Where every weekly wash or detailing turn begins are the wheels and wheel wells! But why is this so? Why don't we start from the top of the car and work our way down, leaving the wheels last? In this article we are going to talk about all points that has to do with the rims, tires, the wheel wells and calipers. Whether you are a novice detailer or an experienced detailer, you will definitely learn something in this post or remind yourself again why we detail with certain products in certain sequences!
We'll start at the beginning, why do we even start with polishing the rims, wheel wells and calipers? This is for a pretty simple reason. The wheels come in contact with the road and as the wheels turn they throw up a lot of dirt that ends up all over the car. But the rims and the wheel well and the tires get the brunt of it. These places often also have a lot of brake dust which is a very aggressive component, which is why we prefer to remove it as quickly and as safely as possible first. In addition, we also go through the rims and wheel well with brushes, which can also splash some dirt on the paintwork. The pressure washer or garden hose can also cause dirt to get on the paint. If we were to clean the paint first, it would be a waste of time and product and also more dangerous to remove. It's all in the details!
But how do we start washing these places? Well, obviously the best thing to do first is to completely disassemble the wheel if possible. That way we can get right to everything and can work into the smallest details and nooks and crannies. To figure out for yourself what you want to clean and how we are going to make a subdivision.
Cleaning wheel wells
If you can disassemble the rim this is going to help tremendously to be able to clean the wheel well. If this can't be done you need a foam lance that works on a pressure washer or a garden hose. There are also foam guns that work on high pressure or manual pumping. Small and large detailing brushes are also recommended, and an angled brush is especially useful when you can't get your wheel off. We first start by treating the wheel well with a strong degreaser or pre wash product.
Wheel wells often get very dirty and are barely washed, which is why it is recommended to spray a very strong degreaser on them first. After this, it is best to spray away all the excess product and dirt already with copious amounts of water. Also, a wheel cleaner that reacts to metal particles and brake dust such as Sonax Wheel Beast works perfectly here to get all the brake dust and metal particles off. First make sure the wheel well is dry again by drying it with a microfiber cloth. This is because the water still on the wheel well will dilute the product and work against it. You can also use brushes to work the product in further to loosen as much dirt and brake dust as possible. When the product looks red/purple and has worn off then it is ready to be sprayed off with lots of water.
If there are still black/brown spots then these are most likely tar stains. First make sure the wheel well is dry again by drying it with a microfiber cloth. This is for the same reason that we dry it first before spraying the rim cleaner on it. Let the tar cleaner soak in again until you see that the tar has dissolved. After this you can continue to work the product in with a brush and then rinse it off again. After this, the wheel well should be clean.
Cleaning calipers
The caliper is cleaned in much the same way as the wheel well. If possible, it is obviously very easy that we can remove the wheel. Also for this it would be convenient to have a foam lance that works with a pressure washer or a garden hose. Also a foam lance that works with air pressure or a manual foam pump will also work if necessary.
We start by making the caliper as clean as possible even before we touch it. This is best done by first spraying the caliper full of degreaser or a pre-wash product. It doesn't hurt to use aggressive products on the caliper or pads so you don't have to worry about this. Brake cleaner is also a degreaser but we do not recommend it as a first step. After applying the product, we can rinse the caliper with water. This should remove a fair amount of dirt already.
However, quite a lot of brake dust is still going to be on the caliper. This can be removed with a rim cleaner that reacts to metal particles and brake dust such as Sonax Wheel Beast. First make sure the caliper is dry again by drying it with compressed air or a microfiber cloth. We do this because next we will spray the wheel cleaner on the caliper and want it to get as concentrated as possible on the caliper and stay on it as long as possible. If there is still water on the caliper it will dilute the product and a lot of product will be lost and not be able to work because it will run off the caliper too quickly. Therefore, after drying, spray the rim cleaner on the calipers and let it soak in for a while. If desired, you can also soak the product with a brush. After this, spray the product off with water.
After using the rim cleaner, the caliper should be free of metal particles and brake dust. If there are still black or brown spots then this is most likely tar. We are going to remove this in the same way as the brake dust only with a different product. Namely a tar cleaner such as Gtechniq Tar Remover. First make sure the caliper is dry and then spray the tar cleaner on the caliper and let it soak in for a while. When the tar starts to soak off, we can further soak it in with brushes. After this, spray the product off again with water and inspect the result.
Rims
The rims is a part that gives the car a lot of its looks. Therefore, it is important to maintain them properly since a good-looking car with dirty rims is regrettable to look at. If you can disassemble the rim, this helps tremendously to clean it easily and properly. Tools such as a foam lance that works on a pressure washer or garden hose also help. Possibly there are also alternatives such as manual foam pumps or that work on air pressure.
It is also important with the rims that we make them as clean as possible even before we touch them. We can do this by spraying a wheel cleaner that reacts to metal particles, such as Sonax Wheel Beast. You will see that when it has been allowed to soak in for a while, the color of the wheel cleaner darkens and is no longer as fluid. By this we know that the product has been able to adhere to metal particles, in this case mainly brake dust. The rim cleaner has already been able to dissolve a large part of the dirt and brake dust and we can easily remove it again with water. Preferably a pressure washer as this will remove most of the dirt.
After this, the rims will already be much cleaner, but there will still be dirt and brake dust present. For maximum results from the rim cleaner, it is best to absorb the water that is on the rims with a microfiber cloth. We do this because when we spray rim cleaner back on the rims, the water that is still on the rims will dilute the product and also give less adhesion so the product can work less well. When we have sprayed the rims with wheel cleaner again, we can give the product a hand by scrubbing with wheel woolies and rim brushes. If your wheel is still mounted work from top to bottom. Start on one side of the rim and then work down to the bottom and then do the other side of the rim. This so you can work most efficiently. After this we can rinse and dry the rims again.
If there are still black/brown spots in the rims now that is most likely tar. This is best removed with a tar remover such as the Gtechniq Tar Remover. Spray the product on the rim and let it soak in for a while. If desired, you can also work this in further with brushes. You will see that the tar begins to dissolve and is removed. After this we can rinse the rims again with water. However, chances are the rims will still feel rough. This means that there is still dirt in the paint of the rims.
We can remove these by using a coarse clay and a clay lubricant. Spray some clay lube on the clay and on the rim and start rubbing the clay over the surface. You will notice that the paint starts getting smoother and smoother and also makes less noise when you rub it. So from time to time, look at your clay to see if it is still clean. If there is a lot of dirt in the clay, you should knead it again a few times until you have a clean surface and you can continue claying. If you drop the clay, throw it away immediately! The dirt and sand will always remain in the clay and you will only scratch the paint if you continue to use it!
Tires
Last on the list we have the tires. The tires are often forgotten by most people but are certainly not unimportant! This is because the tires come in contact with the track and take a lot of dirt with them. Over time, the tires are going to get extremely dirty and also dried out, completely ruining the view of a beautiful rim. Even though the tires may still look nice and black, they will still be very dirty as the dirt also soaks into the pores of the rubber.
We start by cleaning these by foaming them with a pre wash or degreaser. We can do this with a foam lance that works on a pressure washer or on a garden hose. We can also use air pressure or manual pumps. Optionally, you can also just spray the product directly on the tires from the bottle, but it is better that some foam is already present on the tires before we touch them.
When the tires are sprayed full of product, we are going to use a hard brush to rub the product well into the tires. Be careful not to touch the rims with the hard brush as it will scratch them. The rubber of the tires can withstand this very well, so don't worry about damaging your tires. A soft brush also works but since the rubber of the tires is a hard material a hard brush works better. You will see that the foam will soon turn very brown, this is the sign that you are removing dirt from your tires. If the foam turns very brown very quickly it is best that you rinse it again with water and reapply product and start scrubbing with the hard brush. When the foam no longer turns brown it means the tires are quite clean. After this, the tires are also in better condition to be protected and nourished.
Congratulations you now know how to start on your car! All we have done here is remove and clean dirt. The beginning of any wash or detailing job! Do not apply products to protect or nourish after this yet before you have done the rest of the car. Protection and nourishment are done at the very last of a detail!
How to clean your rims, tires and wheel wells?