Last updated on February 26th, 2024
Today’s article is about how to revamp your tires & wheels: a guide to lasting shine! My post assumes you have performed a maintenance wash on your car and are only cleaning the tires and wheels. Follow the link if you need directions on Top Car Wash Tips for a Flawless Finish!
Tires and wheels are two of the more essential components of your car, but they are often one of the most neglected. I admit this is a true statement, and I frequently neglect proper cleaning and protection on my tires and wheels. In truth, and like many others, I do not intentionally ignore the tires and wheels. After all, as anyone who has had to purchase a set of tires will attest, they can be extremely costly.
My neglect stems from problems with convenience and timing. Sometimes, life throws that curveball, and priorities shift. The weather is not cooperative where I live, so providing the attention tires and wheels often need isn’t easy.
Materials and tools needed to clean & shine tires and wheels.
In another post, Top Car Wash Tips for a Flawless Finish, I explained the best ways to clean your tires and wheels. This time, I will go over it in more detail.
I work in Information Technology and follow what is known as “the best practice standards.” We will call the steps below the best practices for cleaning tires and wheels. The process cleans the tires and wheels while mounted to the vehicle. The list of items required to clean and protect tires & wheels is in the next section. I discuss the products and tools I have used in my detailing business.
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Items essential to clean tires & wheels:
You will need two buckets, one for washing and another for rinsing. A Chenille microfiber wash mitt or a Chenille microfiber wash sponge. I prefer the Chemical Guys microfiber wash sponge for tires & wheels. Always have sets exclusively for tires and wheels, and do not mix the car wash equipment with the tire & wheel equipment.
You could get a Wheelie all exterior surface tire and wheel brush from the Chemical Guy. Then again, you could get a detail brush combo set. In the following link, a kit includes three pieces detailing cars from Chemical Guys. This set will have a brush to clean all the crevices & cavities in your tires & wheels.
You will need your favorite tire and wheel detergent. I have been using one I like a lot, from Turtle Wax. It is from the Hybrid Solution Pro series of products and removes iron particles, brake dust, and embedded iron contaminants. As I said, I use Hybrid Solutions Pro All Wheel Cleaner + Iron Remover from Turtle Wax, which is also engineered to be safe for all vehicle surfaces.
Next, you will need a water hose with a spray nozzle. I prefer to use a low-pressure pressure washer with multiple spray nozzles.
Upon completion, you will need a microfiber drying towel for the tires and wheels. I use drying towels from the Luxury Microfiber towel company, the Sucker, and the Sucker Junior. 
Lastly, you will need wheel polish, wax, and a wax applicator pad to complete the list if you want to polish and wax your alloy, chrome, aluminum, or magnesium wheels.
How do I properly clean and protect the tires & wheels on my vehicles?
Disclaimer: It is important to remember that you should work in the shade, on a calm & cool day, and not in direct sunlight.
After I gathered all the materials I needed to clean the tires and wheels, I started to work on one corner at a time.
Videos showing excellent examples of the EGO blower drying a car.
Here is a video from Pan, the Organizer. He is using the original model EGO 580 blower. I prefer the EGO 765. This blower does a fantastic job of drying the emblems, badging, mirrors, grills, and wheels, which are usually difficult to dry with a towel.
Now what…Next Level Detailing?
Well, now we can take tire and wheel cleaning to the next level of detail; we can polish and shine them. I use three specific chemical products and a few tools on my truck to polish and shine the tires and wheels. The chemicals are listed next. I will provide the product and explain how and why I like it. I start with the wheel (rim) first in this process.
Chemicals to complete the shine and protection.
While working the product onto the wheel, I spread Mothers around the wheel at low speed with my Ryobi electric drill and a specifically designed polishing head that fits my power drill. After polishing, I wipe the remaining dry polish from the wheel with a soft microfiber towel and buff it to shine.
Spray Nexgen ceramic spray on the wheel and give it seconds (but do not let it dry). Wipe it off with a microfiber towel. You could spray it onto a microfiber towel to apply the product; that would be acceptable, too. You don’t have to worry about getting it on the tire or the body panels, provided you wipe it off before it sets or dries on the surfaces. Nexgen ceramic spray has directions for using it located at Get Nexgen. It is three simple steps: 1) Spray on, 2) Wipe in, and 3) Buff out.
Tire surface shine & protectant
Armor All Extreme Tire Shine Gel is the last product I use that produces an extraordinary shine for your tires. It is easy to apply, comes with a precision gel applicator, and lasts through several maintenance washes. I have used several Extreme Shine chemicals in the Armor All line of products, which includes foam sprays, liquids, and gels, but the tire shine gel shines better and outlasts all the others.
What is an alternative way of shining tires and wheels?
One time, when I cleaned my tires and alloy wheels, I removed them from my truck and cleaned them thoroughly. This was an excellent option for me, but understandably, not everyone who wants to clean the tires and wheels on their vehicles can pull it off, literally (Pardon the Pun).
When I pulled the tires and wheels from my truck, I could clean, polish, and ceramic coat both sides of the tire and wheels. This is how to revamp your tires & wheels: a guide to lasting shine if you want to clean and protect the whole tire and wheel.
This allowed me to do extra detailing, which is not an option for you when the wheels and tires are on the vehicle. While it may be true, performing this work with the wheels off adds many more steps and time to the project. However, it allowed me to clean the inside of the rim, which was covered in tar and undercoat overspray. The items are listed below, and I will discuss the steps in future posts.
Conclusion
You have two Revamp Your Tires & Wheels processes: A Guide to Lasting Shine! As I mentioned, I have done it both ways and found you get out of the process based on the efforts you apply. Removing the tires and wheels from my truck made the process far more lengthy but produced better results. Undoubtedly, you can make your tires and wheels look nice and shiny using the first set of steps I provided. Without question, people will notice the difference in your tires and wheels after putting in the work.
As always, I suggest hiring someone to do the work for you if you feel uncomfortable with any steps.
Please share, comment, suggest edits, share your tips, and request corrections in the comment section at the bottom of the post. I enjoy hearing other people’s thoughts.
Regards,