How to clean wheels without hose?

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bcwang

New member
Does anyone know a good way to clean wheels without a hose? I don't have access to a hose where I live now so I can't spray wheel cleaner and then rinse it off.



I tried QEW on it but it's not strong enough to get a lot of the brake dust off no matter how much I rubbed. I hope it's not permanently stained. Anything that can help me remove all the brake dust without a hose would be great.
 
I always use QEW to wash my wheels, but I never leave it more than 2 weeks between washes so the brake dust comes off easily.



One suggestion would be to use a really old clay bar and some QD as lube, that should remove all of the stubborn bits. Use the oldest bit of clay that you have, it will be ruined afterwards. Then use wheel wax afterwards to stop the brake dust sticking so easily.



John
 
How about ONR in QD form? Might work a little better than QEW. It would also be pretty economical. Another option is Meguiar's Mist & Wipe Quik Wheel Detailer. Both the ONR and Mist & Wipe have worked well for me. But all this also kinda depends on how dirty you let your wheels get in the first place.
 
Use a rinseless wash like ONR or similar in a 2gallon sprayer. Clean wheels with that or if needed use a wheel cleaner rinsing with the sprayer.
 
Why not just use a bucket of water to rinse the wheels after cleaning, unless you have no where to get water from close by?
 
I use a citrus APC mixed 2:1. Spray the wheels and let set for about a minute. Brush the wheels and then rinse with water from a pesticide sprayer.



This stuff does a great job of removing brake dust and other crap from the wheels, and it rinses off easily. (Plus it's really cheap at Lowes).
 
I wash my car often enough (once every 1-2 weeks) that brake dust and crud never really builds up on my wheels. In between washes I touch up with a decent QD and Vroom orange MFs (for this purpose only) and whatever small amount of dirt/brake dust has built up since the last time I cleaned my wheels comes off easily with just the QD.



If you clean your wheels very frequently (for me, at least twice a week) - it is never that difficult to clean them and any good QD will do the job.
 
bcwang said:
.......I tried QEW on it but it's not strong enough to get a lot of the brake dust off no matter how much I rubbed. I hope it's not permanently stained. Anything that can help me remove all the brake dust without a hose would be great.
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First you need to remove the brake dust stains and for that I would try some Klasse AIO and/or some clay as someone else suggested. You might also want to get a good wheel cleaner and go to a coin-op car wash so you can use the water there. A pretty good OTC wheel cleaner is the Eagle One All Wheel & Tire Cleaner...... I can usually find it at Wal-Mart.



If the brake dust has etched into the wheel you might not be able to remove all of the staining, but you should be able to make them look a lot better and prevent any more damage (etching/staining).



Once you get them clean the key is to keep up with them. Keep them waxed or sealed so the brake dust will be easier to wash off. I like Poorboy's Wheel Sealant or Collinite 845, but any good/durable sealer should work pretty well. Then try to clean them at least once a week. An easy way to presoak and then rinse after cleaning them is to use a cheap 1 or 2 gallon garden sprayer, like PhaRO suggested, for a QEW or ONR mix. I bought a cheap 1 gallon sprayer at Home Depot for about $10..... it looks similar to this one:



Amazon.com: Chapin Lawn & Garden 1-Gallon Poly Sprayer #20000: Home Improvement
 
I seal my wheels with two coats of SG, and ocassionally use AIO for a good deep cleaning. Brake dust sprays away mostly and any inner wheel areas are easily cleaned with ONR and an MF. Plus the sealant makes my metallic silver clearcoat wheels look great.
 
Yeah - I forgot to mention that I use AIO/KSG on my wheels as well - and as Eliot Ness and TnM6 said, using a good sealant/wax on you wheels makes maintaining them a lot easier.
 
ONR mixed at 1:3 with water in a spray bottle and a black Shmitt have done wonders for me. I get the wheels sort of clean (all the brake dust is suspended in water) then dry them off with a grunge MF and Aquawax... works like a charm.
 
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