Call it Murphy’s Law, but it is way too easy to scrape your wheels against a curb. You can be doing what you do, making a tight U-turn, parallel parking, rolling around in the parking lot and scrrrrrrrrape. A sickening sound.
And scrapes aren’t the only problem – wheels are also vulnerable to damage from the environment:
- Road salt and/or magnesium chloride
- Brake dust, dirt, and road grime
- Road debris like gravel and asphalt tar
All of which can damage the finish on your rims. Even if you’re super-duper careful to avoid scraping your rims on a curb, you still have to work about all this other stuff. And because wheels aren’t cheap to replace or repair – in fact damaged wheels can be pretty difficult and expensive to repair – it makes sense to protect them.
The good news? There are several easy and inexpensive ways to protect your wheels from damage. Here are some of our favorites.
1. Install All-Fit Rim Trim™
All-Fit Rim Trim™ is a durable protective strip that you can affix to the edge of your rims. It serves two important purposes:
- All-Fit Rim Trim™ protects your rims against curbs and other obstacles that can scrape them up
- Rim Trim™ comes in many different colors, and can be used to either accent your wheels or blend in with your wheel/tire
Many car owners agree that All-Fit Rim Trim™ is an effective way to protect your rims from curbs. Check out some reviews of this product here!
2. Avoid Using Acid or Abrasives When Cleaning Your Wheels
It might sound obvious, but acid will damage most modern wheels. Despite that fact, many wheel cleaners are highly acidic. While the acid is often very helpful – it’s super efficient at removing brake dust – it can also remove your wheels’ clear coat.
To try and prevent damage, most acidic wheel cleaners instruct you to rinse the cleaner off your wheels after some amount of time (usually just a few minutes). But even if you follow these instructions, the acid can still take off some of the clear coat. Over time, repeated use of an acidic wheel cleaner will expose the paint under the clear coat, and that usually looks bad.
So, to ensure that the clear coat stays on your wheels as long as possible, it’s best to use a wheel cleaner that doesn’t contain any acid.
Another thing you want to avoid on most wheels is abrasive cleaning tools like scouring pads, brushes with very stiff bristles, any kind of metal cleaning tool (like steel wool, a wire brush, etc.), and even any metal polish compound. All of these tools act as an abrasive that can scrape away/remove clear coat. Without clear coat, most alloy wheels lose shine/luster and look damaged.
Having said all of this, if you have steel or chrome wheels, some of these tools can be OK. Metal polish, for example, can really make some chrome wheels shine. Just be sure that your wheels do NOT have a clear coat before you attack them with any polish or tools.
3. Wash Your Wheels Frequently During Winter
Road salt and magnesium chloride (an alternative to salt used in many areas) are also enemies of your wheels. When mixed with snow and melting ice, road salt and mag chloride will get deposited on your wheels. Given enough time, these chemicals can eat away at the finish on your wheels (particularly chrome-plated wheels).
To prevent damage, washing your wheels regularly during winter. Even if all you do is hit them with the pressure washer a few minutes every other week, you’ll reduce the odds of damage. While you’re at it, why not spray your vehicle’s underside? No one likes frame rust!
4. Coat Your Wheels In Wheel Sealant
Even with clear coating, your wheels are still vulnerable to anything that can corrode them. Add an extra layer of protection to your wheels with wheel sealant. It’s a sealant with the same texture as car wax. When you spread it all over your wheels, you’re creating another clear layer over your wheels. It protects your wheels against elements that can dirty up or damage your wheels, such as:
- Dirt
- Brake dust
- Tar
- Bugs
- Water
- Road salt
If you implement all four solutions, your wheels will be in tip top shape for a long time!
