Any proper Car Wash Weekend starts at ground level. Many detailers start with the wheels… coming before washing the body itself because wheels are the dirtiest part of your ride and you don’t want to give brake dust and road grime the opportunity to settle on your paint.

There are three types of wheel cleaning—wheel-face cleaning, full-wheel cleaning, and wheel-off cleaning. The basic difference is wheel-face cleaning does not address the inner wheel barrels, full-wheel cleaning does, and in a wheel-off cleaning the wheels are removed from the vehicle and cleaned as a separate entity. We will be using the wheel-face cleaning type as an example here.

Wheel Cleaning Tips & Tricks

Dedication & Separation

Separate wheel-and-tire cleaning supplies from other car washing and detailing items. Anything that interacts with caustic brake dust should be isolated from your paint. I keep my wheel and tire cleaning supplies in a separate dedicated kit that’s contained in a small plastic bin, but a big Ziploc bag, or other handy container will work.

Keep It Cool

Work on a cool wheel (not heated by hot brakes) and park the vehicle in the shade as the sun can make the cleaner dry too quickly.

One Wheel Wonder

Work on one wheel at a time. I have wheels with intricate spokes that have concave reliefs on the side profile of the spokes, and I go beyond one wheel at a time and clean them one section at a time. The tight spaces and cervices in your wheels will dictate how you clean them.

Be Generous

Saturate the wheel and keep spraying until the cleaner is running down the wheel. If you’re cleaning by section adjust your application approach accordingly.

Don’t Over-Dwell

When the cleaner starts to dry you have reached the dwell time. Plan to wipe the wheel just before this when the formula has broken up brake dust but before it dries. Unsure? Simply respray.

Always Rinse & Dry

Don’t just wipe and hit the road. The final rinse flushes any remaining cleaner off the wheel producing a truly clean wheel. Then dry the wheel with a wheel-dedicated drying towel to bring up the shine and avoid water spots. I employ a small, 14 x14-inch double-sided microfiber towel because it’s more maneuverable and won’t drag on the ground picking up debris.

Roll A Foot

When you are done but still have your products at hand. Get in the vehicle and pull it forward a foot or two. Then reevaluate your work. Roll A Foot (pictured below) is a great way to reveal hard-to-reach spoke crevices, concave surfaces, and shaded areas you missed. The missed area here was the top of the wheel where the grime hid in the shadows.

Tooling Up

There are a wide variety of cleaning tools to use. I fill my wheel and tire kit with used towels and brushes as this is their last stop before the dumpster. A hard foam scrubber that gently cuts through caked on dust and grime is also part of the mix. For final buffing I use new or newer microfiber shop towels because they’re inexpensive and can be bought in bulk.

Wheel cleaning brushes are a point of contention for me. The typical twisted wire wand with plastic bristles molded in come off as dangerous. I only use them for cleaning barrels and prefer a soft tip design. Caliper clearance is a key consideration when selecting a wheel cleaning brush.

Lug nut holes are another consideration. There are specialized brushes for this task that work great. A proper thinly folded shop towel cleans far enough up the hole to be presentable—again it comes down to whether you’re cleaning a daily or a show car and how much time you have. The fact that my daily runs black wheels means the barrels and lug holes show dirt less prominently than a polished or chromed aluminum wheel so fully cleaning them is less crucial.

How To Clean Wheels Using Holley’s Wheel Clean

Holley’s Wheel Clean is specifically targeted to wheel surface cleaning. Attaining the Wheel Cleaning Nirvana that combines powerful cleaning qualities with a gentle touch, Wheel Clean quickly breaks down stubborn, baked-on brake dust, grease, and road grime with minimal scrubbing effort and its acid-free formula is safe for use on virtually all wheel finishes.

Shop Holley Wheel Clean here.

Once you’re set up with all your brushes and towels at hand, shake the Wheel Clean bottle well and spray generously on the entire wheel or the area you plan to clean first.

The Wheel Clean should cascade down the wheel face. After the spray settles, wipe away the dirt and grime. I give the bottle a quick wrist shake before any subsequent spray downs. Keep the above-mentioned Tips & Tricks in mind during this stage of the process. You can use a mitt, towel, or hard-foam scrubber.

I generally prefer a microfiber shop towel but will use the mitt on more intricate wheel designs where my hand will go deep into the wheels or I need to wrap around spokes. If I’ve waited a long time between cleanings the scrubber and an extra helping of Wheel Clean will help remove tough contaminants. Rinsing and drying are critical for creating a wheel that pops.

Cadence & Maintenance

How often you clean your wheels depends on driving time… your daily will get dirtier faster, but your weekender will see less road time and its wheels will stay cleaner longer. All bets are off for show cars, which will likely get full wheel, barrel-included cleaning on the regular and wheel-off cleanings seasonally depending on how often they hit the show field.

There are things you can do to extend the time between wheel cleanings and speed the process when you do have to break out the Wheel & Tire Kit. I add the wheels to my maintenance program giving them a quick spray-down with Holley Speed Finish detailer—using a dedicated wheel-only towel. This removes light dusting and its ceramic-infused formula adds a repellent quality to the finish. Be sure you stay on top of your wheels because neglect can lead to corrosion and pitting that may permanently damage the wheel surface.

Tire Cleaning Basics

There is a decision to be made before diving into tire cleaning. It centers on whether you are going to wash your vehicle right after cleaning the wheels and tires of not. If you’re progressing directly to a full wash, address the tires after the final rinse. The washing process will compromise the fresh tire dressing so waiting will maximize its effectiveness and longevity. If you are not going to wash your ride straight away, clean and dress the tires.

Tire Cleaning Tips & Tricks

Stay Cool

Similar to wheels, work in the shade on cool tires to resist quick drying and induce longer dwell times.

Tread Lightly

Do not apply to tire tread surface as the dressing can compromise the tire’s traction characteristics.

Dial-in Your Aesthetic

For a natural look spray and wipe Tire Shine. For a more glossy look, spray an additional coat of Tire Shine after the initial cleaning and let it stand without a final wipe down.

Delay Driving

Take a breath before hitting the road and give Tire Shine a chance to dry completely. This reduces sling and keeps your paint spatter free.

How To Clean Tires Using Holley’s Tire Shine

Holley’s Tire Shine is a versatile exterior dressing that cleans and dresses tires, fender liners and exterior trim. Choose your gloss level—from a clean satin look to a bold, wet shine—while the fast-drying high-silicone, solvent-based formula helps minimize sling and keeps surrounding panels clean. Beyond aesthetics, it actively protects tires and exterior vinyl from UV damage, drying, cracking, and fading, extending the life and look of treated surfaces.

Shop Holley Tire Shine here.

For tires, spray on a layer of Tire Shine and agitate with a hard foam scrubber or wipe down with a towel.

I am a fan of the natural look and call it a day here. The above "half-half" photo captures the difference between a natural look and gloss look wheel treatment.

Stay tuned as our car care series will continue as we focus on the car wash.

Shop the entire lineup of Holley High-Performance Car Care here.