How to Clean Your Wheels & Tires Like The Pros | Safe & Effective
For anyone that uses a car wash on a regular basis, you may notice that there’s one area of your car that is usually missed. And no, I’m not talking about the interior. It’s the part of your car that gets the most dirty, is the closest to the road, and doesn’t get cleaned with a normal cleaning. Can you guess it? It’s the wheels and tires.
After a while of driving, you may not notice, but your wheels and tires get very, very dirty. Don’t believe me? Next time you go out to your car, touch your finger to a wheel rim, and take a look at what gets dragged onto your finger! Brake dust, road debris, and any number of things can latch onto your wheels and tires, and, because it requires a different method of cleaning compared to the rest of the car, it is easily missed, despite being the thing that’s the most dirty!
But, of course, there’s good news: Cleaning up your wheels and tires isn’t rocket science! All it takes is the right chemicals, tools, and elbow grease, and your wheels and tires will shine like the day you bought the car! As a professional mobile detailer serving the South Shore and Cape Cod of MA, we’ve seen, and dealt with, almost everything, and I’ll share a D.I.Y. wheel and tire cleaning solution that is easy, safe, and cost-effective. As a note, this method is different from how we do it as the pros, but is much more safe and will produce similar results!
What you’ll need:
A garden hose or pressure washer with running water
A Clean Drying Towel
Tire Shine (Our pick is VRP from Chemical Guys)
A Tire Shine Applicator (If needed)
Step 1 | Cleaning The Tires
Before doing any cleaning, use your hose/pressure washer and wash off the wheel to help remove any big debris that could cause scratching. Next, take your All Wheel Cleaner and spray just the tires. If you have any kind of pump sprayer, foamer, or foam gun, put some car wash soap in it and soak the tire to help add lubrication. Then, take your tire brush, and scrub the tire wall thoroughly. A second or third pass might be needed, depending on how dirty the tires are, and the amount of blooming present. Finally, rinse off the tires, and you’re ready to go for the next step.
Step 2 | Cleaning The Rims
Using the same All Wheel Cleaner, thoroughly spray the entire rim of the wheel, including inside of the wheel barrel. Now, wait about a minute, and you’ll start to see the chemical turn purple, meaning that it is working to break down all of that nasty built-up brake dust. Now, take your rim cleaning brush, and scrub the barrel of the wheel, making sure to get in between every spoke and doing a thorough clean. Then, take the detailing brush, and clean the forward-facing part of the rim, including in the lug nut holes, and get into all of the nooks and crannies. Then, rinse off the wheel, and see if another pass is needed for any missed spots.
Step 3 | Drying the Wheel
A crucial, but overlooked, step is drying all of the water off of the wheel. To dry, use a clean drying towel and get the entire rim dry to avoid creating water spots on the rim, as well as to see if any more dirt or brake dust comes up onto the towel. To dry the tires, just leave them in the sun for about an hour (or more), as hand drying won’t do anything (other than ruin the towel!). Bonus points if you have an air compressor or leaf blower to air dry the rims!
Step 4 | Applying Tire Shine
As a final step to make those tires look shiny and new, use your favorite tire shine product! Our pick is VRP from Chemical Guys, applied with a tire shine applicator pad, as this combo works the best for longevity and not causing any slinging. To apply VRP, just use 4-5 dime-sized drops of the liquid on the applicator pad, and make sure that it is evenly applied to the entire face of the tire. As a note, do not apply any tire shine onto the tread of the tire, and it can cause the tire to slip while driving and be a major safety hazard!
And that’s it! Now just repeat this process with the rest of the wheels, and enjoy a fresh looking vehicle! And for anyone living on the South Shore or Cape Cod in MA, if you want us to come and do this for you, I have good news! A full wheel and tire cleaning comes standard as a part of any of our Exterior Detailing packages, so contact us here and we’ll make your car, truck, or SUV feel like new again. And, if you’re looking for more detailing information, check out the rest of our blog here!
