# Non scratching Wheel Face brush



## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

Any recommendations for a brush to use to clean the faces of my alloys that wont scratch them ? Looking for a dust pan and brush type brush rather than the detailing factory type ones.


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

How about a humble wash mitt? One that’s dedicated for your cars wheels.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

If marr free wheel washing is your priority brushes of the sort you are looking for are not the way to go in my experience. On some finishes you'll notice the marring more than others, e.g. on anything soft and dark coloured.

I have gotten away with using sub-standard wheel brushes for years but own a car with gloss black alloys for a week and you'll find out they aren't the way to go.

As well as staying away from brushes I would recommend doing as much pre-cleaning of brake dust as possible as it's incredibly abrasive. Similar to your paint, you could pick the highest quality mitt but wash a dirty car without pre-cleaning and still ruin your finish .. the wash media you use is only half the battle.


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## GeeWhizRS (Nov 1, 2019)

I have of these and it's very soft. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vikan-Mu...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649


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## Deathstar (Jan 13, 2013)

I just use a relegated microfibre cloth.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Deathstar said:


> I just use a relegated microfibre cloth.


To achieve a marr free finish, are you joking?


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## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

Something along the Vikan posted earlier, but which ones are soft that wont scratch ? My priority is for one that wont scratch/ marr the finish which will cause more damage than good.


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## Deathstar (Jan 13, 2013)

atbalfour said:


> To achieve a marr free finish, are you joking?


No, when I say relegated one I no longer use for the bodywork. So still in good condition, not one from the dirty crusty tasks.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

I also use that Vikan and have been really impressed.

If you did that and ceramic coated your wheels (John over at Forensic Detailing just did a long term review of some of the best 



) I think you'd be alright. But I can't say for sure. What I will say is that the result is certainly good enough for me. If you were worried I'd say a MF noodle mitt.


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## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

What about a plush microfibre soaked in the bucket,with whatever wheel cleaner. Would that be better ?


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## BRUN (May 13, 2006)

ive been using tile sponges cut up from B&Q for years, no problems whatsoever

they squish down good too for getting between spokes aswell


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

What sort of finish do your wheels have that you're concerned about? With all the abuse wheels get I can't imagine you'll inflict any more damage with the vikan brush than the general use of your car would do.... unless you've got some super risky wheels with butter soft paint on them/mirror finished (but not chromed)?


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## PWOOD (Apr 30, 2007)

Brush for the barrels and half mitt for the wheel face and a detailing brush form the wheel nuts. For a brush it’s depends on the wheel and caliper clearance. As my caliper is close to the wheel I use the small EZ brush. I have silver alloy wheels so swirling almost impossible to note but so far it’s been okay. The wheel woolies are softer as are the mirifibre madness brushes provided you have the claimed clearance. I use a DoDo Juice wheel mitt for the wheel faces which is soft and easy to work into all the awkward areas. 

I know the wheel face brushes your refering to but don’t see how they would be faster really and will mar the paint, granted on silver won’t show easily..


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Mother-Goose said:


> What sort of finish do your wheels have that you're concerned about? With all the abuse wheels get I can't imagine you'll inflict any more damage with the vikan brush than the general use of your car would do.... unless you've got some super risky wheels with butter soft paint on them/mirror finished (but not chromed)?


If that's your approach to detailing I think you're missing the point... General use, being hit with fallout and iron contamination doesn't cause marring and swirls.. I am yet to be convinced why anyone would recommend a tool that could cause damage vs. one that on it's own is far less likely to?


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## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

Gloss black audi rotas and diamond cut. Im.more concerned about the black parts of the faces, I have the barrels covered with my wheel woolies. Up until now I have used valet pro brushes for the faces, but have noticed a lot of light scratching recently which I can only assume is from the brushes I have been using over time now producing scratches that are now visible to the eye.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

I used some BH Cleanser Polish on the Black/diamond cut wheels on the Arona few months back, hid a fair amount of swirls but I know that from using it on the car and waxing over it with fusso it seems to effect the durability. Not sure if Car Pro Essence by hand followed by their ceramic would be a good shout?

I find either a Meguiars MF mitt good but find the small lip the have down the spokes it doesnt get into so a noodle mitt is better for these particular wheels.


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## P2K (Jun 17, 2020)

nicks16v said:


> Gloss black audi rotas and diamond cut. Im.more concerned about the black parts of the faces, I have the barrels covered with my wheel woolies. Up until now I have used valet pro brushes for the faces, but have noticed a lot of light scratching recently which I can only assume is from the brushes I have been using over time now producing scratches that are now visible to the eye.


Same wheels as I have and in gloss black.

I use Garage Therapy One Wheel Shampoo after watching Mat's review.
It's great stuff. I currently use it in a bucket with a noodle microfibre with no visible marring or fine scratches.... yet 
I plan on getting one of the pump foaming bottle too so I can apply and let it sit a while to do it's thing.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

P2K said:


> Same wheels as I have and in gloss black.
> 
> I use Garage Therapy One Wheel Shampoo after watching Mat's review.
> 
> ...


I was less impressed. With wheels you want something to remove the majority of the brake dust before you touch them and GT One Wheel is a rubbish pre cleaner, even with a 5 minute dwell it takes no dust with it. No better than a car soap, rip off. Can't see any benefit to using it tbh.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


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## [email protected] (May 30, 2006)

I always advise my customers to treat their wheels like an extension of the car paint, i.e. use a good pre wash, allow it to dwell, rinse off, and then when they have the majority of dirt removed, use a dedicated wash mitt and the shampoo in your bucket for the faces and wheel woolies for the backs and inside.


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## Imprezaworks (May 20, 2013)

Ordered one of thosw wheel brushes from amazon, just over £7 delivered. See how I get on.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

atbalfour said:


> If that's your approach to detailing I think you're missing the point... General use, being hit with fallout and iron contamination doesn't cause marring and swirls.. I am yet to be convinced why anyone would recommend a tool that could cause damage vs. one that on it's own is far less likely to?


I wonder if the point I was trying to make got a bit lost; it was more along the lines of whatever we do will cause some damage and we try and minimise that as much as possible.

But with wheels i feel like there's really only so much you can do/they aren't, in my opinion, as crucial as super slick and clear paint finishes. As long as they are nice and clean with a bright finish all the way through I think you've achieved a suitable result.

I wouldn't recommend using a stiff brush like you would for the tire walls for example, but the Vikan one will leave you with s good finish and I've not noticed any marring. But it's on silver rims.

On the topic of OP's rims, would a ceramic coating help with the swirl prevention?


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Sorry I really don't agree with this and where posting any form of guidance online you have to take a bit of responsibility for what you're saying - the chance that someone takes that advice at face value and ends up ruining their finish. IMO you wouldn't use anything but the softest detailing brush on your paint, so why would you use a Vikan/EZ brush or similar on your wheels? They are proven to be less safe than other methods, look it up and you'll see plenty on this subject.



Mother-Goose said:


> I wonder if the point I was trying to make got a bit lost; it was more along the lines of whatever we do will cause some damage and we try and minimise that as much as possible.
> 
> Respectfully disagree, gloss black alloys can be maintained and the chance of swirling massively reduced if not eliminated by proper technique and tools. Whether an individual can be bothered to go to that length is upto them - much like using a microfibre or chenille mitt on the paint is much safer than using a brush or sponge, a good snow foam that removes 90% of loose contaminants reduces that risk again.
> 
> ...


A ceramic coating would help a) to reduce the need to 'scrub' away bonded contamination, b) generally will provide a small level of wash marring resistance as per the paintwork versions (which aren't massively different). Coatings are not bulletproof, especially if using brushes which just move dirt around.


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## RS3 (Mar 5, 2018)

Another for using a mitt and I love my new woolly wormit glove type noodle Mitt.

https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/products/woollywormit-wash-mitt

I'll either use wheel woolies or EZ brushes dependant on clearance as well as a lug nut brush. I prefer the large wheel woolies as they get to the back of the spokes better than the EZ and they mop up muck better IMO but they often dont fit and the smaller ones are too faffy.

Not forgetting the Atom Mac.:thumb:


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## John.C (Nov 4, 2012)

Meguiars Versa wheel face brush is the best I've found , combo with an EZ mini for the insides

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363071824737

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

atbalfour said:


> I was less impressed. With wheels you want something to remove the majority of the brake dust before you touch them and GT One Wheel is a rubbish pre cleaner, even with a 5 minute dwell it takes no dust with it. No better than a car soap, rip off. Can't see any benefit to using it tbh.
> 
> Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


Its not meant to be a pre-cleaner and doesnt state that it is.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

atbalfour said:


> Sorry I really don't agree with this and where posting any form of guidance online you have to take a bit of responsibility for what you're saying - the chance that someone takes that advice at face value and ends up ruining their finish. IMO you wouldn't use anything but the softest detailing brush on your paint, so why would you use a Vikan/EZ brush or similar on your wheels.


I personally don't think there was an issue with bthe advice given but it is definitely influenced by personal bias, which is the problem I think; I do standby my comment that any contact wash will cause some sort of damage, regardless of what product you use, all we're doing is lessening the impact and severity of said damage and lengthening the time before correction is required.

With that in mind, after a thorough clean I can advocate sealing with armorall wheel seal leaving a fantastic repellent finish which meant I could wash the faces with a mf mitt, which would inflict the lowest level of damage imho. I still had to use the ez brush in the barrels due to application difficulty whilst the wheels were on the car. If I was more bothered about potentially marring the barrel I'd use a wheel wooly. I personally didn't get on with them and decided I was happy with the level of finish achieved with the vikan brush, detailing brush and ez brush. Ive not noticed any perceivable marring over three cars and multiple years so I would recommend it.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Mother-Goose said:


> I personally don't think there was an issue with bthe advice given but it is definitely influenced by personal bias, which is the problem I think; I do standby my comment that any contact wash will cause some sort of damage, regardless of what product you use, all we're doing is lessening the impact and severity of said damage and lengthening the time before correction is required.
> 
> With that in mind, after a thorough clean I can advocate sealing with armorall wheel seal leaving a fantastic repellent finish which meant I could wash the faces with a mf mitt, which would inflict the lowest level of damage imho. I still had to use the ez brush in the barrels due to application difficulty whilst the wheels were on the car. If I was more bothered about potentially marring the barrel I'd use a wheel wooly. I personally didn't get on with them and decided I was happy with the level of finish achieved with the vikan brush, detailing brush and ez brush. Ive not noticed any perceivable marring over three cars and multiple years so I would recommend it.


That Armorall wheel seal is actually very good and one of the better non-ceramic things I've used to make brake dust rinseable without agitation, albeit it was years ago I last bought it. Ceramic protection will add an element of marring resistance beyond this.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2020)

Black rota's here as well. I've taken to using a (couple of) short noodle brushes:

https://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product/elite-microfibre-flexible-reach-wheel-brush/

This thing can do the whole wheel and in-between the huge RS3 callipers and barrels and the face of the whee except the corners and lugs, and for that a soft detailing brush does the trick. Noodles are dead soft and totally safe - carpro reset providing plenty of suds and safe lubricity. On a coated wheel it does all you need. Every could washes it gets some IronX.

Cheap and easy and no marring at all.

I will say I love my Vikan brush, it gets used for all sorts, including the flat faces of the missus cars wheels, but they aren't glossy or delicate. I used to use it on tyres, but it doesn't have quite enough bite to get the brown out.

Still looking for a good brush and cleaner for my low profile tyres that won't degrade the coating.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2020)

atbalfour said:


> Sorry I really don't agree with this and where posting any form of guidance online you have to take a bit of responsibility for what you're saying - the chance that someone takes that advice at face value and ends up ruining their finish. IMO you wouldn't use anything but the softest detailing brush on your paint, so why would you use a Vikan/EZ brush or similar on your wheels? They are proven to be less safe than other methods, look it up and you'll see plenty on this subject.


I feel the same was about people recommending ONR.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

I'm not sure you'll find a brush that's kind on tire dressing and capable of a good clean of the tire, especially if you use some sort of cleaning product on the tire itself. I dry my tires with a pet dryer (which I have for my motorbike more than anything else) and just reapply a dressing, that was an easier solution to the problem I found, if you find one that fills your criteria though do let us know because it'd be brilliant.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Likewise Danny, Tuf Shine brush is epic for my low profile tyres but too harsh on tyre coatings, mechanical abrasion + chemicals will mute the shine.

What tyre coating have you on at the moment?


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2020)

atbalfour said:


> Likewise Danny, Tuf Shine brush is epic for my low profile tyres but too harsh on tyre coatings, mechanical abrasion + chemicals will mute the shine.
> 
> What tyre coating have you on at the moment?


DLUX here mate. I'm a carpro fanboi though and though. I was thinking of getting a tuf shine brush, but aye any brush is just too harsh for diamond cut wheels. I've actually heard of people coating tyres with DLUX. Might be a solution as I can't seem to find a safe way to clean my tyres without compromising the coating on the wheels.


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## SadlyDistracted (Jan 18, 2013)

MOTHERS Wheel Arch Long Handled Brush

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GJ3E2K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## paulb1976 (Nov 2, 2012)

any generic noodle wash pad , don't waste your money on fancy stuff. Just get a good shampoo and your good to go. I've bought loads over the years and i do use the dooka wheel mitt which is great. Just get some sealant on the rims and a gentle wash is all it will need. Im using M&K wheel armour and it seems to be holding up well.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

The streetwize monkey mitt from ECP or CP4L

https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/p/s...uPaagxBVEhbG4mrgeN67khlSfAR5G95BoCeU4QAvD_BwE

Best thing since sliced bread, perfect for cleaning alloys, I've owned gloss black with diamond cut bits and now gloss white (to all you with gloss black moaning, try gloss white, shows every tiny bot of dirt) and the monky mitt is a life saver.

Ive tried all sorts of burshes, such as the vikan one listed, the Wilkos equivalent and the monky mitt tops them all,

I still use a detailing brush for the lettering, valve stem and lug nut holes as expected but even with a dust pan type brush you will still need a detailing brush


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## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

Apologies not reading all posts, but comment will be the same as others I bet.
Scratching is one term.
Marring is another.
First is stupid and no brainer, so moving on .....
Marring is unavoidable with a brush as a rule. 
Keep the wheels clean and do not neglect #1
Use of wheel woolies helps. Prefer to wrap a MF around mine. Treat wheels like panels, if painted then the only way.
If sealed C5 etc. etc. then use WW with MF to wipe over with QD, or KC FSE as I do and they will keep mar free and looking good.
Already made same comment elsewhere today, keep on top of them and all is easy. Neglect and then out comes the aggressive gear, brushes, fall out ... you know the rest. :buffer:


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