2004 c5 wheel cleaning problem

[primeratec5]

It has been awhile since I have visited this webb site. I have finally recieved my 04 coupe and have a question. What is the best and easiest way to clean the chrome wheels----------the outsides are no problem but the insides are a different matter. Please advise!

 

[Patrick]

Actually, I'll be very interested to hear some advice on this one, myself. Okay, folks... who has some advice on this one? Do we actually need to take the wheels off? Or is there a more efficent way?

-Patrick

 

[MAC5]

You can usually get most of the inner wheel with one of those soft bristle brushes with a longer handle. The rears are easier since the rim is larger. The caliper assembly will be in the way for some of the wheel, you can move the car to get into the area that the calipers blocked, or just wait until the next time you wash the car. Drive it, get it dirty, go fast, no one will ever notice.

 

[Tom]

I use a long handle dish washing brush, and dish washing liquid in a spray bottle. About a 4-1 mix. It works great.

 

[dregehr]

I bought one of those old fashion toilet brushes made of cloth. It fits in the front wheels between the rotors and rim just fine. I use car soap in a bucket and suds up the wheels and rinse it with a power washer. You do still need to drive forward abit to get the rim clean where the caliper is in the front, but overall this works great. You can buy on of these cloth toilet brushes from a industrial resturant and custodial cleaning supply company. Hope this give you inspiration. It sure works good on my 2002 and 2003 anniversary.

 

[Deluxe]

I found a fairly long and skinny "Wheel Spoke" brush at Wally World that does a passable job on all wheels.

I do take the wheels off about once about every 4-6 weeks and clean that way too. Then you can do a good job in the wheel well, the back side of the wheel and inspect the rubber as well. Not too much work for really spectacular results!

 

[motorman]

It has been awhile since I have visited this webb site. I have finally recieved my 04 coupe and have a question. What is the best and easiest way to clean the chrome wheels----------the outsides are no problem but the insides are a different matter. Please advise!

i clean mine from the inside whan i have it up on jack stands to do the oil and filter change. i use WD-40 and this also coats the wheels so the next cleaning is easier. leave the tran in nutral so you can turn the rear ones.

 

[Nevets2004]

I picked up a spoke brush at Pep Boys for a few bucks. It has soft bristles and is thin enough to fit behind the front calipers. I insert it between the caliper and wheel, then wiggle it around to get the entire area and it looks great. Just a few minutes per wheel every Vette wash and your wheels will turn heads

 

[primeratec5]

some good ideas--------will try one a week until I see which one works best--if somebody else has found a cleaning material that works well, please pass that along also.

 

[jdanehy1]

i clean mine from the inside whan i have it up on jack stands to do the oil and filter change. i use WD-40 and this also coats the wheels so the next cleaning is easier. leave the tran in nutral so you can turn the rear ones.

WD 40 on chrome wheels:eyerole

 

[Ed02]

some good ideas--------will try one a week until I see which one works best--if somebody else has found a cleaning material that works well, please pass that along also.

I buy most of my car cleaning stuff from Griots Garage (www.griotsgarage.com). IMO their products are great. All the waxes are pure wax, and their wheel cleaner is excellent. They have some unique sponges that fit over your fingers for getting into those hard to reach spots on the wheels and some cool sponges on handles also. Their glass cleaner is the best I ever used, no streaks, no haze. We buy it by the gallon. My wife uses it all over the house. My .02 worth.
Ed

 

[ROADAPPLE]

Don't laugh but I use an old fashioned toilet brush. It has medium bristles, a nice length handle and the wire in the brush lets it go flat enough to get between the rim and the caliper.

 

[primeratec5]

I will try this one first cause I have a few of those "brushes"

 

[jdanehy1]

dish washing liquid in a spray bottle. About a 4-1 mix.

:eyerole that has got to taste BAD

 

[Steve Calvin]

Like most others, I use a soft brush with a long handle. First I spray the heck outta them with Mean Green. You should be able to find it at any Dollar Store. It works really well. I found out about it because of the break dust problem on the wheels of my Ford Escape. Only thing that I've found that'll really tackle that problem.

 

[BigJoe]

Don't laugh but I use an old fashioned toilet brush. It has medium bristles, a nice length handle and the wire in the brush lets it go flat enough to get between the rim and the caliper.

Take care if the brush has nylon bristles it may scratch the clear coat on the pollished alluminum wheels.

 

[Patrick]

I need to vent about my most recent cleaning experience.

Today, after I got yesterday in an outright torrential downpour, I took my Z06 over to get it washed. I live in a Townhome complex, so I have no driveway to wash it in. I arrive at a four bay self-serve car wash. I am the only one there at the time. So I get my little bucket out of the back, pour in a little car wash soap, fill the bucket up at the cold water rinse station, get my change and get set.

I go through my usual routine of a pre-rinse then a coat with soap from the high pressure "gun." When the time runs out on that, I put on my wash mit, and proceed to thoroughly work over the car. I'm getting pretty meticulous at this point, going over the underbody, around the wheel wells, over the wheels and into all the nooks and crannies.

Needless to say, I'm oblivous to what's going on in the other bays. While I'm doing all this, all three of the other bays have filled up with eager car washers. And I now have someone in line behind me to wash it.

About the time I'm finishing the last of my wheels, the guy who's parked in line behind me (a twenty-something kid with dyed blond hair, no shirt and a coral necklace around his neck, driving an Infinity SUV.) comes up and says "Hey, didn't you read the sign? There's no buckets or handwashing allowed."

I stand up and turn around to look at the sign he's pointing at, and respond, "it says there's no buckets or handwashing when others are waiting in line. There was no one waiting in line when I started."

He gave me some smart remark about how he was now waiting in line, and asked me to hurry.

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I consider people like this a challenge. So I responded I would do my best, smiling behind clenched teeth, and finished the hand wash.

I then proceeded to get the high pressure gun out, rinse the car off. Then I took the conditioner gun out, and sprayed the car over with the multi-colored foam. I timed it so that it ran out of minutes just as I finished doing this, then went over to get more change.

Rinsed the car off again, then proceeded to switch back to the soap, and then back to the conditioner, and then back to rinse it off a third time. Finally, I switched to the low pressure "spot free rinse." Had the guy not been a jerk about it, my total time to wash the car would have been less than five additional minutes from the time he pulled in behind me. I figure I at least doubled that. The kid looked like he was having an aneurism, continuing to light up one cigarette after another.

Upon finishing all this, I poured out the contents of my bucket, put the bucket and mit back into the car, and said "thanks" as politely as I could before I drove off. (I dried the car of the remaining spots with a chamois when I got home.)

I know, that was very bad of me. But give me a break- can't a guy wash his pride and joy without being harassed?

-Patrick

 

[Nevets2004]

Patrick,

Some people just don't have enough respect for Corvettes, especiall black ones which need extra handling and attention so they look better than other cars once they're back on the road. He'll just have to get over himself.

 

[Rojo]

I got a long (22") paint stirring stick from Home Depot. Then I cut up a wash mitt and estimated a sleeve about 10" long that would fit over the stick. Had wifey stitch the mitt so it slips over the stick. Just like sticking a finger in a glove. Dunk it in the wash bucket, then go to work. Long and skinny, it works real well, but you do have to move the car a little to get around the front calipers. Cheap, low-tech, and won't scratch the wheels!

 

[MsSchroder]

I then proceeded to get the high pressure gun out, rinse the car off. Then I took the conditioner gun out, and sprayed the car over with the multi-colored foam. I timed it so that it ran out of minutes just as I finished doing this, then went over to get more change.

Rinsed the car off again, then proceeded to switch back to the soap, and then back to the conditioner, and then back to rinse it off a third time. Finally, I switched to the low pressure "spot free rinse." Had the guy not been a jerk about it, my total time to wash the car would have been less than five additional minutes from the time he pulled in behind me.
-Patrick

That was the perfect way to respond. Good thing you came prepared with enough quarters :L

About the cleaning devices: I'd like to see some photos of some of these things. The paint stick/wash mitt sounds like a good idea.
My device looks like a giant pink tampon on a stick. It consists of a short-roller handle sawed off to eliminate the kink. And a short soft-foam roller. Works pretty well, but you do have to roll the car a little to get to the spots behind the calipers.