Best Wheel Cleaning Brushes
When it comes to cleaning wheels, a few things are more important that a solid set of wheel-cleaning brushes. Depending on your wheels, we really like using the SONAX insect sponge as opposed to a brush. In order to get your wheels clean, it is also important to use a quality wheel cleaner like SONAX Beast Wheel Cleaner.
When cleaning wheels, the first and most important thing to consider is that the brush cannot leave any scratches or micro scratches on the wheel. When a good cleaner is used there is no need to use an aggressive stiff brush. Upu simply needs to agitate what is there. You also want to make sure that it can get into tight spaces. If you are in Grand Junction and looking for the Best Auto Detailing Services, check this out!
Our Favorite Wheel Cleaning Brushes and Sponges
The SONAX wheel brush is a nice brush because the handle is great and the bristles are just about the right size. One thing we like better than say the Chemical Guys Red Rocket brush is there is no plastic cap that falls off. The one size fits all approach is not great.
The Red Rocket Brushes come in two different sizes. If it was not for one problem they would be our hands-down favorite wheel-cleaning brush set on the market. The problem is they use a cheap piece of plastic to cover the end of the metal and it falls off. The exposed metal edge can scratch your wheels. This can be remedied by using a piece of soft electrical tape or even some plastic dip, but it is definitely a major issue.
The Ripaca set is small and fuzzy. It is a great set for wheels that could easily scratch. We do find it more difficult for hard-to-reach areas, but overall we really like it
We really like the Chemical Guys Wheel Wedge and SONAX insect sponge. Combined with a good wheel cleaner they definitely do the best job. The only real downside is if you are doing a lot of wheels, all that bending over can start to take its toll. They are also a little slower than using a brush.
Check out all wheel and tire care products
Wheel Cleaning
We do a lot of wheel cleaning here. Cleaning wheels can be done with the tools and chemicals above for the sake of a full detail. When we are using a ceramic coating on a wheel face, we will typically take 70% Isopropyl alcohol on a clean rag and remove all remaining dirt and grime by hand.
You will never see us using wheel acid in our shop. Wheel acid is an unnecessary risk.
Tire Cleaning
First and foremost never clean a hot or warm tire. You will end up with brown streaks and they can’t be removed. We simply use American Global APC or Sonax Multistar and scrub with a tire brush. For the very last step, after everything else, even the glass is done, we will use a tire dressing. These same product work really well in the wheel well areas.
Muddy Wheels & Tires
Most of the chemicals for cleaning wheels attach to brake dust to help remove it. This is better accomplished if the surface is dry to start. If we have a set of excessively muddy wheels and tires we will do a pre-rinse and let them dry.
As always if you are a DIYer we have a full selection of auto detailing products locally available to ship nationally. If you are in the Grand Junction market we also offer full-service auto detailing, ceramic coating, window tinting, and more.
