Has anyone tried any of the tire sprays that are on the market?
This is the one part of detailing that I don't look forward to and
I am trying to find a good product that will make cleaning the rims easier and faster, especially when I am just doing a quick wash.
I currently get down there with a soapy rag and scrub them down on the outside and as much on the inside as I can. Many times I use a soft bristle toothbrush to get to those hard to reach places.
I haven't tried any of the tire cleaners yet as I am worried about staining or the fact that they just don't do any better than a soapy rag and it would be like throwing out my money.

Thanks,

Gary

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It sounbds like you are doing the right things already. Some good rim cleaner and a little elbow grease are the only tricks. Which wheels do you have and what product? I have been uisng Eagle One Aluminum Wash for years and love it. The only trick I can think of is to now let the dust sit for too long. It starts staining or pitting and becomes very difficult to remove, if not impossible.

I usually just wash the wheels after I finish the body. Spray on some cleaner and wipe with a different wash mitt. For the tires, same thing. Just used the car shampoo. Occasionally, I will use Castrol Super Clean to get the whitewalls clean.

 

Russell,

I've not used it, but I remember a lot of folks really dig Meguiar's Citri-Gel for cleaning wheels. I'm sure someone can come along and give you a proper testimonial, or you can do a seach for Citri Gel. Supposedly this stuff goes on thick and clings to the wheels, then after letting it sit for a while you just spray it off with a hose. Very little scrubbing needed from what I understand.

I would really like to try the Citri-Gel but it isn't available locally, so I'll have to order it online. Until then I've been using Eagle One's A2Z All Wheel Cleaner and it works great for me. It's available locally, not very expensive, and it works pretty well just spraying it on and hosing it off, but I usually whip out a wheel brush for good measure and give 'em a quick scrub.

Both the Citri-Gel and the A2Z should be fine for just about any type of wheel, except painted wheels I'd imagine.

Hope this helps!

-G

 

The best thing is a little bit of Dawn dishwashing detergent in a bucket of water and a good sponge or wash mit. What it does for grease on dishes it also does for brakes dust on wheels. Works very well.

 

soapy water and a soft brush works great for me.

I used to do the toothbrush thing too, took waaay too long. We got this huge brush that has VERY soft bristles. Works great. Soak the brush with water, put a little soap on it, and scrub away.

 

Depending on the type of rims you have you can make it much easier to clean the brake dust off if you keep some synthetic polish on it. Zaino is synthetic and Meguiars has NXT which is a synthetic polish as well. There may be some other brands but I am not familiar with them like RockPick and Boss.

Regular wax won’t last long at all on the rims due to the heat build up when breaking but the synthetics should hold up for some time. Put a few coats on every few months and the brake dust will wipe right off…

 

The best thing I've used so far are BlackMagic Wheel Wipes - brake dust comes right off...someone else on the site recommended them (don't remember who), I bought them at walmart and have loved them ever since.