Up till now my detailing experience involved a Prelude SH with pretty, simple five-spoke alloy rims. The fairly simple wheel design made it easy for me to clean out all the nooks and crannies without spraining all ten fingers.

My 2004 S has much more complex rims and after trying to wipe away first-200-miles brake dust (there's a LOT!?) I found myself taking fifteen minutes to get to all of the spots! And, I see people going after those BMW-style rims with fifty-odd spokes. Yikes! How do you clean those things?

 

wheel brushes dude!!
and, if you really have to, some good wheel cleaner- i prefer one with minimal acid, or no acid.
i wash my wheels with a separate bucket and usually use the same car shampoo that i use on the body- unless i have really bad brake dust- then its time for a wheel cleaning spray.
but the answer to your q is a couple of good brushes. one that is an overall big brush and at least one cone shaped and maybe some smaller ones.
i would first rinse the wheels, then wash with car shampoo with the big brush overall and touch-up with the cone brushes. then rinse again. if you still have brake dust, then you spray the wheel cleaner on and follow the directions.
end up with a good wax or synthetic coating to make the next cleaning easier!

 

Wheel brushes?! There are specialized things like wheel brushes? Oh my... I have some catchup to do!

 

Any recommendations on both . I use a big brush to get the tires, a separate mit to get the rims as much as possible, and then a small wheel brush to get the interior surfaces of the rims. I too use the same shampoo as I use on the car. All-in-all, works good but mot perfect. I'm always looking for improvement ideas.

The thing I don't like / never liked about wheels is that they take as long or longer than the rest of the car to clean.

 

With regard to the tires, are there particular applicators, application techniques or product choices to keep in mind?

I've been using one of the off-the-shell tire glosses, with a curved foam applicator I got a Murray's.

 

p21s wheel cleaner is a good cleaner for clear coated wheels... several others. some ideas are here:

http://www.topoftheline.com/brakedust.html
and some wheel brushes here:
http://www.automotivegeek.com/autogeek/oxo...ocowhbrkit.html

btw, your brakes should not dust for long. once they are seated, they should not dust at all. i get no dust on my wheels anymore, unless i am really braking hard (not often). i am running stock pads and calipers with cad plated drilled and slotted rotors- but my rotors should dust more than stock, and they dont dust much at all.

 

I always use a wheel and tire cleaner when detailing my cars. Cone brushes work well, but don't get the ones that are metal tiped. For tire and wheel cleaners check ProperAutoCare Wheel & Tire Cleaners and for burshes check Wheel Brushes. They have a new cone-shaped brush from Oxo I just ordered. Can't wait to try it out.