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Tutorials / Wheels & Tires

Wheel & Tire Washing and Protection (tutorial)



When should you clean your wheels? 

That is THE first question to ask! At what point should you wash your wheels during a complete Detailing session? Well, at Maniac-Auto, we advise you to clean them just before the two-bucket wash of your vehicle, and to protect them during the finishing steps (waxing, dressing). Of course, you are not required to carry out all the steps shown in this video every time. However, it is very important to do so during a complete restoration or on really dirty wheels.

Essential products & accessories?

- 1 wheel cleaner
- 1 degreaser for tires and wheel arches
- 1 brush for wheels
- 1 chemical-resistant brush
- 1 or more dilution bottles
- 1 tar remover
- 1 iron decontaminant
- 1 tire dressing
- 1 wax for wheels
- 1+ suitable microfibers
- 1+ applicators for wax and tire dressing


This tutorial can be broken down into several steps, here they are:

- Wheel & tire cleaning
To be done just before the two-bucket wash, wheel cleaning is the first step. It allows you to remove the bulk of the dirt, much like a pre-wash step for the bodywork.

Here are the products used in the video: 


- Bilberry Safe Wheel Cleaner, Valet Pro
- Orange Degreaser, Chemical Guys
- EZ Detail Brush, EZ
- Chemical Resistant Brush, Valet Pro
- Maniac-Auto dilution bottle

- Removing brake dust and tar
Once the bulk of the dirt has been removed, only certain stubborn contaminants will remain. The most common? Brake dust and tar.
For this, here are the products used in the tutorial:
- Iron X, Car Pro
- Citrus Tar & Glue Remover, Valet Pro
You can of course use the brushes from the wheel cleaning step to apply these products. 


- Waxing
Before applying a protective wax to the wheels, it is important to dry them thoroughly. Do this with a black microfiber as shown in the video — this will prevent it from looking completely dirty. That's perfectly normal! It's for cleaning your beautiful wheels.

Here, the choice is entirely up to you! If you prefer a simple-to-use product with a few weeks (months) of protection, we recommend a sealant such as one of the following:

- Wheel Armour, Prima
- Wheel Guard, Chemical Guys
- Wheel Sealant, Poorboy's

If you have a little more patience and want long-lasting (1 year) and foolproof protection, we strongly recommend the ceramic G5 Wheel Armour, Gtechniq.

- Tire dressing
You're surely not going to forget the finishing touch?! What about your tires... Here, it is simply a matter of look, application, and durability. Some products are very shiny, others satin or matte. To choose the one you need, don't hesitate to visit our product pages — we explain everything!

A little selection that we love at Maniac-Auto:

- Classic Protectant, Valet Pro
- Slick, Fictech
- Satin Tire Gel, Auto Finesse
- Black Diamond Tire Gel, Wolfgang
- New Look Trim Gel, Chemical Guys

Don't forget the right applicator! ;)

 

Seen in the article
CHEMICAL RESISTANT BRUSH - BRU22 - VALET PRO

Chemical Resistant Brush

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Signature Series Orange Degreaser 473mL (16Oz) Chemical Guys

Signature Series Orange Degreaser

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EZ Detail Brush

EZ Detail Brush

35,95 €
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W-APS Rouge

W-APS

3,95 €
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BILBERRY WHEEL CLEANER - 1L - EC11 - Valet Pro - Wheel cleaner

Bilberry Safe Wheel Cleaner 1L

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