Proper Wheel care
11-28-2006, 01:35 PM
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Proper Wheel care
Wheel Care
Wheel care is a vital and usually overlooked area of vehicle care. Your wheels take an enormous amount of abuse on a daily basis and require constant maintenance. In this article I will discuss the causes of wheel degradation and solutions for fixing and maintaining.
The black powder coating that builds up on the surface of your wheel is made up 4 components. As your wheel rolls it builds up a static charge and attracts dirt. Along with the dirt comes road tar and other contaminants kicked up by your vehicle and other vehicles. Dirt can be easily removed by using car wash soap and water. Tar can be removed with citrus based solvent or mineral spirits based solvent like Bug & Tar. The next 2 contaminants are the enemy. As you apply your brakes the calipers clamp down on your rotors. The friction generated causes the vehicle to slow down. This friction also heats the pads and calipers to extremely high temperatures. As this rubbing occurs tiny particles of red hot metal are worn off and sent flying in different directions. Many of these hot metal particles land on your rim and literally fuse themselves to the surface. The last adversary in war on brake dust is adhesive. Modern brake pads are complex compounds of metals, synthetic materials and adhesives. The adhesives holding these compounds together are designed to wear away under friction like the rest of the pad. The adhesives used in brake pads can be very difficult to remove when they adhere to your wheel. The other problem with adhesive contaminants is that they can be caustic and etch the surface of your wheel.
Proper wheel care begins with a regular wash schedule. If maintained regularly, soap and water will many times do the trick. Add a coat of a polymer wheel sealant in to the routine and this will reduce the need for aggressive wheel cleaners. The polymer protectant will act as a sacrificial coating. The brake dust will attack the polymer coating instead of your wheels finish. Due to the extremely high temperatures generated by braking the protectant should be replenished as often as possible.
Wheel cleaners can be broken up into three main categories. The first type uses alkali additives (pH much greater than 7) to break the bond. Many multi-purpose cleaners fall into this category. The problem with alkali cleaners is that number one, they are very drying. They will in time dry the paint and speed the oxidation process. If you have unfinished metal wheels then you will even notice a white chalky residue form. This is corrosion. High pH cleaners should never be used on finished metal. The second and equally damaging type of wheel cleaner is acid based. Acid based cleaners are usually spotted by the term "NO RINSE". Some "NO RINSE" wheel cleaners can also be alkali. In either case you want to avoid them. Acid works by dissolving metal. Theses acids go to work on the metal particles fused to your wheels. Unfortunately the acids also go to work on all your unfinished metal as well. If you have seen rusty brake calipers and lug nuts you are probably looking at the results of acid washing. Besides attacking metal acids will also etch (dissolve) your painted wheels. You may not notice it right away but in times your wheels will lose their luster and eventually the clear coat will disintegrate. On rare occasions, if a wheel has been neglected for months or years an acid based product is used in a last ditch effort before refinishing becomes inevitable. In this case the acid is used 1 time to clean the wheel, neutralized with an alkali bath and washed thoroughly to remove any possible remnants of the chemical.
I have one last word about Alkali and Acid based cleaners before I move to the last and correct type of cleaner. These hi and low pH cleaners are active when wet. Most people do not properly rinse and neutralize the extreme pH. What happens is small amounts of the cleaner dry in hidden areas like lug nuts or between cracks in muti-piece wheels. The problem begins as soon as the dried solution become wet. Rain, puddles, dew, sprinkles etc come in contact with the dried residue and reactivates the solution thereby causing additional damage.
The last and safest type of wheel cleaner is pH balanced. It performs its cleaning duties by using solvents, surfactants, detergents etc. These are not your spray on and hose off type wheel cleaners. Agitation with a wash device is necessary for the cleaner to work properly. Most of these cleaners have the added benefit of dwell time. You can leave the cleaner safely on the wheel surface without fear of etching or corroding your painted or unfinished surfaces.
Tools needed:
1 Bucket
Car wash soap
pH Balanced wheel cleaner
1 Dip & Wash Brush or retired wash mitt
1 Spoke brush
1 Round long hair detail brush or soft bristle paint brush
A Garden hose and adjustable sprayer
A few micro fiber towels
Before you begin make sure the wheels are cool to the touch and in the shade. If they are to hot to rest your hand on comfortably then time is needed to let them cool. Next fill the bucket with soapy water. Place your brushes and or mitt the bucket. If you have delicate unfinished wheels you may want to use 2 bucket. One bucket would be used to rinse debris and the other a clean bucket where your tools would be stored ready for the next cleaning step.
Sprayer adjustment is commonly overlooked detail. You want to adjust the sprayer on your wheel cleaner to a full mist and then back it off slightly so it is spraying in a conical patter slightly less full mist. The trick to properly cleaning a wheel is to let the chemical do its job. If the chemical does not contact all surfaces you are not letting the chemical do its job. Apply an even coating to the wheel surface spraying from a 90 degree angle. To do this you need to bend down. If you spray standing up then angle you are spraying from will only hit the upper and front surfaces that face you. Line the sprayer up perfectly perpendicular to wheel and spray and even coating making sure the underside and all surfaces are coated. You may have to tilt the bottle slightly when you spray the lower half of the wheel. The sprayer will usually allow a few sprays when angled before chocking.
If the wheel is substantially dirty then allow the chemical time to break down the contaminants. Move ahead and apply to the other wheels in the mean time. Keep an eye on the cleaner. If it begins to dry mist light with the hose or re wet with more chemical. If the chemical dries it become ineffective and the contaminates it emulsified will settle back down and reattached to the wheel.
If the wheels are not in bad shape (a finger wipe will remove dust exposing a clean surface), you can begin cleaning as soon as your are done applying the chemical. First step is to use your dip & Wash brush or mitt. Remove the brush/mitt from the soapy bucket and make a few circular passes around the face, lip and centers. Next try to work it into all large openings. Now comes the part most people find strange. Rinse the wheel. The wheel is still going to be dirty but not you can see what you are doing. Problem areas can be identified and you are not scrubbing blindly. Re-apply the cleaner to areas that still remain dirty. Now using your spoke brush to get between the spokes and the paint brush/detail brush to get around lug nuts and rivets, go to work. When you are done rinse and check. If there are stubborn spots still remaining you can apply a little more chemical and go work on another rim while the chemical goes to work. Small amounts of remnant brake dust can be remove after the wash with and old clay bar or a good multi-surface polish.
Once the wheels are cleaned and rinsed, move your vehicle forwards or backwards about 2 feet. This will expose parts of the wheel you could not see before. Check and repeats the steps above if necessary.
If there are small black dots remaining they may be tar spots. Apply some solvent to a towel and rub gently.
Note for Chrome/unfinished metal: This would be the time to work in a metal polishing soap. Make sure the wheel is still wet. Swipe the sponge across the polishing soap, work the polishing soap into the metal and rinse. That's it.
When you are all done dry them thoroughly with a micro fiber towel. If you have access to compressed air or a vacuum with a blower attachment this is ideal. Using compressed air or a blower will help remove the standing water trapped around the lug nuts, rivets, multi-piece wheels, etc.
Finish the process by applying a good coat of polymer wheel sealant and your wheels will be a breeze to clean the next 2 or 3 washes. The addition of the wheel sealant not only protects but enhances the shine as well.
Brett
Wheel care is a vital and usually overlooked area of vehicle care. Your wheels take an enormous amount of abuse on a daily basis and require constant maintenance. In this article I will discuss the causes of wheel degradation and solutions for fixing and maintaining.
The black powder coating that builds up on the surface of your wheel is made up 4 components. As your wheel rolls it builds up a static charge and attracts dirt. Along with the dirt comes road tar and other contaminants kicked up by your vehicle and other vehicles. Dirt can be easily removed by using car wash soap and water. Tar can be removed with citrus based solvent or mineral spirits based solvent like Bug & Tar. The next 2 contaminants are the enemy. As you apply your brakes the calipers clamp down on your rotors. The friction generated causes the vehicle to slow down. This friction also heats the pads and calipers to extremely high temperatures. As this rubbing occurs tiny particles of red hot metal are worn off and sent flying in different directions. Many of these hot metal particles land on your rim and literally fuse themselves to the surface. The last adversary in war on brake dust is adhesive. Modern brake pads are complex compounds of metals, synthetic materials and adhesives. The adhesives holding these compounds together are designed to wear away under friction like the rest of the pad. The adhesives used in brake pads can be very difficult to remove when they adhere to your wheel. The other problem with adhesive contaminants is that they can be caustic and etch the surface of your wheel.
Proper wheel care begins with a regular wash schedule. If maintained regularly, soap and water will many times do the trick. Add a coat of a polymer wheel sealant in to the routine and this will reduce the need for aggressive wheel cleaners. The polymer protectant will act as a sacrificial coating. The brake dust will attack the polymer coating instead of your wheels finish. Due to the extremely high temperatures generated by braking the protectant should be replenished as often as possible.
Wheel cleaners can be broken up into three main categories. The first type uses alkali additives (pH much greater than 7) to break the bond. Many multi-purpose cleaners fall into this category. The problem with alkali cleaners is that number one, they are very drying. They will in time dry the paint and speed the oxidation process. If you have unfinished metal wheels then you will even notice a white chalky residue form. This is corrosion. High pH cleaners should never be used on finished metal. The second and equally damaging type of wheel cleaner is acid based. Acid based cleaners are usually spotted by the term "NO RINSE". Some "NO RINSE" wheel cleaners can also be alkali. In either case you want to avoid them. Acid works by dissolving metal. Theses acids go to work on the metal particles fused to your wheels. Unfortunately the acids also go to work on all your unfinished metal as well. If you have seen rusty brake calipers and lug nuts you are probably looking at the results of acid washing. Besides attacking metal acids will also etch (dissolve) your painted wheels. You may not notice it right away but in times your wheels will lose their luster and eventually the clear coat will disintegrate. On rare occasions, if a wheel has been neglected for months or years an acid based product is used in a last ditch effort before refinishing becomes inevitable. In this case the acid is used 1 time to clean the wheel, neutralized with an alkali bath and washed thoroughly to remove any possible remnants of the chemical.
I have one last word about Alkali and Acid based cleaners before I move to the last and correct type of cleaner. These hi and low pH cleaners are active when wet. Most people do not properly rinse and neutralize the extreme pH. What happens is small amounts of the cleaner dry in hidden areas like lug nuts or between cracks in muti-piece wheels. The problem begins as soon as the dried solution become wet. Rain, puddles, dew, sprinkles etc come in contact with the dried residue and reactivates the solution thereby causing additional damage.
The last and safest type of wheel cleaner is pH balanced. It performs its cleaning duties by using solvents, surfactants, detergents etc. These are not your spray on and hose off type wheel cleaners. Agitation with a wash device is necessary for the cleaner to work properly. Most of these cleaners have the added benefit of dwell time. You can leave the cleaner safely on the wheel surface without fear of etching or corroding your painted or unfinished surfaces.
Tools needed:
1 Bucket
Car wash soap
pH Balanced wheel cleaner
1 Dip & Wash Brush or retired wash mitt
1 Spoke brush
1 Round long hair detail brush or soft bristle paint brush
A Garden hose and adjustable sprayer
A few micro fiber towels
Before you begin make sure the wheels are cool to the touch and in the shade. If they are to hot to rest your hand on comfortably then time is needed to let them cool. Next fill the bucket with soapy water. Place your brushes and or mitt the bucket. If you have delicate unfinished wheels you may want to use 2 bucket. One bucket would be used to rinse debris and the other a clean bucket where your tools would be stored ready for the next cleaning step.
Sprayer adjustment is commonly overlooked detail. You want to adjust the sprayer on your wheel cleaner to a full mist and then back it off slightly so it is spraying in a conical patter slightly less full mist. The trick to properly cleaning a wheel is to let the chemical do its job. If the chemical does not contact all surfaces you are not letting the chemical do its job. Apply an even coating to the wheel surface spraying from a 90 degree angle. To do this you need to bend down. If you spray standing up then angle you are spraying from will only hit the upper and front surfaces that face you. Line the sprayer up perfectly perpendicular to wheel and spray and even coating making sure the underside and all surfaces are coated. You may have to tilt the bottle slightly when you spray the lower half of the wheel. The sprayer will usually allow a few sprays when angled before chocking.
If the wheel is substantially dirty then allow the chemical time to break down the contaminants. Move ahead and apply to the other wheels in the mean time. Keep an eye on the cleaner. If it begins to dry mist light with the hose or re wet with more chemical. If the chemical dries it become ineffective and the contaminates it emulsified will settle back down and reattached to the wheel.
If the wheels are not in bad shape (a finger wipe will remove dust exposing a clean surface), you can begin cleaning as soon as your are done applying the chemical. First step is to use your dip & Wash brush or mitt. Remove the brush/mitt from the soapy bucket and make a few circular passes around the face, lip and centers. Next try to work it into all large openings. Now comes the part most people find strange. Rinse the wheel. The wheel is still going to be dirty but not you can see what you are doing. Problem areas can be identified and you are not scrubbing blindly. Re-apply the cleaner to areas that still remain dirty. Now using your spoke brush to get between the spokes and the paint brush/detail brush to get around lug nuts and rivets, go to work. When you are done rinse and check. If there are stubborn spots still remaining you can apply a little more chemical and go work on another rim while the chemical goes to work. Small amounts of remnant brake dust can be remove after the wash with and old clay bar or a good multi-surface polish.
Once the wheels are cleaned and rinsed, move your vehicle forwards or backwards about 2 feet. This will expose parts of the wheel you could not see before. Check and repeats the steps above if necessary.
If there are small black dots remaining they may be tar spots. Apply some solvent to a towel and rub gently.
Note for Chrome/unfinished metal: This would be the time to work in a metal polishing soap. Make sure the wheel is still wet. Swipe the sponge across the polishing soap, work the polishing soap into the metal and rinse. That's it.
When you are all done dry them thoroughly with a micro fiber towel. If you have access to compressed air or a vacuum with a blower attachment this is ideal. Using compressed air or a blower will help remove the standing water trapped around the lug nuts, rivets, multi-piece wheels, etc.
Finish the process by applying a good coat of polymer wheel sealant and your wheels will be a breeze to clean the next 2 or 3 washes. The addition of the wheel sealant not only protects but enhances the shine as well.
Brett
11-28-2006, 06:06 PM
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Wheel cleaning
Originally Posted by San Antonio Mobile Car Wash
Just spray them with a mixture of 1 part Simple Green and 1 part water. Use sponge and tire brush, wash, rinse and done.
San Antonio Mobile Wash
www.SAmobilecarwash.com
San Antonio Mobile Wash
www.SAmobilecarwash.com
I use P21S wheel cleaner but even then, make sure they are completely rinsed off.
At least, that's (P21S) what I have been doing for the past 20 years on the 1986 cabriolet.
11-28-2006, 08:50 PM
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I could not agree more. P21S is very safe becasue it is pH balanced and is even safe on anodized finishes. Simple Green is slightly alkali (pH greater than 7) and can damage unfinished metal surfaces.
Brett
Brett
11-29-2006, 11:53 AM
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Originally Posted by IcemanG17
I also use Simple green (straight) and water.....a soft brush & microbfiber rags......I also rejex my wheels twice a year...the dust comes right off!
Aren't those 997 wheels? If so, they look like they were pretty clean to begin with. I wish my previous owners took better care of ~my~ wheels--they have been a bear to clean up.
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11-29-2006, 02:06 PM
#8
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Originally Posted by InTheAir
Brian -
Aren't those 997 wheels? If so, they look like they were pretty clean to begin with. I wish my previous owners took better care of ~my~ wheels--they have been a bear to clean up.
Aren't those 997 wheels? If so, they look like they were pretty clean to begin with. I wish my previous owners took better care of ~my~ wheels--they have been a bear to clean up.
Came off a 2006 997 with 20 miles on them! Have about 2500 now! They were very clean when I got them, with only a couple minor scratches on the inside from tire mounting! The rejex really makes a difference....I had gum on the inside of one wheel.....came right off!!
