Proper Wheel Care?

[Joe87T]

Hey guys whats going on, so just had a few simple questions here for you -- My car has 19" Polished Aluminum Rims that are factory Clearcoated, so its not bare aluminum.

1) I was told not to use Simple Green APC to clean wheels on aluminum because it can corrode them or make them look bad - However because mine are factory clearcoated I suspect I should be fine in that aspect? I was just going to go buy a gallon of Simple Green APC, put it in a squirt bottle and call it a day and use it for just the wheels alone

2) I see some people use these big wheel brushes to clean their wheels with, do those actually do anything? I feel like they are cumbersome and wouldn't do much of anything -- My personal method I have a microfiber Mitt like you would use to wash your car with, dedicated to just the wheels themselves - So I just take my mitt and wipe down the wheel by hand using the wash mitt versus using a brush - Is this acceptable?

3) Last question, what about those "Powerball" things that you attach to a cordless drill to wipe your wheels with, are those worth anything or just gimmicky? I noticed they are like 20+ dollars so I would hope it would do something

Thanks!

 

[Desertnate]

Here is my take on your questions:

1) Simple Green is way too harsh. I don't know how it would work on clear coated surface, but it's stripped paint of plastic when I used it on my interior. Personally, I keep my wheels in good shape and only use the soapy water from my wash bucket to clean them. If you want to use a dedicated wheel cleaner, there are many non-acidic options here in all price ranges that would work well.

2. I use two of the Mother's brushes; the wheel brush and the brake dust brush. I find both work well and really speed things up. The wheel brush is soft and works great on the wheel facing surfaces. The brake dust brush is great on the barrels. Your results may differ depending on the design of your wheels. Mine are all a pretty open pattern.

3) I think those drill-powered ball things are only for polishing, but I could be wrong. I can't imagine using one for just cleaning.

 

[Joe87T]

Thanks DesertNate

My wheels are 19s so I find myself going through the standard size squirt bottle of wheel cleaner every 3 washes or so, its insane how fast that stuff disappears - so I was hoping I could find a more economical solution that would work for me, AKA buying S.G in bulk - Someone else on another site mentioned something called Purple Power that they sell at Autozone things like that? its like 5 dollars per gallon

 

[Evan.J]

Here are three great options for bulk wheel cleaners

Meguiar’s All Purpose Cleaner Concentrate, 1 Gallon, works on carpet, fabric, vinyl, and leather for all-over interior cleaning.

Meguiars Non-Acid Wheel and Tire Cleaner D-14301

Optimum Power Clean™ All Purpose Cleaner 128 oz. Refill

All of these can be diluted with water making them last a long time. All are safe on clear coated wheels as well.

 

[Joe87T]

Buddy of mine works at a car dealership and he says his RECON guys uses something called "Wheel Acid" that works magic on brake dust and things, but that you need to spray it off ASAP, he was telling me a story one time about how one of the RECON guys sprayed a wheel with the wheel acid and then got tied up doing something else and left it on the rim for over an hour without washing it off and he came back to the car and it had melted off the finish to the rim - So he sprays it, rubs and then rinses all in like a 2 minute window but they come out looking like new

 

[parttimer]

They have wheel acid here, unless you're doing the worst of wheels, stay away. Any of the multipurpose wheel cleaners will what you need. You could wait till something is BOGO and get a good quantity. I picked up a 6 pack of sonax on bogo for cheap. However I suggest a good deep clean, then seal the wheel. From then on soap and a brush will do it for you. You could also do brown royal which is a dillutable wheel cleaner available elsewhere.

 

[Joe87T]

This is a noob question but can you / should you claybar your rims after you do your paint / windows? Mine are Polished Aluminum and then factory clear coated, so they are shiny just curious if claying them will make them even moreso

 

[CarolinasFinestDetailing]

^^^ It will remove contaminants the same way it does on paint and windows.

 

[Crispy2001]

Brown Royal works wonders on brake dust and other wheel grime. Simple application (wet wheel, spray on straight and let sit couple minutes, agitate and rinse). I like the horse hair brushes because they cover more on my particular wheels. My winter rims are more suited to the nylon small brushes. I use Permanon to keep shiny and easy cleanup.