Wheel wells

[jaybs02]

I have been spending a bit of time reading some of the posts on Detailing word and it seems that of fellow detailers in Europe seem to pay a lot of attention to the wheel wells or as they call them arches.
Where we just seem to view them as something that will just get trashed so we spray them W/ an APC and power wash or just give them a quick cleaning and spray some dressing, they address it as another step like we would doing an engine.
So are we missing something here in the states or are they just more OCD than we are :lol2:

"J"

 

[CharlesW]

I have been spending a bit of time reading some of the posts on Detailing word and it seems that of fellow detailers in Europe seem to pay a lot of attention to the wheel wells or as they call them arches.
Where we just seem to view them as something that will just get trashed so we spray them W/ an APC and power wash or just give them a quick cleaning and spray some dressing, they address it as another step like we would doing an engine.
So are we missing something here in the states or are they just more OCD than we are :lol2:

"J"

Since my vehicles get driven, wheel wells have never been a real high priority item. I do wash them and on rare occasions, spray some sort of dressing on them. Two miles of driving and they are dirty again, so it seems like really wasted effort. :surrender

FWIW, I have some old books on detailing and the Europeans paid very little attention to tires or wheel wells at the time most of the pictures were taken. Tires were not dressed and didn't appear to be very clean. Probably washed, but not scrubbed. :dunno:

 

[Poorboy]

I would think it really depends on the roads that people drive on ... if you are in a dry clean area, like when I lived in SoCal, I kept mine really clean, but here where it rains or snows:wall it really doesn't pay ..if you lived near dirt roads I don't think you'd even bother at all :notme:

 

[blucpe]

ditto on what poorboy just said. as for me, to drive around with dirty wheel wells is like putting on a tux and wearing scuffed up shoes. it just happens thjat i live in fl. most of the year so it's easy to keep them clean.

 

[joyriide1113]

I live in Miami and all the streets I drive on are paved. With the exception of when it rains, I always have my wheel wells clean and dressed. After a few miles they obviously accumulate some dirt, but they're still black and not chalky like some wheel wells I see.

I find it unappealing when I drive at night and notice a clean car reflecting light well but having my headlights pick up and show how dirty and chalky the wheel wells are.

 

[Stephan]

In the summer and in the late spring after the sweepers have removed the sand I dress the wheel wells. Right now up here you would just be wasting product and gving the sand something extra to stick to...

 

[Scott P]

The rear wheel wells on my Speed6 are of a carpet like material. They hold sand and dirt quite easily. I hit them with some APC and a brush when I'm doing the tires, but they still never look perfect.

 

[budman3]

I live on a dirt road ... so it's almost impossible to keep the wheel wells clean. I do scrub and dress all wheel wells that I detail though. I don't spend more than 5 minutes per well because, as everyone stated, they'll be dirty again after the first rain. None of the cars I detail are going to be in a Concours show, so no need to spend Concours time on them.

 

[Poorboy]

In the summer and in the late spring after the sweepers have removed the sand I dress the wheel wells. Right now up here you would just be wasting product and gving the sand something extra to stick to...

Exactly what most people in the NorthEast and MidWest deal with for a few months of every year and by the time the potholes are repaired and the hot tar is used to fix the cracks, winter will be back again assout:

I live on a dirt road ... so it's almost impossible to keep the wheel wells clean. I do scrub and dress all wheel wells that I detail though. I don't spend more than 5 minutes per well because, as everyone stated, they'll be dirty again after the first rain. None of the cars I detail are going to be in a Concours show, so no need to spend Concours time on them.

:rockon