Can anyone recommend a good alloy-wheels cleaner?
Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 4:31 pm
This new Match Edition 1.2 of mine has of course come with alloy roadwheels as standard. This is something new for me to deal with, as the old Mk3 Golf that I had before had steel wheels, and those steel wheels required very little attention in terms of cleaning.
For this Match Edition I especially ordered a fifth true wheel, with fitted tyre. That's to say, another of the alloys. Cost me an absolute king's ransom, BTW. Anyway, I simply can't abide those temporary, skinny, steel wheels that come as the spare. Why oh why do car manufacturers persist in foisting them upon us? Mine's been relegated to the back of my garage.
Anyway, rant over, from hereon I'd obviously like to keep all five alloy wheels in as good condition as possible. Invariably, it's the backs of the alloy roadwheels that collect most dirt and grime, I suppose particularly because of the dust emitted from the now all-round disc brakes. But it's already apparent that the standard washdown of the car and wheels will miss those backs. And, in situ, you can't really access the backs with a sponge, or whatever, through the spokes. So, it looks like if I want to properly clean the backs of the wheels I'll need to take each wheel off in turn and especially deal with it.
Thus, what I'm needing is primarily a non-acidic cleaner for alloys where I can use it in combination with a small, soft-bristled brush to remove caked-on grime and then wash it all off with clean water, and then liberally apply wax polish to it. The latter should then tend to shed the grime from thereon, hopefully lasting for, say, some six months or more before needing the treatment to be repeated. Obviously, the actual frequency with which this would need to be repeated will depend on the extent of my usage of the vehicle (which will be below average).
When I was recently in my local Halfords I had a look at the alloy cleaners that they sell, but couldn't make up my mind whether any of them were worth spending £7 - £8 on. Also, I had no idea whether or not they were non-acidic; the particular chemical contents quoted on the containers told me nothing about their acidity or true suitability to the job.
Would I be better off just using diluted washing-up liquid and a small soft brush? Although washing-up liquid is known to be bulked up with salt, it's never done any harm to my previous vehicles as a general car-wash soap.
For this Match Edition I especially ordered a fifth true wheel, with fitted tyre. That's to say, another of the alloys. Cost me an absolute king's ransom, BTW. Anyway, I simply can't abide those temporary, skinny, steel wheels that come as the spare. Why oh why do car manufacturers persist in foisting them upon us? Mine's been relegated to the back of my garage.
Anyway, rant over, from hereon I'd obviously like to keep all five alloy wheels in as good condition as possible. Invariably, it's the backs of the alloy roadwheels that collect most dirt and grime, I suppose particularly because of the dust emitted from the now all-round disc brakes. But it's already apparent that the standard washdown of the car and wheels will miss those backs. And, in situ, you can't really access the backs with a sponge, or whatever, through the spokes. So, it looks like if I want to properly clean the backs of the wheels I'll need to take each wheel off in turn and especially deal with it.
Thus, what I'm needing is primarily a non-acidic cleaner for alloys where I can use it in combination with a small, soft-bristled brush to remove caked-on grime and then wash it all off with clean water, and then liberally apply wax polish to it. The latter should then tend to shed the grime from thereon, hopefully lasting for, say, some six months or more before needing the treatment to be repeated. Obviously, the actual frequency with which this would need to be repeated will depend on the extent of my usage of the vehicle (which will be below average).
When I was recently in my local Halfords I had a look at the alloy cleaners that they sell, but couldn't make up my mind whether any of them were worth spending £7 - £8 on. Also, I had no idea whether or not they were non-acidic; the particular chemical contents quoted on the containers told me nothing about their acidity or true suitability to the job.
Would I be better off just using diluted washing-up liquid and a small soft brush? Although washing-up liquid is known to be bulked up with salt, it's never done any harm to my previous vehicles as a general car-wash soap.