How does everyone clean their HP wheels?

[AZ_Ryan]

First off, yes, I'm going to get my wheels ceramic coated eventually. But for now, what is everyone using to clean their wheels? These things are a b*tch to clean! I can't seem to ever get all the brake dust off in the nooks and crannies. Is there a safe cleaner for these painted wheels?

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[MACHtobers Very Own]

I use:

P&S Brake buster

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0779KHK24?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Mainly cause it's good and it's one product for both tires and rim.

after that it's a combo of the following items in water with a little bit of brake buster in it.

long skinny brush for barrels
Small hand held brush for lugs
Hand brush mittens for face/crannies
a black wet microfiber for any spots I miss

I also have learned to not expect perfection when it comes to cleaning these rims. I do best I can within the time I have and try my best. Ceramic coating does help.

 

[young at heart]

This right here will do it.

https://www.s100.com/portfolio/s100-total-cycle-cleaner/


You won’t even need the dedicated wheel cleaner, the all-purpose Total Cycle Cleaner will do it. Just spray on liberally, let sit maybe a minute or two and hose off. No scrubbing.

It‘s actually magic.

 

[TallyMach1]

My HP wheels are ceramic coated, but for the painted SRT wheels on my Jeep GC, I use Adams wheel cleaner, a bucket with some their car shampoo, their barrel brush, and their wheel spoke brush. I got everything off of Amazon.

I clean one wheel at a time. I start by rinsing the wheel, then spray the cleaner and let it sit for a few minutes. Next I clean the face of the wheel, etc... with the spoke brush from the shampoo bucket. I also clean the lug nuts with the lug nut brush. I use the barrel brush to clean the inside of the wheel. Once everything has been gone over with the brushes, I rinse with my pressure washer. After that I spray some Gyeon Wet Coat and immediately rinse it off with the pressure washer to give the wheel some hydrophobic properties (GC wheels are not ceramic coated).

For my HP wheels, everything is the same, except that I have to move the car to clean the barrels as the barrel brush won't fit between the caliper and the wheel.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I use:

P&S Brake buster

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0779KHK24?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Mainly cause it's good and it's one product for both tires and rim.

after that it's a combo of the following items in water with a little bit of brake buster in it.

long skinny brush for barrels
Small hand held brush for lugs
Hand brush mittens for face/crannies
a black wet microfiber for any spots I miss

I also have learned to not expect perfection when it comes to cleaning these rims. I do best I can within the time I have and try my best. Ceramic coating does help.

I had no idea P&S made this, and I love P&S products. Thanks.

 

[Pistol_91]

When I had my pp1 wheels. It was insanely annoying to clean. If it were me I'd change the brake pads. Its a night and day difference with brake dust.

 

[skinnyb]

The best wheel cleaner I have ever used is NV Purge. It is an Iron remover based cleaner so it bleeds purple when it removes the iron fall out. But that said, it has good surfactants in it and suds up really well when you agitate it. A flat Microfiber barrel brush is my choice for the barrels and a microfiber wheel mit for the face and spokes. Any really good APC for tires is usually sufficient for them, I have several in stock but P&S Brake Buster, or their Undressed works really well.

Then once they are clean I use either Gyeon Wet Coat or CARPRO Hydro to spritz on and rinse off. Both are spray and rinse sealants. If you do every wash they help keep clean almost as good as a ceramic coating.

 

[Dave2013M3]

First off, yes, I'm going to get my wheels ceramic coated eventually. But for now, what is everyone using to clean their wheels? These things are a b*tch to clean! I can't seem to ever get all the brake dust off in the nooks and crannies. Is there a safe cleaner for these painted wheels?

Do not use wheel cleaner!! High pressure wash with some elbow grease and a microfiber towel

 

[shogun32]

I just wear ever darker sunglasses.

And change brake pads.

 

[MAGS1]

Adams wheel cleaner works well and is safe for painted wheels such as the Mach HP wheels. It’s my go-to for wheel cleaning (mine are ceramic coated which also helps). Adams also sells various sized microfiber wheel brushes as do others. They’re super soft so they won’t scratch the paint. I have the short stubby one as well as the longer one.

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

Not sure why people say they are a pain, I feel like the HP wheels are not bad to clean. I use Chemical Guys Diablo wheel cleaner and let it soak about 2 minutes. Then I scrub it and wash it off. Then I move on to washing the car. Thats it.

I was going to ceramic coat but I honestly I have had 0 issues on cleaning them. I clean them about once a month. Wash the car every 2 weeks.

 

[Crew4991]

Time for smartass me to jump in.

Don’t drive the car, then the wheels can’t get dirty.

 

[DFB5.0]

I wrote this a couple of years ago regarding PP1 wheels, but the same would apply to the fiddly Mach 1 wheels too................

PP1 Wheel Cleaning Guide | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com

Some things have changed since I wrote that, mainly the use of a softer brush for cleaning the lugs, and a small finger mitt for cleaning in, around and the back of the spokes.

Cyclone Ultra Wheel Mitt | The Rag Company

Detail Factory - Ultra-Soft Detailing Brushes | The Rag Company

As for chemicals, you don't always need a wheel cleaner, but it can be useful for when dealing with dirtier wheels.

Wheel Cleaners vs Soap | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com

Personally, I typically use soap from my foam cannon on most occasions, but will switch to a dedicated wheel cleaner periodically (say every 4th wash) to provide a deeper clean. For that, I'm using NV Purge as it helps remove iron contamination, or Brake Buster delivered via a foam cannon (don't bother diluting Brake Buster, you remove so much ability by doing so that you may as well just use soap).

P&S Detail Products - Brake Buster Wheel Cleaner | The Rag Company
Purge | Reactive Wheel Cleaner – Nv Car Care USA

Purge -

Brake Buster -

Soap -

 

[Skye]

I'm using aftermarket rims that are ceramic coated. Getting them coated will help.

I've read several comments of the factory pads shedding a lot of material. Some have replaced their pads sooner. Something to think about. I continue to use the stock pads.

I do not use a dedicated wheel soap. Gyeon Bath is for my maintenance wash. Two to three times a year, I use Gyeon PPF Wash, which is a mild decon soap. I use both products on the rims.

Physical tools, I have three: 1) Microfiber Mitt, 2) Wolly Wormit and 3) Q-tips.

The microfiber mitt gets the obvious. I use this tool initially.

The Wolly Wormit is a good barrel cleaner. I did some test runs with it on my rims. I can confirm it works well. https://woollywormit.com/

Finally, Q-tips get the really fine areas, the cracks or crevices the other tools cannot reach. I wet a few, and dance them past the fine lines on the rims. One quick pass is often all it takes.

Long-term, you can consider aftermarket rims. A new set of wheels can not only enhance the car's appearance, the weight savings are a quick and easy performance kick. I removed close to 40 lb / 18 kg of unsprung weight, while preserving the factory rims.

 

[young at heart]

This right here will do it.

https://www.s100.com/portfolio/s100-total-cycle-cleaner/


You won’t even need the dedicated wheel cleaner, the all-purpose Total Cycle Cleaner will do it. Just spray on liberally, let sit maybe a minute or two and hose off. No scrubbing.

It‘s actually magic.

I‘m guessing you guys either think I’m kidding or you somehow masochistically just enjoy hard and pointless work. For goodness sake, give this stuff a try. It’ll cost you about 20 bucks to find out. I’m telling you, it’s shocking!

Don‘t worry about potential wheel damage. In the entire realm of anything you can buy with wheels that is factory-made, I can think of nothing that has prettier or more painstakingly applied paint than the average Harley-Davidson. This goes doubly for their factory custom paint jobs. They look like George Barris rose from the grave and painted every one of them by hand with the most delicate House of Kolor products. This S-100 has zero impact on these paint jobs, even over time. Given there’s no brushing or scrubbing it may even be the safest alternative.

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