Sidewinder wheel cleaning

[slysnake]

You guys with the painted black sidewinder (ACR) wheels........ is their any tricks to cleaning them. Man I find them very difficult to clean. And, being black, they really show when their dirty.

btw, I have the drill attachment from Adams polishes that is a stick with the protruding cloth tabs. That helps at home, but if I drive to a car show or something like that they just look filthy and I have trouble reaching inside to clean them.

[Jay Lopez]

I use Wheel Woolies. The small one is thin enough to get behind the calipers, so you can reach the back edges of the wheels when washing from the front of the wheel. You will need a bucket of water though, so this may not be ideal for your car shows.

http://www.wheelwoolies.com

To clean the lug nuts and recessed area for them on the wheel, I bought a soft bristle knot of hair from Rockler, and I turned a handle for it out of wood on my lathe.

http://www.rockler.com/duster-tufts

[Junkman2008]

You know, you could use that wheel cleaning device that you have on a portable, battery-driven drill...

[Nine Ball]

They are simply gloss black powdercoat. Treat them like paint, or you'll just end up with swirl marks and scuffs. I just use a microfiber cloth and soap/water. If the brake dust bothers you, consider swapping out the brake pads to another brand. I use EBC Reds on my car. Hawk performance ceramics also produce very little dust.

[Junkman2008]

Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads also produce nearly zero dust.

[Derek Short]

They are simply gloss black powdercoat. Treat them like paint, or you'll just end up with swirl marks and scuffs. I just use a microfiber cloth and soap/water. If the brake dust bothers you, consider swapping out the brake pads to another brand. I use EBC Reds on my car. Hawk performance ceramics also produce very little dust.

So the ACR sidewinder wheels that are black are powdercoated and not painted black?

[Vprbite]

They are simply gloss black powdercoat. Treat them like paint, or you'll just end up with swirl marks and scuffs. I just use a microfiber cloth and soap/water. If the brake dust bothers you, consider swapping out the brake pads to another brand. I use EBC Reds on my car. Hawk performance ceramics also produce very little dust.

This^^^^ maybe you could use a small calif duster to get at them if it is just fine dust. But IMO brake dust is more "gunkie", if that is a word. So the duster won't work unless you rub it hard and junkman would tell you that is a NoNo with a calif duster on paint. Ask Junkman what he thinks about if the wheels are cleaned properly at home and just have dust from driving to the car show if soaking them with quick detailer or that adams waterless wash (never used it myself, but I know they make good products) would work if used LIBERALLY? He would be the one to ask. But he drives a vette so, take it with a grain of salt. Just teasin man. No offense meant.

Actually Junkman, have you ever done a video about car show detailing? That is what we should do when we get there after the drive, assuming the car was properly washed before the drive. 2 bucket, grit guard, foam gun, etc...? How to take dust or recent road grime off from the 15 miles to the show? Thanks for your advice.

[hmerrittiii]

I own a full service express car wash and have them. There are no shortcuts, I use a handmit and just run the mit on all parts of the wheel. Then dry them, pain in the a__. Takes longer than the wash.

[slysnake]

There are no shortcuts, I use a handmit and just run the mit on all parts of the wheel. Then dry them, pain in the a__. Takes longer than the wash.

Yeah, I had hoped they were going to be easier to clean than the 10 spokes. I was wrong. lol Thanks for the advice folks.

[Vprbite]

I have always found with brake dust, water is your friend. Lots and lots of soapy water. The more soapy water, the less grinding of the dust particles into the finish. Though, the fact that you care enough to try and do it correctly puts you miles ahead of the people who take shortcuts or think that just because you use a microfiber cloth that it is impossible to harm the finish.

Black is just so tricky. Ask NineBall if you should put a good coat of wax on there. He is the wheel Guru around here and Knows his stuff, as I am sure you already know. (NineBall I will be in touch when I can afford to replace my 4 boat anchors) But I would think you could use a good wax and sealant, maybe one that was really hard. Harder than you would want to use on the car because it would be such a pain in the A** but you can bear down and do it on the wheels, then have some protection from swirls, easier to clean. Again, check with NineBall or Junkman first but since they are gloss I think you can just think of them as paint.

Good luck.

[cashcorn]

I took my wheels off the car and washed them real good with just car soap/water. Then a good coat of Meguiar's NXT. Seems to work real well. Now I just hose the wheels off about every 3 or 4 weeks with car soap/water, microfiber. No brake dust or dirt really seems to stick now..

[slysnake]

OK, I'll check out the Meguiar's NXT. Just got my wheel woolies in the mail today so I'm going to try those out as well.

[eric@thompsonracing.us]

Wheel Woolies work really well. They also make a lugnut brush and a wheel brush. We carry both in stock and they are some of our best sellers.

Detailing Brushes

Nineball is right, treat them as you'd treat paint. For times when you're away from home, such as car shows, Adam's Rinseless Wash is a great solution for a quick clean. I add a couple ounces of the Rinseless Wash to Distilled Water in my bucket with a sealed Gamma lid. I throw about 10 Borderless Blue towels in and let them soak. When you get to your event, you can wipe the car down with the towels, never returning a dirty towel to the solution. Save a couple towels at the end for your wheels.

[mblgjr]

The Daytona wheel brushes that Autogeek has are wonderful. They last forever and you can reach the entire inner barrel.

[TooBlue]

I use a 1" soft bristle paint brush. Wrap a micro fiber towel around the bristles with a shot of detail spray on the MF towel.
You can easily get the microfiber towel covered paint brush bristles into all the little nooks and crannys (i.e....aroung the lug nuts) of the wheels and cleans them very well.
Quick too.

I keep an extra brush and mf towels in the back of my car for those on the road quick clean ups.