Wash mitts & cleaning rims

[spiff]

Hi all,

My wash mitt (Mint Microfibre) is just over 6 months old and already the band around the wrist is coming loose. How long a wash mitt last? What do you guys do with loose wristbands? Does anyone ever stick their wash mitt in the washing machine? Any recommendations for better wash mitts? I saw this - Car Care Products / Mint / Car Accessories / Brushes & Mitts / Deluxe Wash Mitt - but I'm not sure if it'll solve the problem.

Also, what do you use to clean in between the spokes of the rims? It gets all grimy and greasy and sometimes it stays in the mitt. Is there anything like a mitt-on-a-stick? Hehe. I'm thinking of cutting this mitt up and sticking it on the end of a stick and taping it. I'm sure there must be some decent products. The ones I saw on carcareproducts.com seem to have bristles. I was hoping for something softer.

Anyway, looking forward to some ideas and options.

P.S. Anyone know if there're any detailing clinics/workshops that run in Perth? I wish carcare would do one here for $40 with bbq.

[team_v]

Vikan/other brushes for cleaning the rims, this is the product of choice for most car detailers.
The bristles are soft enough to not cause any damage to the wheel or the clear coat from memory.
I believe they are very flexible.

[spiff]

I see. My rims are clear coated, partly painted alloys. The brake dust and grime gets in and if I'm doing regular washing, high pressure (from your regular garden hose with nozzle) can't get it off. I normally have to get down and clean it out with the mitt or cloth. It's more like a wiping action than scrubbing, so I'm wondering if the bristles do a good job of cleaning without scratching the clearcoat.

[team_v]

They should be fine.

I would also invest in some quality wheel cleaner with a neutral pH.
This wheel cleaner + the aggitation from the brushes should remove the brake dust/tar/road grime and then allow easy cleaning of the products rather than having a dirty mitt


Hopefully DMS Dan or Mickey can give their input as i am just stating what i see on detailing forums.

[Mrk_Mickey]

They should be fine.

I would also invest in some quality wheel cleaner with a neutral pH.
This wheel cleaner + the aggitation from the brushes should remove the brake dust/tar/road grime and then allow easy cleaning of the products rather than having a dirty mitt


Hopefully DMS Dan or Mickey can give their input as i am just stating what i see on detailing forums.

*Chimes*

Vikan brushes are awesome. I use them on every car I do, every day, all week, every month, you get the point. I've found that if you don't want to bother with wheel cleaner you can juse use your wash suds to create the lubricity to get rid of the dirt. The main thing is just aggitating the dirt so that it's loose and will be gone when sprayed with water. If you would still like to use a wheel cleaner, I'd suggest an Autoglym wheel cleaner (it's blue, and I can't remember the proper name of it lol).

Another thing I would suggest is buying a rim sealant like Nanolex or just Opti-Seal. These are both easily applied to wheels and give them a slick, non-stick finish so that brake dust finds it much harder to stick to, AND your wheels can usually/sometimes be cleaned with just a high pressure hose!

Hope that helps.

[spiff]

thanks mickey. i've waxed and sealed the clearcoat on the rims and it's easy to come off with soap suds, soak.. but it doesn't come off with spray of water. it's greasy so i usually have to wipe it after the suds+soak. is that normal? i might give the vikan brushes a go.

what about the loose wristband on the wash mitt? anyone face that problem? because if i buy new wash mitts, i might as well save some $ and downgrade the current washmitt to a 'mitt-on-a-stick' and use that on the wheels instead. or is that a bad idea?

[Mrk_Mickey]

thanks mickey. i've waxed and sealed the clearcoat on the rims and it's easy to come off with soap suds, soak.. but it doesn't come off with spray of water. it's greasy so i usually have to wipe it after the suds+soak. is that normal? i might give the vikan brushes a go.

what about the loose wristband on the wash mitt? anyone face that problem? because if i buy new wash mitts, i might as well save some $ and downgrade the current washmitt to a 'mitt-on-a-stick' and use that on the wheels instead. or is that a bad idea?

I think the reason you might still have to clean your wheels is because you used a wax (do you mean wax to polish on there, or a wheel wax?). Waxes don't last long on wheels at all, because of the harsh conditions like heat they are prone to. Sealants are a much better/much more durable option because they bond much stronger to the surface.

To give your wheels a clean surface for the sealant to bond onto, use some strong wash that is non-pH neutral such as autoglym powermax 3 or just some general truck wash or heavy duty wash (you know the green stuff at woolworths lol?). Give them a good clean with whatever you want to wipe with (mitt, brush, whatever) and rinse and dry them well. Then the sealant will stick much better and it will last longer and look better too.

By the way, downgrading is fine man, if you're happy using the wash mitt to clean the wheels then there's no problems there To be honest though I've never used a wash mitt with my hand inside, I just don't find it comfortable. I cut the wristband off of my old one because it gave me the shidz!