By cleaning your car wheels, you do more than maintain the aesthetics of your car—you also improve its performance. Drive with efficiency and reduce the risk of damage to your wheels by cleaning them regularly. 

Custom wheels are more expensive than the ones that come with your car. To protect your investment, you want to be especially careful when cleaning your aftermarket wheels. Otherwise, you could damage the custom finish or leave permanent stains behind. 

You don’t want to spend all day cleaning, but you also do not want to sacrifice quality for a rush job. We’re going to explain how you can clean custom wheels without spending all day doing so:

Getting Started

First thing first: Remove the wheels before attempting to clean them. We’re here to do a thorough job, and for that, the wheels must be taken off your vehicle. 

Next, make sure the wheels are cool to the touch. If you clean them while they’re warm, they may leave water spots behind. 

Before you wipe the wheels, you need to remove all the fine particles from the surface of the metal. Otherwise, any wiping motion will create scratches. We suggest using a garden hose to rinse off any surface debris from the wheels; use a sprayer attachment for higher pressure. 

Be sure to spray down the tires, too; muddy tires will make your clean wheels look less impressive. 

Removing Brake Dust

The main reason why your wheels look dirty is due to brake dust. This dark residue consists of carbon residue, iron particles, and friction material; it’s produced whenever the brake rotor or brake shoes grind against the brake drum. The more you drive, the more brake dust gets produced. 

If brake dust isn’t removed regularly, it may cause permanent stains. How do you get rid of it? Dish soap isn’t enough to get rid of these tough stains; you’ll need something with more cleaning power.

Luckily, there are cleaners on the market designed to tackle brake dust. However, most cleaners are highly acidic; while they will remove brake dust, they’ll also get rid of the nice finish on your custom wheels. 

The last thing you want to do is damage your custom wheels. The owner of Professional Car Carriers in Canada, an experience in the vehicle transportation business, writes, “take care of your wheels and vehicle from beginning to end. From the shipment to driving around your car should be in good hands.” visit site For more information

Choose a cleaner that’s PH neutral to avoid damaging the wheels. Look on the label for qualities like “finish-safe” or “clear-coat safe”. 

Drying Time

After all your hard work (you’ve just cleaned 4 car wheels, after all), you might be tempted to let the air off the wheels dry. We advise against this. Doing so can leave watermarks on the surface, which will diminish your cleaning efforts.

Instead, use a microfiber cloth to dry the surface of each wheel. It will absorb the water without leaving scratches behind. You may need to use several cloths to get the job done. 

You want your custom wheels to look just as shiny and spotless as they did the day you bought them. With this cleaning routine, your aftermarket wheels will look brand-new (and won’t be damaged in the process).