Washing your wheels?

T

TexP5

Member
Totally stupid question I admit, but...There was a dopey little fluff piece in today's Houston Chronicle about washing cars. The guy they spoke with said he started at the top and washed his wheels last.

I've always washed my wheels first before doing any body panels because it's the hardest part of the job and I like to get it done first. Then I start at the top and work down the body. I dunno why I developed this habit but just curious about where y'all begin.
 
i wash the wheels last, 'cause i figure if you do them first some of the crap that washes off of the body panels might get on the wheels.
 
drumsbeloud said:
i wash the wheels last, 'cause i figure if you do them first some of the crap that washes off of the body panels might get on the wheels.
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That was the logic in the newspaper as well. I always figured you rinse everything down at the end and nothing major comes down from the body that wouldn't rinse off
 
The main reson to do the wheels last is to not get all the gunk that comes off your wheels spread all over the body when you wash it. As well as any gritty particles that may scratch and cause swirl marks.
 
yep. you never want to wash your wheels first...dirt and grime will just spread.

think about it...would you wash your ass first, then your face afterwards?

hell no. you wash your face...everything else...then you wash your ass LAST.
 
I wash my car first and then take off my rims and wash them. It looks a lot better with the inside of the rims clean. I have an impact wrench so that makes it easy.
 
GerardPRO5 said:
yep. you never want to wash your wheels first...dirt and grime will just spread.

think about it...would you wash your ass first, then your face afterwards?

hell no. you wash your face...everything else...then you wash your ass LAST.
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Wow, so you're saying I should wash my ass last??? No wonder my wife refuses to kiss me after I shower!!! rofl

But this all assumes you're using the same cloth and stuff for rims and bodywork. No way I would ever use the same cloth that I used on the rims to wash the body.
 
I wash my tires last only because I use the shiney tire stuff. The over spray goes on my rims so I clean them while I am wiping off the over spray. If I put the shiny stuff on first, it would probably wash off.

P.S. I do use a differant cloth for the rims.
 
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I have enough towels/shammies/rags with me when I go to the "blaster hose" carwash to cloth an african country. Top to bottom, rims are always last (done with exhaust).

Fortunately the Pro5 has the large spacing between the spokes to allow for various brushes to fit in between for easier access. Couldn't agree more about cleaning the inside of the rim as well for the added 'appearance.'

I use the tire shine too (great look) but make sure you wipe any access off the rim, that stuff acts like glue to dirt/debris when it's still wet/sticky. I typically do that last followed by a coat of wax on the rim.
 
TexP5 said:
I've always washed my wheels first before doing any body panels because it's the hardest part of the job and I like to get it done first. Then I start at the top and work down the body. I dunno why I developed this habit but just curious about where y'all begin.
Click to expand...

You're not the only one that does it this way. I've changed over and started doing strictly the wheels first. I use a brush on the rims to get all the dust and dirt off. Anything that flies off the tires and onto the car?? yeah, it rinses right off when i give the body of the car the initial rinse.

I've found that the wheels can take some time, making sure you get in all the spaces and get the dirt out. It's not like regular rims where a missed spot isn't a big deal. What i've found was that if i waited to the end to do my wheels, the water dries before i get a chance to take it off with a chamois, ergo: waterspots. and if i did dry the car first, i'd have to go back over it again after doing each tire.

Originally poster by KYREDP5
The main reson to do the wheels last is to not get all the gunk that comes off your wheels spread all over the body when you wash it. As well as any gritty particles that may scratch and cause swirl marks.
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Then shouldn't you wash the tires first so that anything that flings off the brush gets rinsed off the body in the main wash???
 
You should was your rims last for the simple fact that the cooler your rims the better the wash. Especially if you are using wheel cleaner, After the wash the rims will be cool enough to wash with ease. Disregard if you are a driveway washer of course, wheels are probably cool already.
 
Re: Re: Washing your wheels?

nebo said:


You're not the only one that does it this way. I've changed over and started doing strictly the wheels first. I use a brush on the rims to get all the dust and dirt off. Anything that flies off the tires and onto the car?? yeah, it rinses right off when i give the body of the car the initial rinse.

I've found that the wheels can take some time, making sure you get in all the spaces and get the dirt out. It's not like regular rims where a missed spot isn't a big deal. What i've found was that if i waited to the end to do my wheels, the water dries before i get a chance to take it off with a chamois, ergo: waterspots. and if i did dry the car first, i'd have to go back over it again after doing each tire.


Then shouldn't you wash the tires first so that anything that flings off the brush gets rinsed off the body in the main wash???
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I don't usually "fling" anything off the brush.... I use a sponge...
 
I bring my own towels and stuff to clean the car with at the wand washes. I usually presoak the car and turn on the foam brush (rinse it first) and let the suds run all over the car, then I use it to scrub down my rims even though they do jack s***...stupid rims...oh well then I take the hand towel sheep hair somethingorother thingamabob to scrub down the car (like a hand wash) to get rid of EVERYTHING on the body. Then I rinse it and drive it home which is like 3 blocks away. Then I wipe it down and scrub down the rims with a toothbrush and then wax everything...
 
I do my rims first as well.
I get my bucket with soap and water, and wash the rims/exhaust with a fairly clean rag(no grease/oil stains). After that, I was the car, top to bottom with a mitt.
I take a lot of time to wash my rims, so I figure, if I did them after washing my car, the water would start to dry on my car before I finished the rims(I dont have much shade at my house). If I washed/dried the car, then washed the rims, I'd just get water overspray on the car again.
Wheels first just makes sense to me.
 
I always wash from the top of the car to the bottom. Wheels/exhaust are last since I'm picky about them and at that point I'm tired so I get the job done quickly but get it done right.
 
well this what I do...

first I walk around the car and spray the tire preservative on....then I clean the outside of the car totally...

then the wheels are cleanded LAST....
 
yep.
Work WITH gravity. Top to bottom. When I finally clean the wheels, they set the look of the car off!
That's another tip for waxing...top to bottom. This way you don't get any road-grime on your buffing-pad, and wipe it all over your purdy car.
 
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