Cleaning wheel wells

Brush and soap & water to clean, tire foam to dress. Recently tried Stoner's Trim Shine, but it was too shiney for the wheel wells, IMHO. The AA foam I've used in the past is better for me.
 
I will usually clean with APC+ and a nylon bristled toilet brush to break things up under there. I let the APC sit while I spray and quickly brush one sides' tires/wheels with A2Z, then rinse the WW and wheels. After the entire wash I dress the WW's with a 50/50 Armor All (AA) solution which evns out fairly nice. As I dress the tires (BnB) I will wipe any drips offa the flaps etc. HTH.



-Stu.
 
What do you do if the paint inside the well is coming off? 2000 Honda CR-V...seeing bare metal inside the well...planning to take off the wheels to clean behind them...plan then to coat the well...ideas?



Peter...welling to learn...in Denver
 
Peter Crowl said:
What do you do if the paint inside the well is coming off? 2000 Honda CR-V...seeing bare metal inside the well...planning to take off the wheels to clean behind them...plan then to coat the well...ideas?



Peter...welling to learn...in Denver
Click to expand...





Some options discussed here in previous months. LouisianaJepper undercoated his Mustang a while back and it looked great.



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35112&highlight=mustang+undercoating



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36499&highlight=mustang+undercoating



-Stu.
 
i'll spray it down with undiluted degreaser...let it sit for a sec....wipe them down to agitate dirt....then spray all the dirt out.....then put a dressing on them....they aren't perfect but are perfect for detailing customers wheelwells....i'll only take more effort if more money is given for me to work on them....
 
Since doing the wheelwells of the Audis "properly" I've been able to keep them nice with just a strong shampoo mixture. I use a foam glassware cleaning thing and BHBs. On the other vehicles, I use EFHI.



Peter Crowl- I'd just get them reshot at a good paint/body place myself. But if you want something easy to DIY then yeah, the undercoating idea should work fine. It can be a little messy when you're maintaining them though.
 
I clean mine at every wash....it's an easy process, and the car just doesn't look right without the wells being clean.
 
Well I'm just a new kid here..but I do make a point of spraying off the wells with each wash....no sense no doing it. I'm not going into them with my wheel brush since I haven't had time to remove the wheels and really clean the wells yet...but once I do I see no reason not to use the wheel brush to run over the inside of the well.



Peter...looking at passing cars and seeing only a very few that are even clean let alone maintained...in Denver
 
I do, it only takes a few minutes

once it's cleaned and dressed the first time. most dirt washes off pretty quick
 
I would always hose them out but never detail them. Now you guys have made me feel guilty, I'm going to have to start cleaning them alot better. It just seems like a very tediouse job trying to get in there around the tire to only get splattered with road crap when you pull away shortly after!! :o
 
This isn't about cleaning your wheel wells...it's about cleansing your spirit!



Try one of those long thin wand sprayers like they used to sell for window washing to get in and around easily.



Peter...squirting crud...in Denver
 
Peter Crowl,



Along with what Accumulator said. For a DIY, undercoating is the way to go. But like Accumulator said, it can be a pain to clean later if you get the wrong type. I've used 2 different types, and here's my take on them.



Some of the undercoating in spray cans you can get are asphalt based. These are messy, and never seem to fully dry. I believe this is the type Accumulator is referencing. I've used this type first, and it does not last. It also reeks of a tar smell for days after application and looks brownish. This is on top of the fact it just doesn't really dry all the way and will wash off. I avoid this type now.



The second type is what I have on my wheel wells now. It is a rubberized undercoating/sound deadener. The can I got from Auto Zone was blue with white writing. It says on the front that it is a rubberized undercoating and sound deadener. This stuff dries fully within an hour or two, and leaves a nice, thick black finish (like OEM, atleast on my Nissan). I wash my wheel wells every car wash with car soap and a soft bristled brush, and have no problems with it coming off. I have also used it to touch up scrapes in my wife's truck bed with a spray in bed liner, and it matches almost perfectly. An added benefit to this type is the sound deadening with little rocks/gravel flinging in the wheel wells.



If you do undercoat your wheel wells, take common sense precautions. Don't do it on a windy day. Tape and mask off EVERYTHING you don't want sprayed. Clean the surface to be sprayed first. And remember that undercoating sprays much thicker than spray paint. You might want to spray a scrap first to get the feel for the texture you'll want.



Hope this helps.



Dave
 
Woah!



I find most wheel wells these days are of the smooth plastic paneling type. I hope all of you are not spraying this type with undercoating :eek: :nono



Here's my simple procedure FWIW: Clean them thoroughly with a medium to stronger strength degreaser, dress them with a product that doesn't wash off the instant it gets wet, saves time and frustration. These types often aren't easily airborn bound so little overspray issues.
 
Dave...Thanks! That's great advice...I have seen the sound deadner types and will go with them. An additional benefit of the sound deadner could be a quieter ride ---the CR-V is notorious for road noise levels.





BillD..the CR-V has steel wells - at least in the rear and in an earlier post I mentioned that there are areas where the coating/paint has worn off.





Peter---blocking time for Well-ness...in Denver
 
Intercooled said:
Do You guys clean your wheel wells at every wash?
Click to expand...



And the whole undercarriage...every vehicle, every wash (albeit with varying degrees of effort). I keep two floorjacks (and jackstands, for safety) in the wash area of the garage just for this. Amazing the kind of stuff that washes out after just a little use. And it's nice to spot things that are gonna need attention...it's not like the mechanics have to discover stuff for me; I'm pretty well acquainted with how everything's supposed to be and I can usually tell when something isn't right.



Now if I'd just start dressing everything the way some of you guys do...but I tell myself I spend enough time on this stuff as it is :D
 
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