Wheel wells

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oaevo8u

New member
I did the wheel wells on my car and gave up, I used simple green not dilluted and let it soak the went to town with a stiff brush and dawn detergent...it doesnt work...I mean it would but I dont want to spend all day cleanning wheel wells and suspension parts. I got one side done and it looked preety good but the wheel wells were not even affected.:angry
 
You could try out a stiff brush for the real tough tar and stuff... but then I suggest switching to a paint brush or something a bit softer to finish off the work.



Could that be the problem? That you need a softer brush?
 
Other than switching to dozens of other cleaners, ( I personally use full strength Castrol Super Clean for something like that)may have to bite the bullet and use a power washer
 
Some things just take a lot of time and effort. But once you get 'em nice it's not too hard to keep them that way. I'd do one wheelwell at a time, taking as long as it takes. And yeah, use strong-enough products and methods. Try a solvent like Prepsol and let it dwell for a while. Some people like brake cleaner but it can be sorta hazardous IMO.
 
Thanx Bill D ill try the castrol, I have a electric power washer that ive never even thought about using on my car, so maybe a combonation of the two will do the trick. I cant imagine using a stiffer brush...the one im using is the tuffest nylon I have.. I cant imagine a steel brush would be a safe alternative.
 
Prepsol is a PPG product but as I understand it, several other brands make their equivalents. I use Klean Strip's Prep-All from Wal-Mart for inspecting the finish after using the 1z polishes.



The power washer might just do the trick. I have reserved it only for severe grime build up only on undercarraiges and wells.
 
i have the best luck with an old wash mitt after i pressure wassh and spray with a cleaner, seams the brushes arent needed for me after the pressure wash and cleaners :up
 
Hmm, if its really bad, I'm sure jacking the car up and takign the wheel off would make it a lot easier the first time around. If not, I just use a brush with a long handle and semi-stiff bristles. Maybe try squirting some wheel cleaner in there. Old wash mitts are good too, I just but a cheapy for stuff like that, where the dirt is really thick and I don't want too much crap in my good one :)
 
What kind of dirt are we talking about? I ask because in doing our '00 CR-V I found that the undercoating in the wheel wells was impregnated with dirt. It's a soft coating to begin with and it had become one with the dirt. You could also see areas where the coating had worn off to the undermetal.



I removed it all with a putty knife...it just sloughed off...and re-sprayed the wells with rubberized undercoat. Now they look good and are easy to keep clean.



This was in the rears..the fronts are a combo of plastic inner fender and undercoating which I have yet to do.





Peter..in Denver
 
I always hit the wells with undiluted degreaser, and adhesive removing products, most of the time it thins what ever coating may be applied to the wells. I will touch up with undercoater and/ or semi-flat black paint, once the coating(s) has cured I just dress the crap out almost everything in the fender well, at the very least it will provide enough protection where you don't have to do the entire process everytime you wash the car. Did I just say that? lol
 
When using the Castrol Super Clean. spray the wheel well gererously and then let it dwell for 5 minutes. Spray again with CSC and let it dwell another 5 minutes then hit it with the power washer. If you can put your ride up on jack stands and pull all the wheels, even better, then you can clean most of the front end links, and most of the differential and springs. I've even used it to remove slick rubber. If you can pull your fender liners, do so, it is a lot easier to clean them that way.



Be careful with that stuff, it and its fumes are quite caustic, use long and heavy rubber gloves, eye protection or better yet a face shield, and if the fumes get to you too much, a face mask.



Dont forget the brakes, and since the wheels are off, you can paint the calipers.....
 
Luckily I dont have to worry about painting calipers, im going try csc and a pressure washer....maybe late at night I can go to the carwash and take off my rims and do it my pressure washer sucks
 
Here's my routine on every car that we wash:



Spray wells, wheels, and tires with AutoMagic's XP Citrus Wheel Cleaner (#727-5)



Dwell 5 minutes.



Power wash.

Dress with Eagle One's Super Blue Tire Dressing



3628cole_wheelwell__small_-med.jpg




(In the interest of 'full disclosure', this pic has Super Blue on the wheelwell, but a 'ghetto shine' on the tires ,at the Client's request. EO Super Blue gives a much more satin shine, w/o slinging.)



We MAY use a brush 5-10% of the time.

No, we don't remove the wheels.

BTW, I've tried LOTS of wheel cleaners. This one is safe and hassle free...



Jim
 
P21S Total Auto Wash does the job for me on the wheel wells. It works great as a degreaser and is safe for any part of the vehicle.



Later, 04MysticCobra.





--------------------------------

2004 Mystichrome Cobra coupe

2004 Majestic Blue Maxima SE
 
Any good degreaser and power washer should do the trick. Without a picture, it is hard to see what kind of dirt/grime you are talking about.



You may just have to get them as clean as you can then spray some tire dressing into them for some shine.
 
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