Lug Nut Cleaner

I

Idrops

New member
Is there a devise to clean the tiny space between the wheels and the lug nuts where all the dirt collects. It is impossible to get my fingers in there, yet it collects and shows a lot of dirt. There must be a cylindrical foam pad or something out there. Please don't tell me to use a Q tip.
 
Go to the grocery store and check in the household section for the basting type brushes, I found and use on the lugs. Two brushes per pack about 10 inches long and ¼ inch width, round shape. The bristles are plastic/nylon and two inches long so I can squeeze the bristles right into those dirt holding crevices.

Al
 
i use this on my sisters tsx, and the bristles do a good job getting in there...
autogeek_1941_3113062
 
Idrops said:
That brush won't fit. Too big.
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Have you tried that brush? It slips over/around the lug nuts so it isn't as big as you might think. As I think about it, if that brush won't fit you'd have problems getting an air socket on those lugs to remove them. The brush is pretty cheap and it comes in very handy, I think I bought mine at a Wal-Mart or K-Mart.



The only other thing I can think of are the detailing swabs that Setec linked to or the Foam on a Stick that Danase sells. I've used them in some pretty tight spots around lug nuts before.
 
I have wheels where those "lug nut brushes" absolutely don't fit (I've tried a few of them). And those plastic bristles aren't soft enough for some of my nicer wheels, not by a long shot.



Airwrench/impact sockets :eek: Not on *my* wheels! Yeah, the fit with my plastic-coated sockets is very tight and I can imagine some thick-walled sockets not fitting a lot of wheels. heh heh, probably a good thing ;)



OK, enough ranting about what I don't/can't use, here's what I *do* recommend:



I use the round BHB in Griot's small BHB kit (pn 15520 IIRC, but that's from memory). I sometimes also use swabs, but most of the time that brush does the trick. It's too big for recessed valvestems though, for those I *have* to use swabs.



I like the foam-on-a-stick things, go through a lot of 'em (they don't last long) but those are too big for this application too. Good for brakes though, fitting between the brakeline and the caliper housing and around the bleeder screw.
 
With mine I wrap an old cheapie M/F around a popcicle stick, dip it in the car wash soap and do a lap around the nut every few washes.
 
I don't really see a point in buying a brush just to clean the tiny spaces between the lug nuts. I would just use your fingers and a good rag.
 
DirtySouth said:
I don't really see a point in buying a brush just to clean the tiny spaces between the lug nuts. I would just use your fingers and a good rag.
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There is no way of getting your fingers in most of the "tuner" style wheels and lugs.
 
Uhm...I dunno about not doing them every time, or not using the most user-friendly stuff possible, even if it costs a few bucks. I find that these areas really do need a lot of attention to stay in nice condition and that requires the sort of work that I want as easy as possible. But then again I'm goofy-fanatic about washing, no question about that :o



Got a little recognition/reward for my craziness the other day though: at a Jag club meeting somebody reached around to the back side of the wheel spokes on my wife's ~75K mile daily driver..their finger came up clean, eliciting some comments about differences between drivers and showcars :D



n2_space said:
The ones I found at Pep Boys are not bristles but sheepskin :)
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Ah, never saw those, that's different then!
 
Danase said:
There is no way of getting your fingers in most of the "tuner" style wheels and lugs.
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True...in that case I would use something like Meg's wheel brush. It seems to get the job done on both of my cars.
 
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