Simple steps in wheel care to make wheels shine

by Prentice St. Clair

Next to the paint, probably the next most important surface on the exterior of a car is the wheels. It’s amazing how a clean set of wheels with dressed tires can dramatically improve the look of almost any car. It’s no wonder that one of the most common special requests that detailers receive is to “pay special attention to the wheels.”

Wheel care does not have to be complicated, but there are some relatively simple things to consider. One should become familiar with the composition of wheels and how to distinguish between the different types, which, in turn, determines the specific cleaning and polishing chemicals that will be used to make those wheels shine!

Formal Definitions to Avoid Confusion

First, we have to distinguish between wheel covers, hubcaps, wheels and tires. It is important to get these definitions ingrained in your own communications so you can assure that you and the customer are talking about the same things. When you are speaking with the customer, make sure you are both using the same definitions of the components of “the roll-ie things that the car rides on.” At the risk of insulting some of you, I offer the following definitions to make sure the rest of us are talking about what we think we’re talking about …

Wheel

Some define this as the entire round structure, including the rim, hub cap and tire. Others interchange the term “wheel” and “rim.” I will use this second definition in this article.

Tire

The circular band of rubber that is mounted on the outside of the metal rim of a wheel to provide traction and cushion.

Rim

The outer circle of a wheel, attached to the center hub by spokes. With most modern wheels, the “spokes” are rather large, functional and decorative bands of metal that flow in form from the rim, making the rim and spokes one piece of art. For the purposes of this article, the terms “rim” and “wheel” will be interchanged and mean the entire metal part upon which the rubber tire is mounted.

Hubcap

This is the small cap that fits over the hub, which houses the bearings and grease that rotate around the end of the axle. Some people interchange the terms “hub cap” and “center cap.”

Center cap

The decorative cover that snaps or is otherwise attached onto the center of the wheel, often to cover the hubcap and sometimes the lug nuts. In high-production vehicles, it is often a painted plastic piece. On higher-end wheels, however, the center cap can be metal.

Wheel cover

This is a plastic, decorative cover that fits over the entire wheel. These are used primarily in high-production vehicles to hide an otherwise plain and unattractive standard steel wheel. Most wheel covers are painted, although some are chromed. Many people confuse the terms “wheel cover” and “hubcap.” This is incorrect in that cars with wheel covers also have a hubcap, as defined above, underneath.

What is the Wheel Composition?

It is critical to know what material you are working with before treating the wheels. Use of the wrong products or processes on some wheel compositions can not only waste time, but also cause damage.

The first distinction is whether or not the wheel is coated. Most factory-produced and many aftermarket wheels are actually painted with a two-stage or base-coat/clear-coat type of system, much like the body of the car. Treatment of these wheels is fairly simple in that you can use the products that you typically use on the painted surfaces of the car.

About half of the aluminum wheels that you come across will also be coated in a clear-coat, even though they look to be “bare” aluminum. To find out for sure, rub some aluminum polish on the surface of the wheel. If the polish residue turns black as you work it in, the wheel is non-coated aluminum. If the polish stays the same color, the wheel is coated with some kind of clear paint.

Another popular coating is chrome-plating. I have as yet to see a clear-coated chromed wheel. Chrome does not dull as bare aluminum does, so it is not typically cleared. The times that my customers have been confused about the composition of their wheels have been this type of scenario: The customer thinks that he or she has chrome wheels “because they are so shiny,” when in fact the customer has clear-coated aluminum wheels.

As mentioned earlier, wheel covers are often painted and can be polished using standard chemicals for paint rejuvenation. Some wheels have combination of surfaces. For example, a popular combo on Ford SUVs is a painted wheel with a chrome center cap.

Care of Wheels

You will find wheels to be in various stages of need, depending on the customer’s detailing and washing habits, the age of the car, and the type of wheel. Ranges of service include that provided during regular washing to complete refurbishing, which may involve removing the wheel from the axle.

Regular washing

Customers love for their wheels to be clean and shiny! In the early days when I did a lot of regular full-service mobile washing programs, one of the most common special requests was to “make sure to wipe down the wheels.” Most customers who are willing to pay the extra price to have their vehicles washed on-site, expect that the results will be spectacular compared to the typical drive-through car wash. One way to impress your regular wash customers is to take the one-to-two extra minutes necessary to walk around the vehicle and wipe down the wheels with some spray wax and a microfiber towel.

Of course, the regular wash begins with washing off the excess brake dust and other contamination from the wheel. If the vehicle is on a regular washing program, it is probably not necessary to use anything more than standard car wash shampoo and a soft-bristled brush to clean the wheels. If they need some extra strength to remove the contamination, maybe a squirt or two of multipurpose cleaner. I highly recommend staying away from acid wheel cleaning products for regular washing—usually these are overkill and also dangerous for the task at hand.

Occasional Detailing

As part of a standard exterior detail, typically some time will be spent on the wheels. It starts with some extra cleaning and scrubbing during the wash phase. In the most extreme circumstances, it may be necessary to break out the 5 percent solution of acid wheel cleaner, but only in the extreme. I use acid wheel cleaner in only about 1 in 50 details because most of the time, it’s just not necessary.

Acid wheel cleaner will soak into the pores of painted wheels and covers and may etch the paint right away. Even if it is not immediately apparent, there will be some damage left behind when using acid wheel cleaner. So weigh the advantages (removal of heavy, caked-on brake dust collected for months or years) and disadvantages (potential damage to the wheel surface and danger to the operator) of using acid wheel cleaner. You will find that most of the time, a good set of scrub brushes and a moderate dilution of your favorite multipurpose cleaner will work fine in cleaning most wheels.

As part of the final detailing on the vehicle, you can go back over the cleaned wheels and touch them up. I think it’s reasonable to spend five to 10 minutes on each wheel without charging extra. On painted wheels, just wipe them down with a one-step polish-wax. On chrome wheels, shine them up with some chrome polish. On aluminum wheels, do the same with aluminum polish. If the wheels are in good condition, this should be all it takes to finish up the detail job with shiny wheels.

Heavy Wheel Cleaning & Polishing

Some wheels require significant extra attention, either because they have been neglected or the customer wants that perfect “like-new” appearance. In either case, we are moving into the territory of an extra service that is not part of a standard detail and may require a markup, perhaps $10 to $100 per wheel, depending on the amount of time needed to meet the customer’s requirements.

The neglected wheel will have built-up, caked-on, brake dust and other contamination. In many cases, this build-up causes pitting in the wheels, which makes the clean-up job even more difficult. If your multipurpose cleaner does not work well, try rubbing the wheel with some polish or compound. If this does not work or it seems as if it will take forever to do the whole wheel, it may be time for acid wheel cleaner.

Whenever you use acid wheel cleaner, read the directions carefully, especially with regard to dilution ratios. If you are unclear at all, check with your supplier. Wear all of your safety gear, including safety glasses, apron, and long-sleeved gloves. Water down the entire vehicle before and after spraying acid onto the rims. Let it sit for a moment and then blast it off with a pressure washer. In the most extreme cases, you may need to agitate the surface with a scrub sponge first. If you get any acid on the other parts of the car, rinse it off immediately. If you get acid on your skin, rinse it off with clean water for several minutes. Washing the area with soap will help neutralize any remaining acid residue.

For polishing wheels, there are small polishing wheels of several shapes and sizes, that fit onto a standard power drill. These make the job much easier.

Dressing the Tires

To complete the look of any of the above services, the tires should be dressed. There’s no sense in making the wheels look brilliantly new if the tires are to be left in their dull, old state. You can dress tires by spraying, wiping or brushing on your favorite tire shine. Trigger sprayers work just fine for most situations. For higher volume shops, you may want to switch to a pump-type chemical sprayer or a stainless steel pressurized sprayer.

Some technicians prefer to “scrub” on the tire dressing with a soft bristled brush dipped in tire dressing. The scrubbing action helps to get the dressing into all of the ridges, lettering, and other details that most tires have. Still other technicians prefer to wipe the tire down with an applicator soaked in tire dressing. Spray, scrub or wipe—it doesn’t really matter in the end, just so the tire is thoroughly dressed.

I recommend dressing the tire before the polishing or final wiping of the wheel, because some of the over-spray from the tire shine will undoubtedly get onto the wheel. Additionally, if you have to do some machine polishing of the wheel, the spatter of the polishing device may get onto the tires. If they are previously dressed, the spatter is much less likely to soak into the rubber of the tire, allowing you to simply wipe it off the tire when you are done polishing the wheel. Your final wipe of the wheel will then take off any dressing over-spray or spatter, leaving the wheel sparkling.

You may have seen it before: brilliantly clean and dressed wheels and tires, framed by a grayish, dirty wheel well. To avoid this situation, spray dressing into the wheel well—at least the sides that you can see while walking or driving by the car. Most people will not consciously notice the difference, but a properly cleaned and dressed wheel area, including the wells, really makes a difference in the appearance of the vehicle. The dressing on the wheel wells gives them a dark, black, clean look, as opposed to a dirty, dusty, muddy-brown look.

Summary

Wheel care is and should be part of a detailer’s repertoire, whether it be wiping off the wheels during regular washing or full-blown polishing. Your customers will appreciate your “attention to detail” when you take a few moments as part of a standard detail to touch up the wheels. And you can make pretty good money providing the specialized service of polishing aluminum and chrome wheels.

Prentice St. Clair is the president of San Diego-based Detail in Progress Inc. which offers consulting and training in the automotive detailing and reconditioning industries. He can be reached directly at 619.701.1100 or by e-mail at prentice@detailinprogress.com.