Basic Wheel Cleaning

This is the dirtiest part of the car and should be cleaned first as the grime and cleaners may sling on to the paint.  This step should include the wheels, tires and arches.  You may also want to do the initial cleaning of the exhaust tips at this time as you will use a similar brushes and cleaners

I always start by spraying the cleaner on the wheels to start breaking down the dirt.  While that dwells, I will spray the tire and arch and agitate them. Once the tires and arches are done, I'll go back to the wheel and agitate the cleaner.  Finally, rinse all 3 at the same time.  Do this process working only one corner at a time so that the cleaners to not dry on the surface.

Here's some of the tools and tips for each part:

Wheels 

Spoke brush, wheel woolies, lug nut brush, brush or mitt for face.  Spray first and allow to dwell while doing other parts.

•       Specialty Cleaners – Safe for 99% of wheels. Targeted iron cleaners

•       Alkaline Cleaners –Careful Use, may damage some finishes, best for organics

•       Acid Cleaners – Worst Case Scenario, best for inorganics

Arches

Long handle brush with long flagged bristles, alkaline All Purpose Cleaner (APC)

•       Always enter from the bottom. 

•       For lowered cars, use a jack or leave them alone (see no evil).

Tires 

Short handled brush with short, stiff bristles (carpet brush), alkaline APC

•       Start spraying from the bottom, promotes even distribution and avoids runs that can create an uneven cleaning

Final

Rinse wheel, arch and tire at the same time.  Work one corner at a time.

Wheel Cleaners

Below are the typical type of wheel cleaners you may find and a quick description of their uses.

Strong Acid based - These are extremely strong cleaners generally consisting of hydrofluoric acid or ammonium bifluoride.  They smell terrible and are very dangerous to your vehicle and person.  These should only be used by professionals on particular wheel types and need to be neutralized.

Mild Acid based - These are often found OTC.  They contain phosphoric or oxalic acid.  They are much safer for wheel finishes and slightly safer for humans.  They will generally require some agitation and may take multiple applications.

Alkaline based - These are similar to most all purposes cleaners.  They often contain potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide or sodium metasilicate.  These are also very strong and can be very dangerous to wheels and humans.  Look for products containing sodium metasilicate rather than the hydroxides; it is just as effective and much less dangerous.

Surfactant/detergent based - These are often similar to car wash soap and are very mild, safe for all wheel types and humans.  They are not very strong and will require agitation.  This is often the best choice when dealing with aftermarket wheels and specialty brake systems like carbon ceramics.  These tend to be pH neutral or close to and contain things like ethoxylated alcohol or sodium laurel sulfate.  These are the safest wheel cleaners.

Iron targeting cleaners - There are a number of these on the market now.  They are based on mercaptoacetates and have a charactaristicly bad smell.  They are also color changing, as they react with iron particles they change to a dark purple color.  These are pH neutral and are generally considered the safest wheel cleaners along with detergents.