detailed wheel wells

G

gben

New member
I was hoping to get some input as to what product or products to use to detail my wheel wells. I've read what's been written on autopia's site by David but am interested in hearing what you peple have to say about this. I want a product that's not going to attract more dirt and dust. One that will make it look better than when it came from the dealer. Thanks in advance!
 
I use AA. I brush them out with wash solution at the end of my wash. I then dress with AA, I just spray it all in the wheel wells and coat it pretty evenly. I just let it drip off and it leaves a nice even finish when dry. Best of all AA is pretty cheap.
 
When I wash the wheel wells out with the remainder of my wash solution using a brush. I usually wait until they are dry. Then use Mop and Glo and a sponge applicator. I wait until they are real dry before I go any where but it looks good and it is easy to apply. I do not do this often but at least four times a year.
 
Hi Gben, welcome to Autopia :wavey



I've kinds struggled with this for a long time. The first instinct for me was to use either a tire foam or clear silicone based dressing. The problem with those is that they attract dust and they wash off even in very light rain or if exposed to puddles. Then, I figured to try AA, 303, that whole family of PDMS dressings. They attract dust a lot less but again,expose them to water and they're gone.



Meguiar's used to make an acrylic based dressing called Engine Kote, and that was ( I still have) the best solution for me. I've replicated the results on some ( but less than more) wheel wells with Mop & Glo floor shine. Others have used Future, maybe with even better results. I think the products are extremely similar with EK not having cleaning ingredients the floor shine products do.





Although EK is gone now, Sonus has a very similar product: Trim and Motor Kote. It's a shame it doesn't come in gallon sizes.



The dust with the EK applications didn't seem as big of an issue and it held up to mild to moderate exposure to bad weather. The problem with that is you can't spray it on and walk away. It needs to be spread to look its best. Droplets could dry and look bad and be hard to remove if you don't So, what I do it spread it evenly with a long handled sponge intended for bathrooms. Walgreen's is the only source I know of for them.



My next plan for a closer to permanent shine to the wheel wells is applying some clear Trimonex trim and cladding product to the wheel wells. as I understand it, it provides a nice, long lasting barriers from the elements. It would be great to just have to simply wash the wells and have the shine restored without constant re dressing.



Of course, the old clear spray paint may do the trick also. I'm unsure exactly what type of paint might be used. If anyone experiments, please report.
 
Mop N Glo... whod'a thunk it? :)



Excellent idea. I will have to jack it up do do this but it will be worth it.



Thanks.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the input! Never would have thought of mop and glo for sure. The car is not a daily driver so the need to do this often is minimal or at least I'm hoping it is. I'm really glad I found this site..so much information. Thanks for the welcome Bill D!
 
no matter what you do nothing works. infact you have no choice but to keep washing it... I have learned that poorboy's trim restorer helps keep the dust away..but then again washing the Wheel well area will be needed a week latter. There is no way in hell you can prevent it from looking good everyday... it just one of those things you have to live with. If someone has a Brilliant solution tell us..
 
I also use Trim Restorer on my wells. It's the longest lasting plastic protectant I have, and it makes black plastic REALLY BLACK, so it's a perfect choice. But you do still have to wash the wheel wells or a regular basis in order to keep them looking great.
 
I use Armor All Tire Foam or any cheap tire dressing. I recently picked up some 32 oz bottles of TW 2001 Protectorant at Autozone when they were selling them for .99 on clearance. I just clean the wheel well, spray, and walk away.
 
CD/2 Engine Detailer spray works well and lasts a long time. It's an acrylic based product that dries hard and doesn't attract dust. It also does not seem to give dirt much of a grip so the wells clean up with just a hose and occasional brushing. Lasts about 3 months.
 
Miami_vice said:
no matter what you do nothing works. infact you have no choice but to keep washing it... I have learned that poorboy's trim restorer helps keep the dust away..but then again washing the Wheel well area will be needed a week latter. There is no way in hell you can prevent it from looking good everyday... it just one of those things you have to live with. If someone has a Brilliant solution tell us..
Click to expand...



There's no way to prevent it from looking good every day ? Isn't that what we would want? :confused:



Well, if you mean no way to prevent the look from degrading pretty quickly,sure you can, to a degree.



You can greatly delay the need to wash by wiping the wells down with an old mitt or very demoted,old towels.



The trick is to come across something ( nothing as of yet :nixweiss) that will still retain the gloss after it gets wet or is washed. If something can provide that, washing won't be too big a deal, sorta like the gloss coming back to the paint after being washed.
 
Hmm.. that's interesting, some have found the gels, especially Endurance, to really attract dust bad. If it doesn't on wheel wells, that sounds like an attractive option.
 
I just use armor all. my dad is obsessive about the stuff on his dash, so there's always a bottle laying around. Wipe em out with a crappy sheepskin demoted to wheel duty during the weekly wash (or two), blow dry them with my wet/dry vacuum blower attachment during the drying cycle, and then spray and wipe with a crap towel. Looks pretty good. I even got commented lasted weekend @ a scion car show in miami on how clean my wells were :D
 
I just received a couple products from Griot's that I want to try on my wheel wells. I bought the Engine Cleaner and Undercarriage Spray. The Engine Cleaner does the actual cleaning, while the Undercarriage Spray is more of a concealer and is supposed to return that like-new black finish. I also have a long-handled scrub-brush specifically meant for wheel wells of all things.



In any case, I have no idea how good any of these products are because I actually haven't used any of them yet, but I suspect they'll work well since they're designed for this sort of work. If not, then I have some trading to do because I have a liter of each!
 
Pennypacker said:
I just received a couple products from Griot's that I want to try on my wheel wells. I bought the Engine Cleaner and Undercarriage Spray. The Engine Cleaner does the actual cleaning, while the Undercarriage Spray is more of a concealer and is supposed to return that like-new black finish. I also have a long-handled scrub-brush specifically meant for wheel wells of all things.



In any case, I have no idea how good any of these products are because I actually haven't used any of them yet, but I suspect they'll work well since they're designed for this sort of work. If not, then I have some trading to do because I have a liter of each!
Click to expand...



You will be very happy with the Griots Undercarriage Spray for wheel wells. I use it all the time on my cars at car shows. Its very oily but dresses up the wells really nice. Its kinda pricey which is why I only use it at shows.
 
Mop andGlow. Im suprised I didnt think of that. Back in the day I used to use Future floor wax as a clear coat for model cars. I would dilute it with denatured alcohol and air brush it. Its very inexpensive and levels out nicely. I wonder if dilutig it with alchohol and putting it into a pump sprayer would work?
 
Pats300zx said:
You will be very happy with the Griots Undercarriage Spray for wheel wells. I use it all the time on my cars at car shows. Its very oily but dresses up the wells really nice. Its kinda pricey which is why I only use it at shows.
Click to expand...

TOL has Grape Dressing..same thing at a lower price.
 
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