Wheel Woolies

S18RVW

Member
T6 Pro
Hi Guys, I'm getting some new alloys fitted in a couple of weeks and I'm just wanting recommendations on keeping them looking good.
Wheel woolies, cleaner and tyre dressings.
 
Bucket of water and a microfibre cloth are your friends!
 
Bucket of water and a microfibre cloth are your friends!
And some car wash shampoo stuff, if you do it often the brake dust doesn't build up.
Don't use harsh acid wheel cleaners unless you're cleaning a £400 old banger with ten years of baked on brake dust on the alloys.
I use the car shampoo after I've done the bodywork to do wheels. The choice is almost endless, I mainly use Autoglym products but there are too many alternatives to list.
 
Best thing to do would be to get a wheel coating; from the likes of Carbon collective / Gyeon etc, and coat them before they go on.

Single handedly the best way to make wheels 'easy to clean' in future.
 
Hi Guys, I'm getting some new alloys fitted in a couple of weeks and I'm just wanting recommendations on keeping them looking good.
Wheel woolies, cleaner and tyre dressings.

Back in my 'alloy' wheel days, I had a set of Woolies. Yeah they do the job when you have intricate style wheels, but they are expensive and get quite heavy when soaked with water and you have a million spokes to get between. I used mine a few times and then gave them away because a favoured different methods of cleaning.

Steel wheels on the other hand, are a 2 minute job to clean and I now have time to drink more coffee and read through the T6F;)
 

This is my preferred, dedicated wheel washing mitt. It's robust enough to push between the spokes and clean the inside of the wheel as well. Nothing more needed than car shampoo either, especially if you are starting with clean wheels.

Oh, and I always clean the wheels and arches first, before getting fresh buckets to wash the rest of the vehicle. That way, they get done properly, rather than "that'll do" at the end of the job with dirty water.
 
I use one of these, it's very good.

 
Hi Guys, I'm getting some new alloys fitted in a couple of weeks and I'm just wanting recommendations on keeping them looking good.
Wheel woolies, cleaner and tyre dressings.
A ceramic coating before you fit the new wheels is the best money you can spend in making them easier to clean and keep them looking good. You can pick up an Autofinesse wheel ceramic kit from Halfrauds for about 25-30 quid I think. It's a doddle to apply and will make the wheels so much easier to clean. Just make sure the tyres are fitted before you apply the ceramic coating or the wheel weights won't want to stick very well.

If you've got a wide spoke pattern with loads of room, you don't need wheel woolies, it's easy enough to get in there with a decent wash mitt. If they are narrower or more intricate then woolies or similar are a good idea.
 
A ceramic coating before you fit the new wheels is the best money you can spend in making them easier to clean and keep them looking good. You can pick up an Autofinesse wheel ceramic kit from Halfrauds for about 25-30 quid I think. It's a doddle to apply and will make the wheels so much easier to clean. Just make sure the tyres are fitted before you apply the ceramic coating or the wheel weights won't want to stick very well.

If you've got a wide spoke pattern with loads of room, you don't need wheel woolies, it's easy enough to get in there with a decent wash mitt. If they are narrower or more intricate then woolies or similar are a good idea.
Agree with Chris, my wheels are intricate and we’re not easy to clean until I got my wheel woolies which make it much easier. As mentioned above I clean them on a different day than I wash Floyd. I also use a none chemical cleaner as below:

6FE4E31E-D6B9-4A84-82F8-2B002C1F3D83.jpeg
 
My summer wheels are coated with Gtechniq C5 wheel armour... I did that on the dinning table one fathers day. It was a really good use of time and now the wheels are so easy to maintain. A light wetting, some bilburry (chemical free) wheel cleaner and they are like new again. I had the C5 for 3 years before applying it! What an idiot, it has made it so much easier to keep on top of i wish i'd done it sooner!

My winter wheels (and the wifes car) i use the BiltHamber AutoWheels - It has funny smell but its like magic!

1644832600155.png
Spray it on, watch it cling to the dirt and grime, turning purple to indicate a reaction...

1644832647592.png

1644832671003.pngThis is the results after a zero contact wash... I just sprayed onto dry wheels, left it to dwell and jet washed off!

I'm not sure what it would do to the C5 coating hence sticking to Bilberry at a strongish dilution and a decnt wheel wooly.

I rate forensicdetailing on youtube, worth a watch if you have 2 hours to loose!

Good luck
 
I use an ikea 99pence bog brush, with a hole drilled in the screw cap on the top of the handle and a nut n bolt tightened through the handle cap
then just stick the bolt end in the battery drill, give the wheels a good smothering of shampoo and set about em

the ikea bog brush is absolutley useless as a bog brush, struggles to remove a decent residue :) , but plenty soft enough for a battery drill operated wheel brush

( i bought a new one for the wheels by the way )
 
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I use an ikea 99pence bog brush, with a hole drilled in the screw cap on the top of the handle and a nut n bolt tightened through the handle cap
then just stick the bolt end in the battery drill, give the wheels a good smothering of shampoo and set about em

the ikea bog brush is absolutley useless as a bog brush, struggles to remove a decent residue :) , but plenty soft enough for a battery drill operated wheel brush

( i bought a new one for the wheels by the way )
Your clarification about the one you bought for your wheels cracked me up!!!
 
Your clarification about the one you bought for your wheels cracked me up!!!
I just can't picture my neighbours faces if they see me step outside with a bog brush on an electric drill! They'll be rolling around on the floor before they get to see what
I'm using it for!
 
I'm not sure what it would do to the C5 coating hence sticking to Bilberry at a strongish dilution and a decnt wheel wooly.
If you use gtehniq W6 instead of Bilberry (same concept fallout removal), it's meant to go with the C5 and actually reinvigorates the C5 properties. Worth noting that C5 only has an (unopened) shelf life of 1 or maybe 2 years, so you may well not get the full longevity of the coating with a 3 year old bottle
 
If you use gtehniq W6 instead of Bilberry (same concept fallout removal), it's meant to go with the C5 and actually reinvigorates the C5 properties. Worth noting that C5 only has an (unopened) shelf life of 1 or maybe 2 years, so you may well not get the full longevity of the coating with a 3 year old bottle
Thank you - thats some good advice. I'll look at the W6 as soon as I've used up the bilberry.

The C5 is going strong at the moment, but its on my summer wheels only! I don't mind if i have to put a top up coat on in a years time.

Cheers
 
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