kept dropping it
haven't seen a brush I like at the local stores

Noticed swissvax has a paintbrush looking wheel brush that I sort of like the look of - anybody use it?

What do you guys suggest/had success with?

 

I like the little "three-finger" foam mitts from Griot's Garage.

They don't fall off your hand, and you can get in all the nooks & crannies. ( I do take them off of my hand and use the corner to get around the wheel bolts, though.) They work really well with my WebSpokes, which are about as bad as it gets for factory wheels, cleaning-wise.

 

 

This fall when I took my summer wheels off, even after cleaning, the paint didn't feel completely smooth. I used a clay-bar on the wheels prior to waxing and it made a world of difference. You can see the contaminants in the clay as they are being removed and I highly recommend it to get some of the brake-dust and other contaminants that may be starting to bake into the finish. It took a while to do the wheels, but they look and feel so much better. I don't think that's specifically what you're asking for, but this was my biggest observation from cleaning my wheels and then seeing the clay-bar remove what standard cleaners/tools couldn't.

 

here are a few brushes that work extremely well.

the ace powersticks (attaches to a cordless drill)


the swissvax wheel brush


the uber boar's hair wheel brush


the uber spoke brush

 

i use a plain old sponge with soap and hot water.... i HATE dirty wheels!

ive had a couple of other "wheel brushes" but they all do the same thing?

 

I had been using the foam bottle brush's that were available at the dollar store. They came with a handle long enough to reach the inner parts of the wheel and for me worked pretty well. I cannot seem to find these any more and am also looking for a replacement.
Steve

 

I also use a plain old sponge and remaining soap from washing. Cheap and effective!

 

I really like the wheel sticks from Griot's - been using these for a while with great success. Just the right amount of scrubbing ability, and allow you to reach the inner surfaces of the rim pretty easily on my wheels. You want the "long reach" version. I get months of use out of each one.



I use these just to get into the interior and corners of the wheel. I wash the face of the wheel with a cheapo flagged end brush from the local auto parts store. Quick, easy, cheap, and plenty gentle for something as utilitarian as a wheel IMHO. And use my remaining car wash water/soap after doing the rest of my paint with a lambswool mitt...

 

+1 for the Swissvax brush and the boar's hair brush

 

I found a couple brushes at Murray's, actually - one foam covered in microfiber that's good for easy clean-ups, and one bristley-er one that's good for scrubbing.

I also had to scrub the crap out of my (white) summer wheels and clay them before I put them back on last week (then weel armour). I've learned my lesson about storing dirty wheels! I'll roll 'em in the basement and wash 'em in the tub if I have to when it's snowing next winter.

 

By the way.... the BEST wheel brush is a set of low-dust brake pads and a coat of Wheel Armour.

Takes me 30 seconds per wheel to wash when I was the car... no caked-on or embedded brake dust EVER. I could eat off my wheels.

It never ceases to amaze me how much trouble some folks have keeping their wheels clean with the OEM pads... or track pads... or whatever...

 

i like to use the combination of ALL (detergent for cloths) combined with ArmorAll with a touch of brakefluid to get things really rolling on cleaning wheels.

i just use Griot's CarWash with their Boar'sHair brush
and Hydro afterwards. lotsie has had great success with SimpleGreen. im not sure if you can use it on high-end wheel finishes but for the most OE painted wheels seems to do ok.

 

I personally prefer prevention over elbow grease, as does BlimeyCabrio!

As long as you apply

Prima Wheel Armour from time to time, you should be able to just simply wipe down your wheels when you clean them. Most Wheel Armour users just wash their wheels with regular car wash soap and a designated wash mitt- just a slosh in the soapy bucket of water at the end of the car washing and a few easy wipes with the mitt will often do the trick. Others prefer to use a quick detailer (i.e. Slick) and a microfiber cloth. Either way, Wheel Armour will prevent the buildup and caking of the brake dust; thus, making wheel washing very easy and wheel cleaners a thing of the past.

(I don't know why I can't get rid of all that bolding! I think it's because I'm using Firefox instead of IE?? Sorry...)

It is particularly advantageous to avoid wheel cleaners when possible. The safer wheel cleaners (read: pH neutral or slightly alkaline) tend to lack the chemical muscle necessary to do the job without having to also use a great deal of arm muscle and scrubbing with many of the aforementioned brushes and gadgets. The more dangerous wheel cleaners (read: acidic or high in alkalinity) are quite harsh and you risk etching your wheels when using them if you aren't very careful about timely and thorough rinsing off of the wheel cleaner.

So, using a product like Prima Wheel Armour not only makes wheel cleaning much easier but it also reduces your risk of harming your wheels. My wheel cleaning tools, brushes and chemicals mostly just sit unused now (not to mention my arms!).


Note that durable polymer-based products such as Epic or even Hydro can be used instead of Wheel Armour; however, Wheel Armour will be the most durable in the high heat environment that our wheels live in. Epic or Hydro work great too though... you just have to reapply them more often than you would Wheel Armour.

Note also that for Wheel Armour to work optimally, you do have to clean your wheels very thoroughly to start with... which can require some wheel cleaner and elbow grease.

-Heather

 

I wax my wheels with Prima Wheel Armour (although my bottle is all retro and says "Wheel Shield" from back in the day ) and then I have this huge-@$$ "Versa-Angle Body Brush" from Meguiars:


I'm also a big fan of Meguiar's Wheel Brightener but it's hard to find, and sorta defeats the purpose of waxing your wheels cuz it'll take it all off.

But honestly, for me the best thing is just getting on the ground with a cheap MF and some QD.

 

Yup, that's what I do too.

Mark

 

i just use Slick and papertowels on my BBS and SSR wheels
on my MCS and G. works great. every now and
then i got over the wheels with Hydro. i rarely find myself
using the WheelShield cause it lasts a long time.

 

Yep... lasts practically forever when you rarely drive your car.... and never drive in the rain... and you lick the dust off after each 1/4 mile...

 

did you know brembo pads taste like dark chocolate?

 

A great topic. I've been wondering about this too. I have several brushes including the uber wheel brush, but have been looking for a good spoke type brush.

This a great plan for the warmer months. I couldn't stand how fast the break dust would be back after a cleaning so one of my first mods was to get rid of the factory pads for some ceramics and use Wheel Armour religiously.

This winter was my first using the MINI as DD and I quickly ran into trouble with the Magchloride they on the roads during any cold weather snow or rain. Nasty stuff for those lucky enough to not have to deal with it. It's pretty corrosive and once it gets on it's hard to come off, which is made worse by the fact that winter washings are more infrequent. I have a cheap spoke brush I've been using which mostly works, but I have to put so much elbow grease into it I'm wondering if I'm doing more damage than good with it. Anyone know of a spray on cleaner which could loosen up this stuff and won't harm wheels?

 

as ML mentioned above, Meguire's wheel bright.

 

I use one of these, dipped into my wash solution, after the rest of the car is done:

http://image12.webshots.com/13/4/0/8...8jLZfPP_ph.jpg

Get's into everywhere, even between the wheel and front brake caliper.

 

Mark