How to use a Wire Wheel Brush to clean Chrome Wire Wheels
There's a something about chrome wire wheels that when they're clean and the tires are properly dress they add so much class to any vehicle. But when chrome wire wheels are dirty they're an eyesore that takes away from the beauty of the car.
The issue is with all those wire spokes it can take forever to remove all the brake dust and road grime and restore the chrome shine and brilliance to the wheel. That's where you need and want an Wire Wheel Brush.
A wire wheel brush has thousands of bristles along the shaft so when you run the brush in-and-out of the spokes every portion of the spoke gets cleaned. The brush head is tapered giving creating a cone shape making it easy to quickly slip the head of the brush into each new set of wire spokes as you methodically work your way around the wheel.
The bristles themselves are chemical resistant and won't scratch chrome surfaces.
How to clean spoke wheels
While having a well designed brush makes cleaning wire spoke wheels easier and more efficient you still have to get down and do the work part of running the brush in-and-out of each set of spokes plus both sides of where the 2 sets of spokes intersect.
To complement the wire wheel brush you want to use a good wheel cleaner that will dissolve and remove any built-up brake dust and road grime.
Step 1: Now this is key, pick a STARTING POINT that you can remember such as a word on the tire or even the set of spokes next to the air valve. Then begin methodically running the brush in-and-out of the spokes.
Step 2: Run the brush around the wheel until you end up at the starting point.
Step 3: Agitate the outer lip of the rim with a quality wheel brush like the Wheel Woolies Black Boar's Hair Wheel Brush and then rinse well with water.
Step 4: After washing and rinsing the wire spokes next scrub and rinse the tires.
Step 5: After scrubbing the tire clean next rinse the tire with a strong blast of water.
Technique Tip
By starting with the wheels first and then moving to the tire sidewall when you go to rinse the sidewall you'll have another opportunity to rinse the wheel and flush out any wheel cleaning residues, brake dust and road grime that pooled via gravity in lower areas of the wheel while you were cleaning the tire.
Clean wheels first
The chrome spoke wheels are dull with brake dust and road grime and the tires are turning brown and aged looking...
Here's my friend Frank cleaning the chrome wire spokes on the wire wheels on this classic 1972 Corvette. First Frank sprays McKee's 37 Foaming Wheel Cleaner Gel to the spokes of the wheel.
Next Frank pics a starting point and then methodically runs the wire wheel brush in-and-out of each set of wire spokes.
Clean tires second
After all 4 sets of wire wheels are clean next up Ken, the owner of the Corvette scrubs the tires. You can scrub the tires by hand with a tire cleaning brush or as an option, if you own a Porter Cable dual action polisher, attach a Cyclo green carpet and upholstery brush onto the Porter Cable polisher and turn your paint polisher into a machine tire scrubber.
John Michael, our guest from Italy gives machine scrubbing a try...
Dress Tires last
After the wheels and tires are washed, dried and clean, nest apply a tire dressing to seal the tires and complete the finished look. For this Frank is using McKee's Gloss Tire Gel and a foam tire swipe.
End results...
Looks like Ken is pretty happy with his sparkling clean wire wheels on his all original 1972 Corvette Stingray!
On Autogeek.com
16 Inch Wire Wheel Brush
McKee's 37 Foaming Wheel Cleaner Gel
McKee's 37 Tire & Rubber Rejuvenator
Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher
2 Pack Cyclo Polisher Aqua Soft Carpet Brush
Flex Foam Tire Dressing Applicators - 3 Pack
