How To Clean Your Alloy Wheels The Correct Way

Duel Autocare knows the importance of freshly detailed wheels as they add the icing to the cake, and that's why it's so important to clean and maintain your wheels each time you detail your vehicle. Different levels of dirt and contamination require different levels of attention and the correct tools to complete the job, whatever the current condition of your alloy wheels.

To get the best results when you are cleaning your alloy wheels, you will need:

• Axis - Acid Free Wheel Cleaner
• Toxin - Iron Fallout Remover
• Blackjack - Tar & Glue Remover
• Bahama Blue - High Concentrated Shampoo
• Cleanse - Tyre Cleaner
• Profile - Tyre & Trim Dressing
• Erase Clay Bar - Fine Grade
• EZ Detail Wheel Brush
• Duel General Purpose Microfibre Cloth
• Duel Tyre Cleaning Brush
• Duel Tyre Dressing Applicator
• Duel Wheels Bucket

The following details a step by step guide on how to get the best results when cleaning your alloy wheels. Please note, depending on the level of dirt build up some stages can be skipped, which will be explained later.

1. Fill your Wheel Bucket with water and a splash of Bahama Blue Shampoo, and place your brushes in. We always add a dash of shampoo to the bucket to lubricate the brushes in preparation for cleaning.
2. Pre-rinse your wheels with your pressure washer to loosen the surface of any dirt and road grime. Never skip this stage.
3. Apply Axis - Acid-Free Wheel Cleaner, covering the whole wheel surface, including the barrels of the wheel. Leave for a few minutes to allow the product to dissolve and break down any brake dust and wheel grime. Now using the EZ Detail Wheel Brush clean the barrels of the wheels before moving onto the wheel face with a detailing brush, work the product into the hard-to-reach areas of the wheel, such as wheel nuts, centre cap and even the brake callipers. Now rinse the entire wheel, ensuring you reach all surfaces to ensure all residue is removed and the wheel is starting to sparkle.
4. It is time to decontaminate the iron contamination on your wheels. These are tiny airborne pieces of metal gathered from your brakes caused by your brake pads rubbing against brake discs. The heat of the metal causes it to bond itself to the surface. Apply Toxin - Iron Fallout Remover to the surface of the wheel and barrel. Sit back and watch the product work its magic over the next few minutes. You will notice the colour change to a deep purple once it starts to dissolve the iron particles. If the wheel is highly contaminated, agitation may be required. If applied and you don't notice a colour change, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could simply be that you don't have iron contamination. Rinse the purple residue off your wheel. We recommend Toxin - Iron Fallout Remover is used once a month if you drive regularly.
5. Apply Cleanse - Tyre Cleaner to the tyre wall surface and allow it to dwell. Scrub the tyre wall using your Duel Tyre Cleaning Brush. You will notice that the foam will start turning to a mucky brown colour. This is all the grime and old tyre dressings that were embedded into the tyre. Now rinse off the foam and repeat the process until the foam turns white, meaning all the dirt has been removed. Then rinse all the remaining products off the surface. We go through this process with Cleanse - Tyre Cleaner to give us a perfect base so that when we apply Profile - Tyre & Trim Dressing, we are gaining maximum performance and durability from the dressing.
6. Check the wheel for any tar spots. You will notice these as they are tiny black raised dots. These are more than likely gathered when driving on new roads as the tar is still soft. Once spotted, apply our Blackjack - Tar & Glue Remover on the area, And leave it to dissolve the tar. You will then notice the black spots begin to run. Wipe away with a Duel General Purpose Microfibre Cloth. You can miss this step out if you haven't been driving on brand new roads or see no tar build-up.
7. If there are remaining spots of contamination, you may have to grab the Erase Clay Bar. Only use this if you have remaining contamination that cannot be removed with Toxin and Blackjack. Begin by pulling off a small piece of clay and kneading it in your hand. Once it is pliable, flatten into a disc shape about three fingers in width, spray the clay and the wheel heavily with lubrication, this can be water, but we recommend water with a little bit of shampoo to increase lubricity. Apply to the wheel with a light to medium pressure moving it in an up and down motion. You will see the contamination transfer onto the clay. When heavily contaminated, get another piece and start again. When you are finished using the clay, rinse off the wheel and throw away the piece of clay.
8. You can now move on to dressing your tyres with Profile - Tyre & Trim Dressing, which has a silicone base and will give you a lovely gloss factory finish. To apply Profile, place the product on your Duel Tyre Dressing Applicator and rub it onto the tyre wall evenly. Profile can be layered to achieve your desired finish. One layer will give you a factory finish look, and any additional layers will result in a more glossy finish.

It’s as easy as that! Now you have followed our guide on how to clean your alloy wheels the correct way; your wheels will be sparkling. Always give them a detailed clean every time you wash your car.