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Vendor PART 2/3 - 'Wheel, Wheel Well and Tire Care' - How to safely clean Model S wheels

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Part 2 of 3 of a Wheel, Wheel Well & Tire Care[DIY]

-How to clean Tesla Model S wheels-

When your Tesla Model S was brand new you absolutely ADORED it. Much like any new car, you loved how it drove and you loved how it looked. Over time, some of that can change. One of the reasons we fall out of love with our cars is because they stop feeling new. Today, I will touch on one aspect of the exterior that impacts how new the car feels and looks.

The wheels need lovin' too

The wheels are an area that tend to be neglected over time. Cleaning them can be time consuming and boring. The truth is that full cleaning wheels plays a HUGE role in how the exterior of a vehicle looks. Part 2 of 3 of the series will focus on how to safely and thoroughly clean your Tesla Model S wheels. The same methods can be applied to practically any set of wheels.

Getting started

Different wheel cleaners have different directions. Some require the wheel to be wet prior to applying the cleaner and some are safe for use on dry wheels. Our go-to wheel cleaner is Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus. It can be applied dry or wet. If applied dry, it will give you a little more bite on the cleaning/cutting of the grime. Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus is as close to pH neutral as you can get while still having cleaning ability. According to Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus' MSDS, it has a pH of 7-8.
We apply the cleaner to the inner barrels first and then the face of the wheel.

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Once it has been allowed to dwell about 1-2 minutes we begin agitating with various brushes. Depending on your style of wheel, all of these brushes or some may work best for you. More than any other, we use the large wheel woolie, EZ Detail brush and a boar's hair brush for the lugs and other tight areas. A large wheel woolie will not work well for all sets of wheels as it has a higher profile shape that will not fit between all wheel barrels and calipers or rotors.

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We find that using a wheel woolie first and then an EZ Detail brush gives the most thorough results. The EZ Detail brush gives access to a lot of inner areas of the wheels that collect grime.

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Once the inner barrel has been cleaned, the EZ Detail brush can be bent in such a way that gives you access to the back side of the spokes for an even more thorough cleaning.

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Because Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus has a long dwell time of 3-5 minutes(this range will be affected by temperature and direct sunlight more than anything else), you may be able to immediately clean the face and lug recesses of the wheels before a final rinse.

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A final rinse is necessary to remove the slurry of cleaner and grime.

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Ensure that you fire upwards on the wheel to thoroughly flush the slurry that is hiding on the areas that are less convenient to reach.

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When complete, you should have a like-new looking wheel!

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Next DIY piece will be on cleaning and conditioning your tires so they have a great bond with the conditioner, look great and do not sling conditioner after application.