Wheel

Proper Tire and Wheel Cleaning

To properly clean your tires and wheels, you will need a 3-5 gallon bucket, a soft tire and wheel scrub brush, a sponge or wash cloth, a water hose and nozzle, car shampoo, and a spray wheel cleaner. Here are some step-by-step tips to make cleaning easier:

1. Clean one wheel at a time.

2. Clean your tires and wheels first before washing the rest of the car. This prevents splattering cleaners, dirt and brake dust on already cleaned panels. Your car is also less prone to getting water spots from drying while you wash your wheels.

3. Do not clean your wheels if they are still hot from driving. Let them cool, or thoroughly hose them down.

4. Mix a bucket of soapy water with your favorite car shampoo. Mix double the recommended strength. I recommend Eimann Fabrik Power Wash+ for tires and wheels. It’s much stronger than most automotive shampoos, but it will not strip wax.

5. Thoroughly rinse the tire and wheel with water using a hose and spray nozzle. If exposed, rinse the brake caliper to flush away loose brake dust. Finally, rinse up into the wheel well to wash away road grunge, road kill, mud and other debris.

6. If your tires and wheels have a heavy coating of brake dust or road grime, spray them down with your wheel cleaner. Allow the cleaner to soak for 30 seconds (minimum) to 3 minutes (maximum). I recommend P21S, P21S Gel, and Eimann Fabrik Hi-Intensity for most applications.

7. Use your tire and wheel scrub brush and your soapy water to agitate the tire and wheel surface. Use plenty of soapy water. The soap acts as a lubricant to gently lift dirt and grit away from your wheels. Follow-up with your sponge or washcloth to wash the remaining dirt from the tire and wheel. If your wheels have large open areas, use the sponge to get behind these areas. Make sure the tires are scrubbed. Many people put layer upon layer of dressings on their tires but never clean them. The result is a brown or yellow discoloration.

8. Use your wheel brush and soapy water to scrub the accessible areas of the wheel well, too. This small detail keeps your car looking fresh and new.

9. Thoroughly rinse the tire, wheel and wheel well. Use plenty of water. You need to ensure that all traces of the wheel cleaner are gone.

After washing your car, remember to dry your tires and wheels using a 100% cotton terrycloth towel.

Caution: I do not recommend using tire cleaners containing bleach. Bleaches are used in many tire cleaners to brighten white wall tires, but they can turn tires a dull gray and will stain your alloy wheels.


Proper Tire & Wheel Conditioning

After you clean your tires and wheels, you need to protect them. Tire dressings accent the appearance of your tires and protect against cracking and fading. Likewise, waxing your wheels protects their finish from brake dust, and makes them easier to keep clean.

Your wheels should be waxed, at a minimum, each time you wax your car. You can significantly reduce your wheel cleaning and waxing efforts by coating your wheels with a high quality acrylic. I recommend Klasse All-In-One for this purpose, as it is heat resistant and will not yellow. Klasse All-In-One also has the added benefit of being both a cleaner and a protectant. Another excellent wheel protection product is Plexus. Plexus works well on wheels with many small openings, as these wheels are difficult to wax.

To apply tire dressing:

1. Use a small foam sponge, foam wax applicator, or Eagle One Tire Swipes to apply tire dressing (foam provides even distribution and wastes far less product than a cloth). To avoid getting tire dressing on your car, apply the dressing to the foam applicator, not directly to the tire. I recommend Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber Protectant, 303 Protectant and Lexol Vinylex. These products are all water-based dressings containing strong UV inhibitors.

2. Allow dressings to penetrate into the tire before wiping off the excess dressing. Five to ten minutes is okay, but 30 minutes is even better.

3. If your wheel wells have a black plastic liner, wipe the wheel well liner with dressing, too. This simple detailing step makes a big difference.

4. If you like your tires to be shiny, do a final wipe down with your foam applicator. If you prefer a satin finish, buff the tires down with a terrycloth towel.

Concours Tires & Wheels

Concours winning show cars are clean enough to pass a white glove test. This includes the tires and wheels (front and back) and the wheel wells. Removing your wheels to detail them might seem a little fanatical, but it has several benefits, including:

1. Inspecting your tires for proper wear and damage.

2. Inspecting your brakes.

3. Inspecting your suspension.

To properly concourse detail your tires and wheels, you will need a jack, jack stands, bucket, tire and wheel brush, sponge, water hose and nozzle, car shampoo, spray wheel cleaner, tar remover (mineral spirits), wax, tire dressing, foam wax applicators and plenty of terrycloth towels. If you are not familiar with the procedure for jacking your car and removing the wheels, see your car owner’s guide.

Here is the step-by-step procedure to clean your tires, wheels and wheel wells:

1. Remove and clean one wheel at a time. Slightly loosen the lug nuts on one wheel and jack one end of your car off the ground (preferably the end with the wheel you want to remove). Before fully loosening the lug nuts and removing the wheel, place a jack stand under an appropriate point of the chassis or suspension.

2. Mix a bucket of soapy water with your favorite car shampoo. Mix double the recommended strength.

3. Clean the backside of the wheel first. Spray the backside of the wheel and tire with a generous coat of wheel cleaner. Allow it to soak for 3-5 minutes.

4. Using your tire and wheel brush, scrub the backside of the tire and wheel with soapy water. The resulting grunge will be very gritty, so use plenty of soapy water and keep your brush rinsed.

5. Rinse thoroughly and repeat. If your wheels have small crevices, you may need to use an old toothbrush. A soft parts cleaning brush also works well on the backside of the wheel.

6. When the wheel’s backside is as clean as you can get it, repeat on the front. Make sure you rinse both sides really well when you’re done.

7. While the wheel is dripping dry, spray the wheel well, brake caliper and suspension components with cleaner. Allow it to soak for five minutes. Take this time to dry your wheel with a cotton terrycloth towel.

8. Use the remaining soapy water and your wheel brush to scrub the wheel well, brake caliper and suspension parts. You don’t need to make it perfect unless you really do plan to show your car. Make it clean enough to inspect. Let these parts air dry.

Once everything is clean, you can turn your attention to protection and beautification:

1. Spray the underside of your wheel well and any plastic parts with a generous coat of silicon tire and rubber dressing. Allow it to soak in. If you live in an area where it snows, this will prevent the snow from accumulating in your wheel wells. It also makes future cleanings much easier. I recommend Eimann Fabrik Black Opal Gloss Dressing for this purpose. Wipe off the excess dressing with a towel, and buff to a nice luster. Be careful not to get over spray on the body of your car.

2. Wipe your tire down with a generous coat of tire dressing and allow it to penetrate. While the dressing penetrates, inspect the wheel for tar spots. Quite often, large tar spots will accumulate on the backside of the wheel. Use tar remover and a rag to remove the tar. If your wheel has a lot of spots, wipe down the whole wheel.

3. Inspect your wheel for surface scratches. If you find any, now is the time to buff them out with a light polishing compound. If you don’t have a polishing compound, use a little dab of toothpaste.

4. Wax your wheel front and back. An acrylic sealant will last the longest and provide the best protection, but good old paste wax works fine. Buff to a high luster.

5. Finally, buff down the tire and apply a second coat of tire dressing. When satisfied with the finish, put the wheel back on the car.