How to Clean Alloy Racing wheels

By: Neomy | Oct 5 2012 | 784 words | 2962 hits

Wheels are very important accessories in your vehicle that need be taken care of in the right way. Be they racing wheels or normal wheels, they need to be looked after in the best way possible. They are expensive to acquire but this cost can be cut down by following some few guidelines which will help you retain your wheels for a very long time.

Getting your wheels to give your vehicle the best service for a long time, comes at a price. A very cheap price. Your wheels need to be cleaned regularly for them to remain in good shape always. It might seem like a very tiresome and dirty process but the results you get by just cleaning your wheels will bring happiness to you.

As much as the cleaning process might sound a very easy one, there are a number of things that need to be considered for the best results to be achieved. It's not just a bucket of water and a cleaning cloth process as many might think. The following guidelines will help you

Gather the Right Materials

The first thing you need to have for the wheel and tire clean-up process is the right materials to clean your wheels. Use of the wrong materials could expose your wheels to harm and this would leave you a frustrated person. To avoid this frustration, look for the right materials for your wheel type. Wheels are of various type and various makes. The material that makes up racing wheels is not the same as that which makes ordinary wheels. Since wheels are made from different fabrics, different wheels will require varied cleaning materials. This is because if an inappropriate material is used for a certain wheel type, it might lead to corrosion which will give the wheel shorter life. So, it is always recommended that you know the fabrics that make your wheel and use the appropriate materials on it. But if you do not know the material that make up your car's wheels, you can use cleaners that are appropriate for all wheel types.

• A brush that has feathered bristles is highly recommended. A Hard brush would scratch the coating and leave the rim with scratches all over.
• An absorbent sponge is also required to absorb dust particles. Ordinary sponges will leave some particles on the rim and so it is advisable not to use them.
• A bucket of water and a special washing detergent is required. Not all detergents are right for the wheel cleaning process.

• A horse pipe is also essential but if you do not own one, a bucket of water would still serve the purpose.

The cleaning Process

Make sure that you do not come from a trip for example a race and go directly into washing the wheels. Your racing wheels will be hot and this may give a false outcome. It is also recommended that when cleaning the wheels of your vehicle, you should take them off your car to get the best results. This is the right thing to do because when they are off your car you will be able to reach all the parts and clean them properly. But this does not mean that if you clean them when they are still on the car they will not get clean. They will. All you have to do is clean them properly and make sure that the cleaning brush penetrates to all the parts of the wheel.

• The first step is to run water all over the wheel using the hose pipe as the source. In case you are using the bucket of water, you can splash enough water on the wheels. This helps shake off the dirt and loosen any sticking dirt.

• Dip the sponge into the soapy water and run it over the wheel. This cleans much of the dust leaving only the sticky dirt.

• The brush comes in at this point. Use the brush to scrub the wheels and remove the sticky dirt. The brush penetrates to the parts that the sponge did not reach and also between the trends of the tire. Scrub thoroughly until the brush can run smoothly over the wheels.

• Repeat this on all the wheels.

• The final step is to rinse off the dirty water by spraying water from the hose pipe or splashing a bucketful of water over the wheels. This shakes off all the remaining dirt and the dirty water.

• Leave the wheels to dry and preferably under a shade and not in the sun.

It's as simple as that. If you do this on your wheels regularly, you will be visiting the wheel store after a very long time. This will help you save a lot of expenses.

 

About author:
Neomy John is an online article writer. She writes informational articles on Trucks and related truck accessories.You can find more about her and her work on Wheels at 4wheelsonline page.  American racing Wheels