Wheel Well cleaning

Tnwagn

Tnwagn

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Hellow all, first post over here. I've just recently gotten into detailing and have begun what looks like will be a pretty big obsession :awesome:
Anyway, what do you all recommend for cleaning wheel wells? I sprayed down with Simple Green multiple times, but they're still not completely clean (16 year old car :mad: ) Also, what dressing would you all recommend after they are clean? Thanks for the help
 
I found any APC or Degreaser with a sea sponge works best, the sponge grabs all the dirt, heck if you have to, even a little Dawn mixture and sponge to scrub works great. I presonally like Armor All Tire Foam as it sprays to hard to reach areas, cleans, and leaves a nice black, dry finish.
 
Did you agetate the Simple Green with a brush? If not, that is probably the reason they didn't come totally clean.

Get a good wheel well brush, especially one that will work on lower cars, and make sure you use that. Then, dress the wheel wells with any tire dressing.
 
definitely just about any degreaser or all purpose cleaner will work to clean the area but it will need the help of a brush to help scrub the caked on stuff..any tire dressing usually works well in the wheel wells
 
:iagree: with all above. Try Black Magic tire foam. Welcome to AG
 
Thanks for the feedback all :) As for the Simple Green, I sprayed it on, let it sit for about 2-3 minutes and then rubbed out with paper towels. Right now I don't have any brush for wheel well detailing and guess that question kind of already got answered by Whitethunder (looks like a great brush, going on the list for my first autogeek purchase ;) ) However, some of this stuff is going to need some serious scrubbing. It's caked on there so thick that I may have to remove the plastic and take it off to the side to properly deal with. I may be able to get away with just jacking the car up and taking the wheels off.

Any specific tire dressing that you all would recommend? I've also heard that engine dressing can be used for wheel well dressing and works better than tire dressing because of it's extra durability. Is this true?

Thanks for the help and keep it coming. Great to be a member of a forum where everyone is out to help and not just argue and point out others flaws :grouphug:
 
pretty much anything that is rubber/black plastic/vinyl gets 303 protectant when i am in a hurry or dont have all my products on me when i am detailing away from home...works great as an all around product...i will say that other product designed for specific areas of the car do a better job..as they should...but 303 is probably imo is the best all around "dressing" product
 
Alright, I've heard good things about 303. I'll keep it in mind while compiling everything I need to get. I'm it was the same for everyone, but this is pretty overwhelming :confused: So many products, so little money
 
Tnwagn said:
Thanks for the feedback all :) As for the Simple Green, I sprayed it on, let it sit for about 2-3 minutes and then rubbed out with paper towels. Right now I don't have any brush for wheel well detailing and guess that question kind of already got answered by Whitethunder (looks like a great brush, going on the list for my first autogeek purchase ;) ) However, some of this stuff is going to need some serious scrubbing. It's caked on there so thick that I may have to remove the plastic and take it off to the side to properly deal with. I may be able to get away with just jacking the car up and taking the wheels off.

Any specific tire dressing that you all would recommend? I've also heard that engine dressing can be used for wheel well dressing and works better than tire dressing because of it's extra durability. Is this true?

Thanks for the help and keep it coming. Great to be a member of a forum where everyone is out to help and not just argue and point out others flaws :grouphug:
Click to expand...

As far as a stiffer brush, I LOVE this Meg brush. it's meant for tires, but certainly can use it for fender wells. Only down side is a shorter handle since it's a tire brush:

Meguiars Versa-Angle Tire Brush has a pivoting head to scrub tires from any angle! An ingenious tire brush design from Meguiars Car Care!
 
Whitethunder46 said:
As far as a stiffer brush, I LOVE this Meg brush. it's meant for tires, but certainly can use it for fender wells. Only down side is a shorter handle since it's a tire brush:

Meguiars Versa-Angle Tire Brush has a pivoting head to scrub tires from any angle! An ingenious tire brush design from Meguiars Car Care!
Click to expand...

Short brushes don't really seem to be a problem for my car, since I wouldn't really care about jacking it up to get to the wheel wells. + I don't see myself cleaning the wheel wells too often. Although for other people's vehicles that I detail, a longer brush would come in handy for cars that are low and/or have large wheels. I think the first brush you recommended would be better suited to my needs. Thanks for the help :D
 
"I"........
  1. Spray the wells down with a degreaser. Any will work.
  2. Let sit for 5 minutes or until you get back around to the first one sprayed.
  3. Pressure wash the heck out of them. Scrub with a wheel brush if a pressure washer is not available.
  4. While wet, spray wells with Armor All Tire Foam (I also do my tires the same way at this time). Not only does this foam shine, it also has cleaners in it. Let the wells dry while washing the rest of the vehicle.
  5. After drying, wipe down with MF mitt or towell.
  6. Stand back and admire your fresh, shiny, protected wells!
 
The brush is nice for cars or truck with large wheel well gaps. But alot of cars now are low so a sponge is best. Good to have both. Hmmm, how about a wheel well SCHMITT!!!
 
I agree. Currently my car is at stock height, so there's a generous amount of wheel gap (which hopefully will change soon enough...), so an old body brush similar to the one posted earlier works just fine for me, although it is is still a bit inconvenient in the upper reaches of the wheel (where I end up hitting the springs and such).

I end up having to really try to look up into the wheel well and take my time. If you have a lower car I would also recommend something like a mitt or sponge just for the wells... maybe a wheel shmitt? :D (I honestly don't know how well the shmitt works for lowered vehicles, I have no experience with the shmitt).
 
justin30513 said:
I use the wheel ShMitt on wells a lot. Then again, I do 90% SUVs.
Click to expand...

In your opinion, Justin, would you say thw wheel Shmitt is "too thick" for use on vehicles with tight wells?
 
paul34 said:
In your opinion, Justin, would you say thw wheel Shmitt is "too thick" for use on vehicles with tight wells?
Click to expand...

Also a good question, b/c using a shmitt basically means you can fit your hand + a little more into the wheel well. For low cars (bmws, vets) and lowered cars, what are the recommended tools for cleaning the wells?
 
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