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What to Know When Cleaning Aluminum Wheels
When washing and detailing your car or truck, cleaning the aluminum wheels properly is an important part of helping to make your vehicle look as good as possible. There are literally dozens of products on the market for just this process. From metal cleaners and polishes, to hand and rotary wheel cleaning brushes, you will be inundated with products at your local auto parts store. Here are some of the best aluminum wheel cleaner products available and some tips to make cleaning your aluminum wheels easier.
Choose a Reputable Cleaning Product
Car owners that enter their cars in shows like two products above all the others. These two products are from Meguiar’s and Mother’s. Mother’s has been popular with auto enthusiasts as a metal and wheel cleaner and polishing product for decades, while Meguiar’s has only fairly recently entered the wheel cleaning and polishing market.
Choose the Right Environment
When performing any auto detailing job, ambient temperature and weather conditions play an important part in how well the products work. The ideal temperature range for aluminum wheel cleaning is between 75 and approximately 90 degrees.
Use the Right Tools
For effective aluminum wheel cleaning and polishing, a clean and lint free cloth, such as terry cloth or cheesecloth, will be sufficient to remove most road grime and tar from your wheels. If they’re really dirty, you may need a wheel cleaning ball. Never use an abrasive such as Scotchbrite on aluminum wheels. They will scratch.
Know When to Quit
Sometimes no amount of polishing or elbow grease will bring a shine back to your aluminum wheels. If a few minutes of work doesn’t start to bring a shine, you may need to consider refinishing your aluminum wheels.
When cleaning aluminum wheels, choosing the right products will help make sure you achieve the results you want.
