Wheel Care – Five Wheely Good Products
March 21, 2020
Wheels, to use a terribly clumsy metaphor, are your car’s shoes. Sort of. And when it comes to shoes, take a moment to think about yours. You could be wearing the nicest clothes you own, but if the outfit is finished off with a pair of tatty, holed Chelsea boots, you’re going to look silly. The same can be said for cars. Wheels can make or break a car. The body can be pristine and deep in the finest carnauba wax, but if the wheels are chipped, dented, corroded circles of sadness, the whole car will look a bit rubbish. And you don’t want that.
If your wheels appear a bit old and tired, you’ll be pleased to know that there are myriad products out there that can bring them back to life. A full wheel refurbishment can be expensive; normally around £150 a corner. These products are all considerably cheaper, and you can do the work yourself at home. So what are you waiting for? Get those wheels ready for summer!
1) Wonder Wheels
Before you start worrying about any repairs or paint, you’re going to need to clean your wheels. This can be a nasty job, what with carbon build up from the brake pads having a propensity to get everywhere. Take the effort and messiness out of it by simply lashing a few coats of Wonder Wheels on there. It’ll break up all the dirt and contaminants in a matter of moments. Agitate it a bit on the stubborn stuff if you need to, then simply rinse it off. You’ll be staggered at what it can do. And yes, before you ask, it does smell really bad! But hey, that’s the smell of a much-needed chemical reaction!
2) Eastup Wheel Repair Kit
This wheel repair kit from Eastup has everything you need to get your alloy wheels back to perfect condition. First of all, there is a special filler designed specifically for use with alloy wheels. You mix this, apply it to the chips and dents in your wheel with the supplied tools. Then, with the supplied different grade sandpaper you smooth it out. Finally, the kit comes with silver paint to spray over the repair. Just have a look at some of the photos in the reviews. This kit can make a huge difference!
3) Wheel Cleaning Brushes
Wheels can often be complicated things, by which we mean they can be full of spokes, patterns or other shapes involved in the casting or manufacture. This means that dirt can build up, leading to corrosion and other permanent damage. You can’t just go at them with any old sponge though, as you’ll miss most of the crevices and corners. Instead, you need this set of soft-bristle brushes designed to specifically clean wheels. They can get in between the spokes, they can get in the wires of wire wheels and they can get into the bolt holes and other intricate bits. Buy these and cleaning your wheels will be the work of but a moment.
4) E Tech Alloy Wheel Paint
Maybe your alloys are looking a bit faded and worn, maybe you’ve bought a set on the cheap that needs some love? Or, maybe you’ve done some repair work to your wheels but damaged the paint in the process. You could just splash on any ole aerosol, but that would be a mistake. Instead, use this set of paints from E Tech. You get enough to do four wheels several times over, and you get a clear coat to put over it. And this paint is formulated to be used on wheels, so it’s a bit more resistant to fluctuations in temperature, dirt and any future damage.
5) Alloy Filler
U-POL is a leading name when it comes to bodywork and especially fillers, but don’t go slathing this particular filler onto your car’s panels. Instead, this specially formulated filler is designed to help repair chips, dents and gouges in alloy wheels. Mix it like normal filler, spread it onto the damaged area and then sand it down. It dries to form a near permanent bond with the metal of the wheel. It won’t crack, it won’t fall out and it won’t shrink or change over time. Perfect for bringing some life back to any old, damaged alloy wheels that have perhaps had a few too many dates with the curb!
