Nearly 50% of all cars now are fitted with alloy wheels and nearly all of them get kerbed or damaged at some time. Nothing spoils the appearance of a nice car like badly kerbed wheels do. So you’ve decided to spend your hard earned cash on having them refurbished, so now they look great. But how do you keep them like that, well firstly, stating the obvious DON’T kerb them again!
Now how do you go about looking after your glinting wheels. Well if you wash & wax your cars paintwork, remember that your wheels need just as much TLC if not more to retain their finish, Alloys wheels are a magnet for brake dust, combine this with the heat from the brakes & brake discs causing the dust to get completely baked on to the wheels. Trying to clean this of with just soap and water will get you nowhere.
To make life easier for yourself, when you get your newly refurbished wheels back, apply a generous coating of wax to the front and back of your wheels. This will prevent road salt, dirt and brake dust from being able to key to the wheel surface, which can cause dulling and pitting of the wheel.
Cleaning your wheels on a regular basis is key to keeping them pristine (once a week ideally).
Clean your wheels before you wash the rest of the car. Use a hose to clean all the loose dirt and dust first, if the wheel has any dirt, dust or tar on the wheel, spray the dry wheel with a good quality non caustic wheel cleaner. Let the cleaner sit on the wheel for a while. This cleaner will eat through the contaminates that have built up on the wheels.
Rinse off the wheel cleaner, direct the spray toward the ground to keep the loosened wheel dirt from getting caught behind the spokes or splashing on to the rest of the car. Use a gentle hose to rinse, high-pressure jets will also cause the rest of the car to get covered.
Follow this by using a clean sponge and some mild soapy warm water to gently clean the wheel front and back. Rinse the soap off the wheel, then use a soft-bristle toothbrush and the soap and water solution to clean any areas around the spokes you weren’t able to reach with the sponge.
Rinse the soap off the wheels and then wash the rest of the car. Once the car is washed it’s time to dry the wheels, use a dry soft cloth them. The cloth will pick up any remaining bits of dust and help you avoid water spots. Then apply a good quality wax to the front and back of the wheels, this is again to avoid anything keying to the wheels. Remember good quality wheels cost a lot of money, so look after them!
Tony Mountford
MIDLANDS MARS 