Is there a wheel cleaner that actually works?

[CTSteve]

The previous entries in this thread cover just about every issue involved in keeping your Type R wheels clean. No question a pain in the butt, but essential.

• I plan on about 40 minutes at the beginning of each thorough carwash to do the wheels.
• Removing the brake dust does require agitation, whatever chemical you use needs to mix with the material to be removed to emulsify it. Another aspect of this is that the volume of chemical must be proportional to the amount of dust/dirt to be removed, as it gets ‘used up’. So, don’t skimp.
• What chemical? As has been noted, you do not want something that is so harsh that it will damage or remove the paint, so read the instructions on the container before you buy. I use an aircraft product. These products are approved to not damage aluminum and other light metals that are used in aircraft. That means they are also gentle on the paint. I use Aero Cosmetics Wax All (pink), $27/gal., from Amazon. It’s an effective cleaner. It takes 6 to 8 ounces to thoroughly clean a set of wheels, so about $ 1.50 per cleaning
• In addition to the labor required, the brush that is used for agitation needs to be a material that does not damage the wheel surface. Bristle brushes scratch, at least micro scratches that can be seen on the surface. With a proper chemical and mild agitation you should not need bristles, so I use a microfiber brush that does not scratch. There are many of these on the market; I use a Dincar brush, also from Amazon, which is soft but has enough reach to get back deep into the barrels. Rinse the brush frequently while using
• After I’ve been around the car once on all four wheels, I roll the car forward or back a foot or so, about one half of the wheel diameter so that I can do a better job of getting at the section of the barrels that were on the top or up behind the Brembo calipers and therefore unreachable,.
• I use a round detail brush to get around the wheel nuts, and into the circular corners of the exterior part of the wheels. I also have a microfiber washing glove, that I got very inexpensively at AutoZone. Because it’s a glove rather than a mitt you can use your fingers to get down into the curves and recesses and around the wheel spokes.
• Applying a ceramic coating will not prevent brake dust from accumulating but will make it easier to remove and it leaves a shiny surface after cleaning. I used Adams ceramic wheel coating, yes, it’s expensive, $100+, but that was enough to do both of my sets of factory wheels (winter and summer). I also give them a coating of ceramic boost when I put them away after their season, and another when I take them out for remounting, and I refresh the coating with ceramic boost about every fourth washing or so while they are on the car.

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[darrvao777]

I do a hybrid rinseless style of washing which works even for the wheels.

1) Hose off (I used to use a pressure washer but I've found it's the agitation and not the pressure of the water that matters most)

2) Spray with wheel cleaner of choice. I like Optimum's Power Clean diluted 1:3. I use a simple spray bottle now so I can hit the barrel / lug nuts / recessed areas of the wheel face more easily. I've played around with foamers as well and it's fun but not necessary.

3) I have all my wheel tools sitting in a bucket of used ONR (last week's ONR solution used to wash the car becomes this week's ONR solution used to soak the wheel tools)

4) stiff bristled brush to hit the tires

5) Microfiber incredibrush to hit the barrels

6) EZ detail brush to hit the barrels (as a second pass, these bristles are not soft but ONR helps to prevent marring)

7) detailing brush to hit the lug nuts and wheel face

8) Wheel mitt to hit the wheel face (as a second pass to the wheel face)

9) Wash the rest of the car however you like (I prefer rinseless)

10) come back with a spritz of a spray-on sealant (I use this more as a drying aid rather than true protection) on both the barrel and the wheel face

11) dry the barrel using a dry microfiber incredibrush

12) dry the wheel face using a microfiber towel dedicated to wheels

13) wipe down the tire (I like the look of a tire after APC. I've always had problems with tire dressing slinging onto my white paint even with a good prep. So I've given up on tire dressing for the timebeing)

 

[amurciano]

I found that power washing the wheels Is the best way to get all the brake dust off.

True, I do this as a quick wheel wash if I'm being lazy, but just pressure washing won't get fine dust that is stuck. If tried this and held pressure washer super close and it can't get that last layer off even after spraying with brake dust cleaner before. After this I wipe my finger across wheel and you can see dust on finger and the spot that was wiped off. You definitely get a lot off when just pressure washing, you can see black water running down driveway.

 

[amurciano]

Might sound crazy, but I wipe down my wheels with wet rag every night once I have it in the garage. Makes it much easier to clean the wheels, when I wash the car and I end up wasting fewer rags.

Not as crazy as the people who have a lift at home and polish their exhaust everynight, not just the tips, the whole exhaust.

 

[dwag0588]

I've never cleaned the barrels of any wheels on any car I've owned. Not gonna start now. I keep a separate wash mitt specifically for wheels. I wash them last with the same 2 buckets that I use on the rest of the car. I don't ever use wheel cleaner. I worry that long term it is too harsh on painted surfaces. With this car it's hard to care about the wheels. They are black anyway and they get dusty from a low speed 5 mile drive. It almost isn't worth the effort.

 

[Charlie]

if your not lazy, then take the advice i gave you

if you work that hard at your job, then work just as hard cleaning your car

Not cool. It’s not easy working 80hrs week. And I don’t mean the work. Just try finding time for other things. You barely get time to sleep.

 

[amurciano]

Not cool. It’s not easy working 80hrs week. And I don’t mean the work. Just try finding time for other things. You barely get time to sleep.

Don't listen to these guys, my advice to you since you are short on time, is simply ask do you even wash your car at all? if you do just use one of the wheel cleaners that people recomended spray it on let it sit a couple minutes and spray off, you will get most of dust off but it won;t be perfect. As one of the people mentioned its not that necessary to clean barrel so don't even worry about those.
Maybe one wash(one day) clean tires and scrub with tire brush and spray wheels with cleaner and wash off. Then the next wash (another day) skips tires and spray wheels and agitate will microfiber mit or soft detail brush, or lambskin mit.
So you kinda alternate each wash and you save half the time each time, but you're not ignoring washing wheels/tires entirely.
You can do same with your car wash routine, one wash you do a pre-rinse, foam, and rinse. (clean wheels well)
And next wash you can do , pre rinse, foam, agitate with microfiber mit, rinse, dry. (clean wheels quickly)

And I beg you, do not go to a car wash place that you drive through, its the worst thing you can do to your paint, sometimes its better not to wash at all then go through one of these. If anything try to find a touchless car wash place if you do go to them.

 

[Owen7501]

Sonax wheel cleaner full effect I find works wonders. Generally pretty good but a brush is great if it's really bad

 

[Lust]

Grab some P&S brake buster or Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus. These are both very good wheel cleaners. They will still need some agitation to get the wheels fully cleaned off though. I recommend wheel woolies and a soft bristle brush for the face of the wheel.

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