Deep Cleaning/Dressing your Si Wheels/Tires

[Trash Panda]

Greetings!
I am a huge detailing enthusiast, and for some time have been wanting to share some of my findings on the forum. I apologize in advance for the long read.

Today’s topic is how I deep clean & shine the beautiful wheels/Tires on my Si.

Products Used:
•Adam’s Polishes Wheel Cleaner
•Adam’s Polishes Wheel & Tire Cleaner
•Adam’s Polishes Rinse+Coat
•Adam’s Polishes Wheel Brush, Tire Brush, Lug Nut Brush, and Wheel Woolie
•Chemical Guys Diablo Wheel Gel
•5-gal Bucket
•Adam’s Polishes Graphene Tire Dressing

Preface: Make sure you are out of direct sunlight, and work on one wheel at a time!

Step One:
Fill your 5-gal bucket with water, and squirt 1-3oz of Diablo Gel or similar product in your bucket for some lubrication. Place your brushes in the bucket.

Step Two:
I start on the back wheel so I am not sitting in the run-off from the front wheel. Use your pressure washer or garden hose to rinse off the wheel & tire.
•Take your Adam’s Wheel & Tire Cleaner or similar product and douse your tire. •Take the Adam’s Wheel Cleaner or similar product and douse your wheel.

Adam’s W&T is interesting because you see the cleaner react with the blooming on your tires and it turns brown. (Mine rarely do because they’re usually clean)
Adam’s Wheel Cleaner reacts with iron particles from your brakes and turns purple)

Let this dwell until you see the reaction and start with your brushes.

(Here’s the Wheel & Tire Cleaner reaction on my wife’s Mazda)

Step Three:
•I start with the Tire Brush and scrub the rubber first. It will be absolutely filthy if you do not regularly clean them. I use clockwise & counterclockwise motions.
•Then I hit the lug nuts with the Lug Nut Brush.
•Lastly I use the Wheel Brush and scrub the face of the wheel. I routinely dip it in the 5-gal bucket for more suds/lubricity.

Optionally you can use the Wheel Woolie to get the inside or barrel of your wheel if you want.

Step Four:
•Rinse your wheel/tire with the pressure washer or garden hose thoroughly.

If you want to easily add some protection, I use Adam’s Rinse+Coat. It is as simple as while the wheel is still wet, douse the wheel and let it dwell for about 20-30 seconds. Simply blast it with the pressure washer or garden hose and the wheel is protected because Rinse+Coat is a water activated ceramic product.

Step 5:
•If you have a forced air drying unit or a leaf blower you can dry your wheel/tire off to help prevent water spots (the picture I dropped above is dried).

Step 6:
Time to dress that clean tire. The rubber should be nice & clean and the color of the last picture.
My go-to dressing is Adam’s Graphene Tire Dressing since it leaves a satin finish(I hate seeing tires that have more gloss than the wheels).
•I spray 3-4 sprays per tire in a foam applicator and apply in clockwise & counterclockwise motions. You can level with a microfiber towel afterwards, but I do not.

•You do not have to use the Wheel Cleaner every single time you wash. I only use it every few months when I re-apply a ceramic.

•Maintenance cleanings I only use the Wheel & Tire Cleaner diluted 1:1 or 2:1 and it always gets me great results.

I hope you enjoyed the read, this is my first tutorial like this!

 

[rwk226]

Awesome read/tutorial! How much did all the supplies (chemicals, brushes, foam applicator) cost you? I'd love to do this to my tires. I hate tire shine cause it will kick back up onto my white paint and it makes my car look dirty. Do you have that issue with yours after applying the Tire Dressing?

 

[Trash Panda]

Awesome read/tutorial! How much did all the supplies (chemicals, brushes, foam applicator) cost you? I'd love to do this to my tires. I hate tire shine cause it will kick back up onto my white paint and it makes my car look dirty. Do you have that issue with yours after applying the Tire Dressing?

Hey Ryan,

If you bought what I would consider the “core products” from Adam’s tonight it would cost you around $60. The CG Diablo Gel is like $10, and the Wheel Woolie/Lug Brush would be another $30 or so. Remember you can dilute the Wheel & Tire Cleaner(Purple Bottle) 1:1 in a 16oz spray bottle (8oz product, 8oz distilled water)!

I would consider myself a “prosumer” so I have slowly built up my collection over the years. Adams is not the cheapest stuff in the world, but the quality & customer service is there.

So yeah, speaking of tire shine what you are referring to is called “sling”. It usually comes from tires not being completely clean, hence the shine can not properly bond to the rubber, or too much product is applied.

The Graphene Tire Shine does not sling in my experience as long as you work the product in really well, and the rubber is clean. After a few days it leaves this nice rich color to your tires that I absolutely love.

 

[rwk226]

$60 isn't bad at all in the grand scheme of things depending on how many applications you get out of a product. I'll definitely have to check them out! I have the Gloss black rims on the FK7 so my rubber looking dull really takes away from the look of the rims. Thanks for your reply!

 

[Trash Panda]

$60 isn't bad at all in the grand scheme of things depending on how many applications you get out of a product. I'll definitely have to check them out! I have the Gloss black rims on the FK7 so my rubber looking dull really takes away from the look of the rims. Thanks for your reply!

It really is not; you will probably not wear out the brushes or foam applicator anytime soon. (2 years later mine still look new)

I use probably 2-3oz of Wheel Cleaner(blue) per wash(remember it’s really only needed every few months), and 2-2.5oz of Wheel & Tire Cleaner(purple) per wash.
Graphene Tire Dressing I am using 3-4 sprays per tire, so half an ounce each time?

In my experience Rinse+Coat is maybe an ounce or a little over for all four wheels and can last 90 days.

 

[rwk226]

Means it will last over many years if you are conservative with your usage. My typical wash cycle means I'll use the cleaner less than monthly, and the tire dressing once a week if that. I am ready to explore more expensive options as the cheap Walmart crap just doesn't cut it. I used ArmorAll "extreme tire cleaner" and all it ever did was make my rubber look dirtier, and stripped a very small portion of my gloss-black rims somehow...

 

[Trash Panda]

Means it will last over many years if you are conservative with your usage. My typical wash cycle means I'll use the cleaner less than monthly, and the tire dressing once a week if that. I am ready to explore more expensive options as the cheap Walmart crap just doesn't cut it. I used ArmorAll "extreme tire cleaner" and all it ever did was make my rubber look dirtier, and stripped a very small portion of my gloss-black rims somehow...

I have been self detailing for 12ish years now so I completely understand looking for something better.

The Wheel & Tire cleaner is such an amazing product because it is an All-In-One. If you noticed the picture of the brown tire in my post, that shows it literally works on contact.

Products will stain black wheels if you work in the direct, hot sunlight and let the product dry on the surface. Be cautious. (Maybe that’s what happened?)

In my opinion detailing is about prevention. Using the Wheel & Tire Cleaner and scrubbing away the blooming on your rubber, and regularly using the Tire Dressing has pretty much eliminated dull, brown rubber in my experience.

If you only buy one thing, I would at-least get the Wheel & Tire Cleaner & Brushes combo, and the dressing.

(ONLY used Wheel&Tire Cleaner on my wife’s old car earlier this spring. I do not have any pictures like this on my Si because I never let it get that dirty..?)

 

[rwk226]

I usually try to wash my car in the shade or under an awning of sorts, but maybe that is what's going on. I will definitely give these products a look! The pictures you posted show just how good the products are, and is definitely worth a shot from me. I'll keep ya posted on how it goes for me!

 

[04sthemi]

Thanks for this post. One thing I’ve neglected on my si. Been growing my cleaning arsenal as of late an agree that adams polish is some good shit. I’ve used the iron remover and then got one of there soaps an wanna ad on lol. Definitely snagging that brush cleaner combo

 

[samguy]

Great post! I use Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant, it is all I have tried but love the way it makes the rubber look black and like new rubber looks. I was just reading on this subject before seeing this post and plan to go with Sonax 230200-755 Wheel Cleaner.

I have a woolie but what wheel brush would you suggest? Also, not to go off topic, but since you know your shizz...what do you recommend for treating the interior plastic (dash, console, etc.).

Thank you!

 

[Trash Panda]

Thanks for this post. One thing I’ve neglected on my si. Been growing my cleaning arsenal as of late an agree that adams polish is some good shit. I’ve used the iron remover and then got one of there soaps an wanna ad on lol. Definitely snagging that brush cleaner combo

Pro Tip, if you are out of Iron Remover but have their Wheel Cleaner(blue bottle) you can dilute it 1:1 and make your own Iron Remover. ?

Highly recommend their new Graphene Shampoo. It is the slickest I have used and leaves behind a month or more of protection per the write up I got from the chemist.

 

[Trash Panda]

Great post! I use Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant, it is all I have tried but love the way it makes the rubber look black and like new rubber looks. I was just reading on this subject before seeing this post and plan to go with Sonax 230200-755 Wheel Cleaner.

I have a woolie but what wheel brush would you suggest? Also, not to go off topic, but since you know your shizz...what do you recommend for treating the interior plastic (dash, console, etc.).

Thank you!

I prefer Adam’s older Wheel Brush versus the new one, the bristles are softer in my opinion.

I am pretty biased towards Adam’s ha! I use their Total Interior Cleaner for maintenance(All-In-One product), and I use their Leather & Interior Dressing for interior plastic dressing every now and then. It is odorless(which is rare in my opinion) and matte sheen. 303 is recommended by a lot of detailers as-well, but I have no experience with it.

On a side note, give their Graphene Spray Coating a shot on your plastics. The beading is excellent, and it does darken as-well.

 

[samguy]

Thank you!

 

[atheldis]

I prefer Adam’s older Wheel Brush versus the new one, the bristles are softer in my opinion.

I am pretty biased towards Adam’s ha! I use their Total Interior Cleaner for maintenance(All-In-One product), and I use their Leather & Interior Dressing for interior plastic dressing every now and then. It is odorless(which is rare in my opinion) and matte sheen. 303 is recommended by a lot of detailers as-well, but I have no experience with it.

On a side note, give their Graphene Spray Coating a shot on your plastics. The beading is excellent, and it does darken as-well.

I need that brush. The wheels and tires look squeaky clean. Good job!

 

[Trash Panda]

I need that brush. The wheels and tires look squeaky clean. Good job!

Thanks for the feedback!

Be on the lookout on their website for the new Wheel Spoke Brush they released today..looks like a great complementary brush to add to my arsenal since our factory wheels have larger spokes.

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