Tight wheelwells? What do you do?

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Blade9

New member
My Audi's wheelwells have little to no room to fit my hand, much less a brush. I can turn the front wheels a little to get in there, but it's not enough. The back is hopeless.



It's my first winter with this Audi. In the summer, I just hosed it down with a nozzle and it's tight enough that a little dirt is not noticeable. But these past few weeks a lot of brown leaves are stuck on. Hosing down helps but does not remove all of it. The distance between the wheels and the bodywork is about 2 inches.



Short of removing the wheels every weekend (PITA), any thoughts to cleaning these areas?
 
I have a pressure washer, and it's one of the more powerful ones though I forgot the rating. Is it safe to use? Not that I'm thinking of breaking anything, but I was thinking of moisture being forced into areas where it won't go under normal pressure.
 
Aaah jack it up! Halfway to removing the wheels. Didn't think of that. But it's still a PITA to do every week. But I can possibly do that when all the leaves are gone from the road, sometime in January. Then I can go back to hosing it down with a nozzle. Thanks for the idea!
 
Blade9 said:
Aaah jack it up! Halfway to removing the wheels. Didn't think of that. But it's still a PITA to do every week...
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Yep :xyxthumbs I keep a pair of low-profile floorjacks in the washbay for just this purpose.



Heh heh, speaking of Audis, I just cleaned up the S8 last night and I used the jacks to gain access. It's so low that my undercar wand won't quite fit in one area anyhow so I have to jack it up to get things 100% clean.



If you're gonna crawl underneath to clean up the rest of the undercarriage (might as well IMO), put a pair of jackstands under there just in case.



Oh, speaking of Audi wheelwells, the paint in in there isn't clearcoated, and it comes from the factory with a sorta rough texture that can retain dirt (and thus moisture). Gently polishing these areas and applying a durable LSP can make future cleanups easier (besides making everything showcar-nice down there). And less retained dirt/moisture bodes well for long-term concerns like rust, easier to see stone chips/etc. when these areas are nicely prepped too so you're more likely to fix 'em before things get out of hand.
 
Accumulator said:
Yikes, doesn't that mar the painted areas?
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None of my wheel wells are painted, even the audi has plastic liners or that felt/carpet material.



If you mean the slight edge/lip of the fender, the handle is taped up so it won't scratch that tiny area. Also, I slip in the brush from underneath the car, scrub up and around in an arc, and out the other side on the bottom.
 
gbackus said:
None of my wheel wells are painted, even the audi has plastic liners or that felt/carpet material..
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Ah, OK, roger that :xyxthumbs



I haven't done one of those newer Audis since forever, mine have lots of painted areas and none of the felt-like stuff (vaguely recall that my A6 4.2 might've had that stuff :think: ). I bet it's a lot easier to clean up in there when you don't have to stress about marring things up.
 
Ive got a 2500psi troy built and its fine for any part of my Jeep. I use it mostly for the underbody and fender wells but Ill also use it on the paint if it need be. I use the widest tip so that the pressure isnt concentrated to one area. Cant remember the degrees but I think its > 25degress.



Short of jacking the car up and/or removing the wheels, a pressure washer is a good option.
 
Accumulator said:
Yep :xyxthumbs I keep a pair of low-profile floorjacks in the washbay for just this purpose.



Heh heh, speaking of Audis, I just cleaned up the S8 last night and I used the jacks to gain access. It's so low that my undercar wand won't quite fit in one area anyhow so I have to jack it up to get things 100% clean.



If you're gonna crawl underneath to clean up the rest of the undercarriage (might as well IMO), put a pair of jackstands under there just in case.



Oh, speaking of Audi wheelwells, the paint in in there isn't clearcoated, and it comes from the factory with a sorta rough texture that can retain dirt (and thus moisture). Gently polishing these areas and applying a durable LSP can make future cleanups easier (besides making everything showcar-nice down there). And less retained dirt/moisture bodes well for long-term concerns like rust, easier to see stone chips/etc. when these areas are nicely prepped too so you're more likely to fix 'em before things get out of hand.
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Oops, my bad... I missed the last 6 or 7 replies on this thread, thought it was done for until it bubbled up to the top of the list today.



Accumulator, you are right, my Audi's wheelwell surface also has a rough texture. What do you mean by "gently polishing"? And what products do you use in these areas for polish and LSP?
 
Blade9 said:
Accumulator, you are right, my Audi's wheelwell surface also has a rough texture. What do you mean by "gently polishing"? And what products do you use in these areas for polish and LSP?
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On my wife's A8 I polished the painted areas with 1Z Ultra/Extra which leaves things, uhm...nice enough. On the S8 I used a range of polishes, starting with the Ultra/Extra and finishing with something nice and mild (1Z Pro Metallic Polish).



Be a little careful as the paint in there isn't very thick, but don't worry about paint pigment transfer to the polishing medium as it is basically the same as polishing single-stage paint.



It's not like you're really *removing* the orange-peel texture, you're just smoothing it up a bit.



I waxed these areas on the A8 with Collinite 476S and sealed the same areas on the S8 with UPP. I wash them with a sorta-strong shampoo mix and small BHBs.
 
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