wanabe

one of the real wacko processes is cleaning the wheels off of the car...
and a topic that i get questions about very often- questions are how the process goes, and how long it takes...

so, the process:
(and i can add that the entire process for cleaning the wheels and wheel wells, including gathering the products, taking the wheels off and putting them back on and putting everything away, is about 3 to 4 hours)

first step is to gather the materials-




next, jack up the car- either using a trolley jack or the honda jack. in this process, i used both. my car is lowered, so i use the honda jack to get it up high enough to get the trolley jack under the car. i do not jack the car all the way up, but just enough to loosen the nuts- get them all loose and then jack it up the rest of the way. remove the first wheel- be careful not to drop it and set it down on a carpet or, as i did in this case, on the hose to protect it from scratches.

the jacking points for our cars are shown here:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=m...d=si&img=146867

i then detail the wheel well- first rinse, then several choices of cleaners- if the wells are fairly clean, you can just use a wheel brush and car shampoo... if a bit dirtier, then i use a non-acid wheel cleaner, general purpose cleaner or brakekleen depending on what the grime seems to be. around the brakes, brakekleen does well, and a non-acid based wheel cleaner can be helpful. use brushes to clean all parts, then rinse. i used a stainless cleaner on the exhaust, and then buffed it out. dry the well as much as possible (leaf blowers are good if you are careful). i used 303 on the rubber and vinyl parts this time- and finished with a "cavity wax" (aerosol sprayed on).
cleaning in process:


next, the wheels-
i used sonus non-acid cleaners - rinsed the wheels and sprayed the interior with the wheel cleaner. let it sit couple of minutes



brush well, and reclean if needed. rinse and carefully turn the wheel over and do the outside. rinse and turn over a couple times to let the water drain. you can also use the leaf blower if you like. dry the wheel well.
then wax- i usually use wheel wax or finish first (a synthetic). let cure and buff it- i do the interior first then finish up the exterior.
finally, treat the rubber. i had some old meg endurance that i wanted to use up- i dont mind using it when the wheel has to cure- while its curing the megs will set-up nicely. some guys dont like the shine- but on fresh wheels with such a small amount of rubber, i dont mind... endurance is not usually my rubber product of choice, but it looks good here




and my assistant posed for this one


put the wheel back on the car, make sure its on tight, and lower the car-
go to the next wheel and repeat the process!




the last step is to carefully take the car for a drive- i test the brakes several times to make sure that all product is off of the rotors and brake parts... and love the comments that i get how my car looks brand new.
only problem- it doesnt look brand new... it looks better than new!!

S2000Patrick

Nice writeup Wannabe. One thing I don't pay attention to is the inside of the wheelwell. I think i'll give this a try.

Any suggestions for cleaning the flat black finish on Spoon SW388 wheels?

YZER

Great write up wanabe. What brushes are you using? Im still trying to decide on a good wheelbrush. Im thinking about picking up a boars hair from autogeek.

wanabe

thx s2000patrick- your wheels are clearcoated, so the cleaning methods should be the same for all parts...
how dirty are they? just normal dust and dirt, or something more? if more, can you describe it?
i stay away from acid based wheel cleaners cause of the clearcoat-
the exteriors of mine just required car shampoo, but the interiors i used two sonus non-acid cleaners (either would have worked- and they prob only sell one now anyway!)
p21s makes a couple of wheel cleaners- one for normal cleaning and one a bit more aggressive. those would be good choices for your wheels too.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/index.asp?P...WPROD&ProdID=30

wanabe

hey thx yzer- used mainly two wheel brushes...
similar to the ones here:

http://properautocare.com/brushes.html

i used a spoke (or small opening) brush and a long handled brush that has the same head as the wheel brush on the above site. i like the long handled version cause it is easier to use on the wheel wells, axles, etc.
here are a coupla good brushes:

http://www.superiorcarcare.net/wheelbrushes.html

Gloffer

If you lay your wheels down on their face to clean the backside, and you have OEM wheels or wheels where the face of the wheel extends beyond the tire sidewall, then make sure you lay some carpet down or do something else to prevent the wheel face from being scratched. Don't ask me how I know this.

Somebody should event a wheel holder so that the backside of wheels can be cleaned without the chance of scratching the wheel face. Maybe elevate the wheel a foot or two so that the wheel can be cleaned while sitting on one of those low wheeled shop stools.

wanabe

i have had the same experience (on other wheels)!!

i use a carpet when i take them off of the car, but when i am working them i just wind the hose up (water on with good pressure build up) for a cushion (like the middle of the hose)... and you do have to be careful not to let the wheel touch the ground under the hose-
with the ssrs, as you can see from my pics above, i can just use one layer of hose to protect the wheel.

PanteraKitty

I use a 33 gallon Rubbermaid trash can for a wheel stand. Nice working height and the curved cover turned upside down never touches the face of the wheel.

MikeyC

Great tip! I usually use a piece of cardboard, but this is a great idea.

This is a great write up!! I really enjoyed reading it.

Harpoon

wanabe - what rotors are you using? They look great - no rust at all - did you paint them or treat them in some way to avoid rust?