Welcome back to the Proje’ blog! Now, when you think of the trickiest part of your car to keep clean, it’s not the glass, the carpets, or even your custom wraps. No – the most difficulty lies in the prat of your car that is constantly in contact with the ground: your wheels. It’s not just because of this constant proximity to dust, debris, and dirt though – although that doesn’t help. It’s also because a large part of your wheel isn’t immediately visible, and that means it’s easy to ignore. But if you neglect your maintenance down there, you’ll easily run into problems as the debris builds up.
With powerful vehicles in particular, your brakes will reach high temperatures and the associated forces of high-speed braking causes a mixture of hot iron and brake dust to be sprayed all around the interior of your rims and all over your wheel area. The stuff that collects can be highly corrosive and cause permanent damage to paint and bodywork, embedding into surfaces and completely bypassing your typical cleaning techniques such as Vital Car Wash Soap – which is only really for your paintwork.
So, we’ve got a whole set of products dedicated to getting even the hardest-to-reach parts of your wheels up to scratch and in line with the rest of your vehicle. Take a look at these four crucial products – and two kits you might want to think about buying.
- Wheels
At Proje’, we’ve got not one, but two specialist wheel cleaners – Redline Wheel Cleaner and Decon. They’re similar in many ways, but there are a couple of subtle differences. Here’s the lowdown:
Decon focuses specifically on breaking down iron build-up from brake dust. It works on both visible and invisible deposit build-ups, letting you know when it’s finished working by changing color to purple. This allows for more effective decontamination, ensuring that painted and metallic surfaces aren’t left to progressively corrode even after regular detailing services. If your vehicle has a high-performance braking system, then even a test-drive around a forecourt will have kicked up a certain amount of iron because of the force and the make-up of the brakes. So, if you’ve got a sports braking system, get decon and really focus on metal.
On the other hand, Redline Wheel Cleaner is a more all-round spray, effective on all the toughest build-ups of dirt, brake dust and grease or contamination caused by the breakdown of surrounding metals at high temperatures. It’s tough on embedded debris and particles, breaking down the worst of the build-up in the toughest areas to reach – the undercarriage, the brake parts and the wheel wells. The active ingredients in the cleaner neutralize any acidic presence, allowing for a smooth wipe clean and an end to any danger of long-lasting damage.
So, when considering which of these decontaminants you need, the answer is simple. If you have a regular family car, you can probably get away with just using Redline. But if you drive a sports car, you’ll likely need both – Decon for the metallic focus, then Redline to clean up all the other debris.
- Tires
As your tires age, you’ll notice two things. First, they start to fray a bit, and second, they will lose that beautiful shiny black color and turn slightly brown as mold is released when the tires heat up and cool down. Now, to stop them cracking as they age, tire manufacturers add antiozonant to the rubber, which is extremely important for the longevity of your tires. So, the most important thing to remember when selecting a product to clean your tires is to find something water-based that doesn’t remove these antiozonants. Fusion Tire Dressing is that product, ensuring your tires last longer and get their shine back. We’ve also made it so that you can apply multiple coats for deeper blacks to match your bodywork.
But that’s not all - a lot of silicone-based dressings work by sitting on top of the tire, which can cause “sling” – when the dressing flies off the tire and attaches itself to your bodywork, potentially causing damage. But as Fusion Tire Dressing is water-based, it is absorbed by the tire so that there is no slinging effect.
- Trim
Now, on to your trim. If you don’t have the trim to match those beautiful jet-black tires, it will stand out in a bad way. But with our Alpha Trim Gel Premium Dressing, you get a professional-standard product with maximum value and effect to create a long-lasting dressing. Like almost all our products at Proje’, it’s dual action, so it doesn’t just restore; it protects against future fading. It’s also thick to avoid any dripping while applying, and it dries almost instantly, leaving immediate results without any streaks or smudges on your trim. The results are long-lasting and the gel is water-repellent to add extra effectiveness. This really is one of our favorite products at Proje’, so check it out!
- Our Kits
To help you get into your exterior detailing, we’ve got two great kit options for you. First, our Redline Wheel and Tire Detailing Kit, which contains two of our top products for just $23.98:
- Redline Wheel Cleaner
- Fusion Tire Dressing
Then, if you want to get a bit more involved in our exterior processes as a whole, check out our Essential Process Kit, for just $64.95. Here, we give you Redline Wheel Cleaner, Fusion Tire Dressing and Alpha Trim Gel Premium Dressing, but we’ve also added Vital Car Wash Soap and Genesis Glass Cleaner to the box, so that you end up with an exterior that is absolutely pristine from top to bottom! Remember, there’s no point doing half a job!
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this week’s blog – stay tuned for more tips and tricks next week. We’re going to feature more of our kits each month too, so keep an eye out for more great all-in-one deals and some incredible discounts!
If you have any questions about any of the techniques or products that we’ve mentioned in this post, just add a comment below and we’ll post a reply! Remember that we stock only the best auto detailing supplies, so why not click some of the links in this blog post, or visit our products page to find out more? From all of us at Proje’, Enjoy the Process!