Hey all, bought a 2013 GT with the brembo brake package (19" Brembo rims) and had a cleaning questions....bought a few of the motorcraft cleaning products from the owners manual and I'm confused about 2. Don't want to damage the rims....

They've got the "Custom bright metal cleaner" (ZC-15) and the "Wheel and Tire Cleaner" (ZC-37-A).

I think I misinterpreted the manual and put the ZC-15 on my rims now I'm worried its going to eat off the clear coat. Should I go back out and spray the rims and tires down with the wheel and tire cleaner?

Thx for the input, hopefully I didn't mess up the rims :-/

 

They are painted rims .. I just wash them with soap and water ... different bucket than the car of course ...

 

+ 1 with just soap and water, once they are clean put a coat of wheel wax on them to make it easier to clean. Always wash the wheels first and with a different bucket and sponge than the car

 

call me crazy but this is what i did for my new 2012: i have a sponge for the body, sponge for the glass roof, half a sponge for the 5.0 emblems and faux cap, half a sponge for headlights+taillights, a sponge for the rims..

 

You're crazy

 

No one knows about rim jobs better than Joe.

 

I know I'm not buying 10 sponges for every individual part of my car. lol

 

That's what happens when you're a trust fund kid I guess.

 

I always just use soap and water on entire car.
Start from the top and do the lower bodyside then the wheels last. Rinse the wash mitt out well or better yet wash it in the washing machine and your good to go next time.

 

I just use one sponge for body, rims, i dont go nuts and the car is fine. But everyone is a little crazy when they get a new car, especially a new mustang.

 

I bet you do one nice rimjob

 

 

On my past cars I've always used a spray on wheel cleaner first to loosen up any road debris and grime. Then come back with a soapy sponge and rinse with clean water. If you want to avoid water spots you should dry them too.

 

If you keep your wheels clean on a regular basis, all you will need is car wash soap, water, and a mitt/sponge. For wheels I have an old microfiber towel I use to clean them. I keep my mitt for paint only.

As suggested above, a good wheel wax will make it easier for the rims to come clean. I just use a spray wax on my wheels after washing. Aqua Wax or Optimum Car Wax are my preferred spray waxes.

If you don't wash your wheels regularly (weekly) and you drive a lot, your wheels may requires a cleaner to help break up the build up. But I would only go that route if you see the soap/water not working good for you.

 

Makes more swirls I on the paint though. I guess not everyone is a paint nut. Saves you a bunch of money and headache I bet!

 

Not to mention time, especially if that extra time is spent putting miles on the car.

 

I whipped up this:
https://themustangsource.com/f659/wheel-brush-494116/
for cleaning the insides of the rims. The long wooden handle gives you plenty of leverage and as an added bonus, it's slim enough to scrub between the caliper and rim so you don't have to rotate the wheel to clean behind the caliper. Like most others here, I just use a rag or soft brush with regular car wash soap for the front of the rims. Do them last so you don't scrub brake dust into your paint.

 

Actually i always do rims and tires first. That way in case anything splashes on the paint i can wash it right off along with the rest of the car

 

+1, do your wheels first. That way, as soon as you finish washing the paint, you can go to drying it.

To clean the wheels, I recommend the following:
-EZ Detail Brush
-Swissvax Wheel brush
-Microfiber cloth

These will get you around 99.9% of the cleaning on the wheels. Couple that with a bucket of soap and a good, pH balanced wheel cleaner and you'll have some clean shiny wheels.

 

The best way I have found to protect painted wheels and clean them is to wax them. With a coating of wax the brake dust and such comes off with just water and a rag/towel/whatever.