HOW TO CLEAN WHEELS?

We suppose you will get a different answer depending on who you ask.
If you ask your granddad, he might suggest you go outside with a bucket of dish soap and a sponge. Or if you ask your local car wash guy, he might tell you to hit it with acid and scrub like there is no tomorrow. But in this guide, we will show you our preferred methods to clean the wheels after cleaning thousands of wheels.

PLEASE NOTE:
This guide is not applicable for cars with ceramic brakes. With bigger brakes come bigger responsibility. Read more about this HERE.

First of all, you need to identify what type of dirt is on the wheel.

There could be salt, tar, mud, iron, etc.
The major part of your wheel’s dirt will be brake dust, so you will need an iron wheel cleaner or a regular iron remover to remove this.

The difference between an iron wheel cleaner and a regular iron remover is that the iron remover only removes iron, while the iron wheel cleaner has some attributes to remove both iron and some organic dirt.

Here are some tools we would recommend you need:

  • A variety of wool or microfiber wheel brushes for the barrels.
  • A bucket with shampoo.
  • A microfiber towel or a microfiber mitt.
  • Some form of protection for the wheels, preferably Hercules.

If your wheels are "normally" dirty, we would first start by hitting them with a wheel cleaner that contains an iron remover.

There are different wheel cleaners on the market, including alkaline and acid-based ones.

  • Acid-based wheel cleaners – We would advise not using these unless you have a car that REALLY needs it, as they could damage the finish on your wheels. We are talking about wheels that have not been cleaned for years—then your only option might be to hit them with acid.

  • Alkaline wheel cleaners – There might be a bit of a difference between them. Some wheel cleaners on the market are safe for the wheel’s finish, but most alkaline wheel cleaners are industry-based and not meant for your regular DIY customer. They come highly concentrated, and without proper dilution, they can become dangerous for your wheel’s finish.

After hitting the wheels with the iron wheel cleaner, you will notice that your wheels turn purple. This is the iron remover doing its work, reacting with the iron.

Rinse after a couple of minutes of applying the wheel cleaner.

⚠ The rinsing step is crucial! A lot of people spray the wheel cleaner and start scrubbing right away. This is not the right way to do it.
If you do this, you are just dragging the iron and the dirt around the wheel, meaning you are scratching the wheels.

After rinsing, analyze the wheel:

  • Is there still a lot of brake dust on the wheels?
  • If yes, hit it again with the iron remover.
  • You want to remove as much dirt as possible before touching the wheels.

Cleaning the barrels

Once you have analyzed the wheels and they are clean enough to touch, follow these steps:

  1. Dunk your wheel brush in the bucket with soap.
  2. Gently agitate the barrels.
    • We like to treat the wheels the same way we treat car paint, meaning we don’t scrub the wheels—we gently agitate them.
    • If your wheels are in good condition, there is no need to go absolutely bananas on them.
  3. Make sure to rinse your brush between cleaning the barrels.
    • This is where most of the dirt gets stuck, meaning your brush will likely get quite dirty.
    • We want to minimize the dirt we drag around.

Cleaning the wheel face

After cleaning the barrels, start by agitating the face of the wheel.

  1. Use a microfiber towel or a microfiber mitt.
    • We don’t use brushes for this.
    • A lot of people use "ultra-soft detailing brushes," but in our opinion, these could scratch the rim.
  2. Microfiber is safer!
    • Though you might not see the scratches on the wheels right away, try rubbing your "ultra-soft detailing brush" on a piano black surface (often found inside new cars), and you will see that these do scratch the surface.
    • The clear coat on the wheels is harder, so you will probably be safe, but you will find that the cleaning power of microfiber is actually far superior compared to brushes.
  3. Agitate the face of the wheels lightly and don’t forget the back of the spokes.
    • If you use a microfiber towel, these will come in handy since you can easily "wrap" the microfiber towel around the spokes as well as easily press it between the lug nuts.

Rinsing and tar removal

  • Rinse the wheel after you have accessed every nook and cranny.
  • Analyze the wheel – you might see some tar spots.
    • Tar is not removable with any wheel cleaner or shampoo.
    • Here, you will need a dedicated tar remover.
  1. Spray the tar remover directly on the tar spots and rinse.
  2. If the tar spots are really stubborn, you might need some agitation.
  3. Spray some tar remover directly on a microfiber towel and gently wipe the tar away.

Protecting the wheels

Now, your wheels should be clean!

We advise you to put on some form of protection, preferably our water-based ceramic spray sealant, Hercules.
This will:

  • Provide hydrophobic properties
  • Make future cleaning easier
  • Add gloss and protection


Now, you should be left with a smoking glossy wheel.


Please read our guide on how to clean the tires to make sure they match the same fine appearance as your wheels. [READ HERE]