Rims are often the most underrated part of the car. The fact that it is naturally prone to dust and dirt accumulation often make car owners neglect the importance of keeping it clean. Even during the extensive car wash procedure, people end up focussing excess details to the upper part of the car, which is visually easy to access. People sometimes even feel the rims are too dirty or muddy to clean, which is rather idiotic since the entire concept of washing car is to wash away the dirt.
Nothing about a car can be more off-putting than a mud-spattered wheel rim, especially if it is a black rim. You can sugar-coat your car all you want, but a dirty black rim will always have the adverse effect of making all that effort irrelevant.
In contradiction to popular beliefs about keeping your black rims shiny, it is not difficult. With some handy tips and the proper knowledge of cleaning your car rims efficiently, you can achieve long-lasting shiny black rims with minimal effort.
For proceeding with implementing the ideal method of keeping your black rims clean and shiny, you will first need some equipment.
- Stable water supply: Technically, it is NOT a piece of equipment. However, if you proceed without considering the importance of stable and continuous water supply, all your efforts and zeal would be sadly wasted.
- Buckets: Buckets are again another crucial requirement when you take up the rims cleaning venture. Many people use the 2-bucket washing method to keep the rinsing water and the cleaning solution separately.
- Microfibre cloths: It is vital that you use a good quality microfiber cloth, instead of using any random cloth you find lying next to you. Microfibre cloths help in promoting good shine and avoid scratches.
- Brushes: Keep multiple brushes of varying sizes to help you clean the small corners of the rims with good proficiency.
- Cleaning solution: There are ample of options in the market at present. Make sure you pick the right solution for your rim metal (aluminum or steel).
- Polish and wax: They are the most important equipment to ensure total shine for your rims. A bad polish and wax product can put your entire effort into irrelevancy.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Rinse your wheels
Using a stable and high-pressure water supply, rinse your car wheels thoroughly. Make sure you aim for the hard-to-reach spots, as the dirt accumulation on those areas can shorten the shiny aspect of the rims in the later stage. You also would (obviously) want to remove any visible dirt from the wheels as well.
Step 2: Use water and microfiber cloth to clean the rims
Before you proceed to use the cleaning solution for washing, it is always better if you clean the rims using only plain water and microfiber cloth. This will eliminate a large proportion of dirt and grime left after rinsing.
Step 3: Use a cleaning solution
Now, use the mixture of cleaning solution and plain water to clean your black rims thoroughly. It is best to leave the cleaning solution for about 5-10 minutes to let it do its job of promoting optimum clean rim surface.
Step 4: Gently scrub your black rims
Some people simply rinse off the cleaning solution. However, you wouldn’t want to do that. Instead, use the brush to scrub your car’s black rims gently. Pay special attention to the area where you notice minor dirt formations.
Step 5: Rinse off your black rims
After gently scrubbing throughout the rims, you can now rinse it off. Make sure you rinse off the entire part of the wheel thoroughly. Any cleaning solution residual will hinder the polishing and waxing procedure later on.
Step 6: Keep the rims dry
Again, some people may consider drying the wheel forcefully by using microfiber cloths. However, avoid doing that immediately after you rinse off the wheels. Instead, let your black rims dry off naturally, at least up to some extent. You can then use the microfiber cloth to dry off excess water and let the wheels dry off thoroughly.
Step 7: Apply Wax and polish to your black rim
This is probably the most crucial aspect of keeping your black rims shiny, so make sure you do it right! Using the right polish compound helps in elevating the shiny status of your rims. However, if you have a matte finish rim, do not expect glossy finish rims. Also, remember to use only a minimal amount of polish and spread that out evenly using a microfiber cloth. Applying an additional coat of wax on top of the polish will protect the rims from getting dirty quickly as a result of frequent exposure to dust and dirt. It acts as a layer to repel all those foreign compounds and to ensure your black rims to conserve its shiny nature for the most part.
Since waxing and polishing is a crucial aspect, make sure you learn how to do it the right way by watching some tutorials, if you are not certain.
Tips To Keep Black Rims Clean And Shiny
1. Avoid washing the rims using only water
It does not matter how frequently you wash your black rims if you use only plain water. On the contrary, washing the rims using plain water diminishes its genuine shiny appearance and promotes a dull appearance.
2. Avoid washing too frequently
This is another common error most people make. The straight forward fact is that frequent washing does not necessarily mean cleaner or shinier black rims. Rather, every time you wash your rims, you are washing away the wax coating on the wheels. As long as you are not going to follow the entire step-by-step method of keeping your black rims shiny, it is of no relevancy to wash it too often.
3. Do not cheap out on using a genuine cleaning solution
The cheap cleaning solution can produce the most adverse effect on your black rims. Instead of keeping your rims clean and shiny, a cheap cleaning solution deteriorates the genuine polish and wax coating on the rim. This, in turn, minimizes the shiny aspect of your rims.
4. Always use the best quality of polish and wax
You can either choose to ignore the implementation of polish and wax compounds, or you can use the best quality you can get your hands on. Do not settle for anything in-between if your priority is to maintain shiny black rims.
5. Look for natural alternatives
No matter how premium the cleaning solution or the wax and polish products may be, they are all bound to contain some percentages of chemical contents. The effect may not produce a noticeable difference, but they do contain harmful components. In this case, the alternate natural solution comes in handy. You can make a cleaning solution using vinegar, lemon, and distilled water. You can either squeeze out the lemon and mix it with distilled water or mix vinegar with distilled water.
Either way, the natural solution provides a valid alternative to clean your wheels efficiently and to keep your black rims away from harmful and corrosive components.
6. Avoid iron water
Some underground water contains a significant percentage of iron. Washing your car and your rims with the water can massively deteriorate the genuine quality and integrity of your car’s body and most importantly your black rims. For cars with white body paint, washing with iron water can turn the color to yellowish appearance. Also, your black rims become prone to rust and lose its glossy finish as well.