# Reccomend me a brush for these wheels



## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

Hi all,

Could one of you experts reccomend me a suitable wheel brush for these BMW wheels:










I have an EZdetail, and its just too large to be honest to fit inbetween those spokes, it hits the discs too quickly, so I end up using my AG brush..

The car does LOADS of miles so I am forever cleaning them, I really could do with something to make lighter work of them 

Thanks


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## wookey (Jul 13, 2007)

if it was me I'd probably take them off and clean them, probably quicker and more effective


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

I can't be doing that every week :lol:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Have you had a look at the vikan long reach brush?


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

Hi caledonia,

I have had a look at the Vikans before though I am wondering whether they might be like the EZ in the fact its a little too big...

I have just seen this one tho:








which has new extra soft bristles.. Do you think that would suit well?

The gaps on the wheel are around 1cm wide towards the center...


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## uiuiuiui (Nov 2, 2008)

have a look at these

original BMW wheelbrush

it's a set of three brushes, and the smaller one is quite good at cleaning the kind of wheel you're having troubles with.

sorry the link leads to the german BMW website hopefully this will still help.


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

Thanks uiuiuiui (was you getting angry with the keyboard when you typed that ? )

Its funny because I thought a few months back that BMW ought to have made a wheel brush for their cars with "intricate" designs like this... I never bothered looking up because I just assumed they wouldn't have.

Excellent!


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

No like these

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vikan-Extra-l...14&_trkparms=72:1301|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

Or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vikan-New-lon...14&_trkparms=72:1301|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

I have the first one although the head looks big Its just all bristles and the shaft is very narrow.

Second one can be made into different shapes for getting behind the spokes.

Gordon.


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

I think that might be a bit long for the wheel in the fact that you cannot insert the brush far enough without it hitting the disc or caliper, the problem with the EZ is that it is too long, the trouble with a long brush is it is difficult to "jab" with a long wheel brush (if you get my meaning). If anything I need a short but thin brush for inbetween. But you know, I might just buy both the Vikans anyway next time I am ordering from a website which stocks them... They can come in Handy for other wheels if it doesen't work on the BM ones 

Thanks again


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## CleanYourCar (Jan 23, 2006)

G220, I'd go for the one you posted. The extra long ones are less flexible than the EZ-Detail brushes. The soft vikan you posted would be perfect for the spokes.

Tim


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

Cheers Tim, i'll be placing an order after Christmas, and will let you know how i get on


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## joe_0_1 (Apr 7, 2007)

Take them off once, and wash and seal them as much as you can, with cotton buds 

Then it will be easier weekly. Then use your vikan 

Or wone of those tiny wax apps that people use, cant find a link though.


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2008)

They get too dirty to bother waxing them to be honest.... They are covered in brake dust, sand, mud, salt, Scottish roads for you.. The dirt comes off really easy as it is, the wheels feel so smooth, just like they have been polished/waxed, despite the 100,000 miles (credit to BMW paintwork there - I wish my bloody wheels were painted that good), just it is difficult to get the brush on the sides of the spokes.. Currently I go at one side the whole way round, then the opposite side whole way round... My hand feels dead after it 

I was thinking of autobalming them actually but I read a thread suggesting it can make the dirt stick.. I might have a go on one wheel and see what happens eh?


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## karl_liverpool (Sep 25, 2008)

G220 said:


> Hi caledonia,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 that will work perfect i have one they are flexible yet strong mine gets abused and looks like new after 18 months.
the handle can come loose tho
but a bit of tape and shove it in there and problem solved


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## Gary-360 (Apr 26, 2008)

I was considering one of these brushes from Raceglaze, but they're out of stock at the moment:



> Simply, there's nothing like this available anywhere in the UK ! At 42cm long (1'4" Imperial), with a big soft bristle head, an easy grip handle and strong shaft that won't bend, though does flex, its fantastic for cleaning through wide performance or luxury car wheels.


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

I use the vikan brush on my BMW wheels, the older bbs Style ones, The vikan is ideal for what you need and cheap on ebay


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

Race Glaze Extra Long brushes are in stock, have been so for a week and are perfect for what you need.


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

The EZ detail will be too big, I would suggest Vikan new soft wheel brush for the job.


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## Gary-360 (Apr 26, 2008)

RaceGlazer said:


> Race Glaze Extra Long brushes are in stock, have been so for a week and are perfect for what you need.


Your website is showing out of stock?


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

I know but it is a text line, not from a live stock feed, I can assure you we have over 100 in stock.
If I try to change the copy myself I break the site, and my web guy was busy getting 'Dave KGs Machine Polishing Emporium' live.
We will ship orders first class tomorrow so you should have them by Christmas if you wish to order.


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## uiuiuiui (Nov 2, 2008)

G220 said:


> Thanks uiuiuiui (was you getting angry with the keyboard when you typed that ? )
> 
> Its funny because I thought a few months back that BMW ought to have made a wheel brush for their cars with "intricate" designs like this... I never bothered looking up because I just assumed they wouldn't have.
> 
> Excellent!


:lol:
nope not angry just lazy chose the name about 9 years back just because it easy to type even when drunk... oh well quit drinking since then...
i stick with it just for "emotional" reasons


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## Silver R26 (Jul 19, 2008)

Apologies for the slight hijack. I bought the soft wheel brush from Vikan and the normal one with green and red bristles, the bristles on the later seem quite aggressive I was apprehensive about using it on the R26 alloys. 

The soft bristle one worked well on light dirt just not sure about using the other one. How have other people found it?


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## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

RaceGlazer said:


> Race Glaze Extra Long brushes are in stock, have been so for a week and are perfect for what you need.


Is there a discount code ?


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Silver R26 said:


> Apologies for the slight hijack. I bought the soft wheel brush from Vikan and the normal one with green and red bristles, the bristles on the later seem quite aggressive I was apprehensive about using it on the R26 alloys.
> 
> The soft bristle one worked well on light dirt just not sure about using the other one. How have other people found it?


I use the red and green brush and havent had any prblems on my alloys with it.


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## Guest (Dec 22, 2008)

speak to Tim @ Envy valeting he has some nice wheel brushes for sale.

Paul


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## Frankenstein (Apr 27, 2007)

I have these wheels and use this brush:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_197577_langId_-1_categoryId_165486
as well as small foam pads 15 mins a wheel once a week

Great fun:thumb:


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## M4D YN (Nov 24, 2007)

G220 said:


> Hi caledonia,
> 
> I have had a look at the Vikans before though I am wondering whether they might be like the EZ in the fact its a little too big...
> 
> ...


this brush is perfect,just bought it and i have a customer with those wheels:thumb:


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## NornIron (May 12, 2007)

G220 said:


>


I've bought one of these from CYC for my wire wheels (see here)... :thumb:


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2008)

Frankenstein said:


> I have these wheels and use this brush:
> http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_197577_langId_-1_categoryId_165486
> as well as small foam pads 15 mins a wheel once a week
> 
> Great fun:thumb:


I had one of those initially - be careful with that halfords wheel brush because the metal inner bit can easily scrape your wheels if you remove the brush from between the spokes at an angle, or when inserting the brush, it is very easily done. You will notice little white marks on the wheel if you have done it. I did it a few times, and decided to stop using the brush, just passing on my experience :thumb:


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## Nickos (Apr 27, 2006)

i use this:


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## Envy Car Care (Aug 17, 2006)

^Thats whats known as a Vikan Multi brush
Very soft bristles and rubberised brush body.


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## Nickos (Apr 27, 2006)

Envy Valeting said:


> ^Thats whats known as a Vikan Multi brush
> Very soft bristles and rubberised brush body.


indeed and can be purchased from the fantastic envy along with many others 

at least, thats where i got mine!


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## Matthijs (Aug 13, 2008)

My dad has these wheels too, and we've allways used a swissvax style brush on them without any problems! And the EZ brush works fine too!


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## Guest (Dec 24, 2008)

You must have more patience than me... because the EZ is a total pain in the backside for those wheels if you ask me, it is also difficult to clean the spokes where the brake caliper is, do you not find this? . You should try an AG hi-tech one, it isn't too bad at all for cleaning the whole wheel at all really. Thanks for the pictures, the swissvax brush looks like similar purpose to the AG one... I will get one of those small Vikan one reccomended to me and also the BMW genuine wheel brush, and let you know how it goes 

They ought to do a smaller version of the EZ to compliment the large one, then it would work perfect imho.


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## Matthijs (Aug 13, 2008)

I have a AG-like brush. Exactly the same but the brand is Atlasta I believe.
I use it to scrub tyres. I find it way to hard for paint, it also scratches paintwork.


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## Guest (Dec 24, 2008)

Matthijs said:


> I have a AG-like brush. Exactly the same but the brand is Atlasta I believe.
> I use it to scrub tyres. I find it way to hard for paint, it also scratches paintwork.


I have brought this up before but are you definately sure the bristles are the same as the AG one? There are various AG-like ones floating about but they have different bristles on them.. The AG one I have has fine bristles at the end and probably would not scratch paintwork at all, I have been using it on all my wheels for 10 months or so now and have had no ill effects nor noticed it marring or scratching them 

*I am not saying all non-AG-like brushes have harder bristles, just that some do


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

What about the Raceglaze brush? I really like this one.


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## Matthijs (Aug 13, 2008)

This is the Atlasta brush:









And this is the Autoglym one:









I'm pretty sure they're exactly the same.
I used my Atlasta brush on normal, black paint once. In the full sun, and it lightly scratched the paintwork. Why wouldn't it scratch the wheels? I use it to scrub my tires.

The EZ is bad voor the inner-sides indeed. But we never clean these because you can't really see them. I think the only solution is to take off your wheels!
Good luch


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

the ez brush is the best brush on the market for cleaning the insides of wheels imo


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## flyfs6 (Nov 13, 2006)

Agree EZ is a bit more difficult to use on those spokes and the best brush by far for cleaning the inside of most wheels. Get the vikan brush, they are excellent quality and durable too. Would also get a swissvax style brush for cleaning the faces of your rim.


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

You can get both the RG brush and the Swissvax-style ones from us at Race Glaze - the latter aren't on the site but are sourced from the same place as others and prices as follows:
Large one, as illustrated above £2.80 plus £1 carraige
RG Brush £7.99
Ordered together £12.80 inc. carraige of £2 on XL Brush.
Best to PM me if you want to order.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

A little review on the BMW wheel brush kit which arrived today:









(pen is there to illistrate size)

The 1st and 3rd attachments seem fine, 1st is slightly harsh (but nothing drastic), however the 2nd one is EXTREMELY harsh brush, I don't think I will even try testing it the bristles are that harsh on it.. The 3rd brush is very soft and looks very handy for cleaning around where the wheel nuts are because it has very dense and soft bristles, similar to the swissvax. 4th attachment is the handle.

Closer pic of the 2nd attachment in detail:









The bristles are the same type as the bigger attachment but because it is so small the bristles have no flex in them at all.. I am convinced if you used these on most wheels it would inflict scratching on them, especially if the wheels do not have OEM paint or softer paint. I will not be using it.

Overall opinion - Dissapointing from BMW, why on earth they are manafacturing a wheel brush kit with such a harsh attachment is shocking, two of the attachments are pretty good and it is a shame they could not make the other one less harsh by using softer bristles, otherwise it would have been quite a good wheel brush set and would have suited most needs. The 2nd attachment would have been quite handy for some places, though I'd imagine most people are reluctant to use it because it feels so harsh. Certainly not worth the money that it costs at the BMW dealers (£30.. not that I paid that).

While the metal backbone of the brush is guarded at the top and at all points of contact, for what they charge, an all plastic design would not have been too much to ask for.

I will await the Vikan brush now..


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

Damage done to a CD:


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## uiuiuiui (Nov 2, 2008)

mhm sad to see you are disapointed with the brushes.
the price in britain is even more ridiculous then here in germany (27 Euro)

I use the whole set including attachment number two on BMW OEM wheels.
no scratching issues so far 

give it a careful try on some older wheels.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

Hi uiuiuiuuiuiu 

I am not too dissapointed with the set, I was happy to try it out.. Thanks for the reccomendation as always, I will use the other two attachments especially the 3rd on area with the wheel nuts, they should suite the wheels quite well 

I reckon that OEM BMW painted wheels probably will withstand the 2nd attachment pretty easily as you say (BMW wheel paint seems to be rock hard), but less harder paint finishes I think you may notice some marring.

I am not too bothered about swirl free wheels actually, but the 2nd attachment suprised even me at how harsh it was at the tip, I think BMW should have made the bristles a little softer, even if it costed more to produce (since they are charging a premium price).

I think I might try the 2nd attachment tomorrow afterall 

I wonder if they get softer in age? I will soak in some warm water and see what happens.


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## uiuiuiui (Nov 2, 2008)

the do get softer when used. 
we keep ours in a bucket of water...

but that said when i work for BMW with BMW equipment these brushes will be replaced every 4-5 weeks after doing approx 15 to 20 sets of wheels per day...

usually attachment no 1 fails first, because it's sees the most use.

and to be fair for a real detail i do not use them just for the "high speed valeting" stuff


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

They have got a bit softer now i've run them under water.. Will have a play tomorrow 

You ought to have a try of the AG Hi-Tech Wheel Brushes for cleaning wheels at the dealership, really versatile and you might save yourself some time when cleaning certain types of Wheels.. They are quite durable too.. 

I'm amazed how you say you need to replace them so often, they are really solid in construction..


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## uiuiuiui (Nov 2, 2008)

think about it. 20 sets of wheels a day 100 a week 4 to 5 weeks.
thats ok in my book. 

as said attachment no 1 fails first and then usually because the metal core gets bent too often at the junction with the brass part which bolts into the grip. 
one day it starts to feel soft (i.e. bending easier) next day it breaks.

do you have a picture of the AG brush?
on the AG website you can't see anything :/


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

bare with me 1 min and ill take some proper pictures of the AG one


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

The AG brush gets harder after it gets more uses sadly, I am probably going to replace mine after around a years worth of use, the bristles on mine have started to clump together as you can see, but they are quite fine at the end.


















(note how the bristles get finer at the end)


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## uiuiuiui (Nov 2, 2008)

thank you very much.

EDIT: just deleted half of the post before posting it...

looks interesting, not to expensive I think i'll try to find a way to get one.


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

imo ag brushes are good for tyres, as they are too hard for wheels


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

Hehe intresting eh, the bristles do look quite harsh in the picture but on the hand they are very soft... thats my test for determining harshness anyway..

Speaking of which I will get a picture of a "similar-to-the-AG-brush" and show you the difference in the bristles, just to prove to some skeptics that all brushes which are like the AG one aren't the same.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2008)

1st pic bristle from non-AG brush left, AG brush right. notice right at the tip, the AG brush is much much thinner.
2nd pic non-AG brush
3rd pic AG brush


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