How to Clean and Protect Your Tires & Wheels
We all know how difficult and dangerous driving in winter conditions can be. The risk of black ice, the snow obscuring your vision, and reduced road conditions are all quite a danger while driving during the winter. And even though your safety is paramount, that is not the only thing that is at risk during your winter drives.
Your tires and wheels take quite a beating during these months as well. There is a plethora of aliments that will ruin your tires and wheels beyond repair. The salt on the roads will collect on your tires and wheels and slowly diminish and corrode the surface, leaving behind pitting. The ice and snow can make the rubber on your tires brittle and prone to cracking. When snow is left on your wheels, it can cause the surface to rust irreparably.
If you are an esthetically-minded detailer, (talk about redundant phrasing!) then the thought of all these dangers to your tires and wheels is probably sickening. But don’t worry! Even though we are located in Florida, a state that has only seen snow once and has never seen it hit the ground, we know more than a thing or two about keeping your rims and rubber safeguarded!
Clean ‘em up!
Before you can start protecting your tires and wheels, you need to make sure that you are not just locking in all the dangerous contaminants that are currently unleashing a slew of damage. The cleaning process may seem a bit involved, but that’s because these contaminants are tricky and will hold on for dear life. Once the salt has dried on your wheels and tires, it cannot simply be rinsed off. That is why you need to use a strong cleaner like our BLACKFIRE Tire & Wheel Cleaner to loosen and break-up the contamination and residue on the surface!
You’ll want to really douse your wheels and tire with BLACKFIRE Tire & Wheel Cleaner to ensure that you are covering every inch and crevice in which salt, dirt, brake dust, and contamination may be hiding.
You’ll want to start working the product into the tires first as those will take a bit more elbow grease to really get a good clean. The Speed Master Tire Scrub Brush is perfect for this!
Once your tires are sufficiently scrubbed, you’ll want to begin the process of scrubbing all that mess clean off your wheels. You’ll need a brush like the Speed Master Wheel Brush to work in between the rims/spokes of your wheels. This brush can even be bent every which way to make sure your getting into every inch of your wheels.
While the Speed Master Wheel Brush is great for cleaning in between the rims, it has a little bit of trouble getting the face of the wheels. This is why you should use our Short Handle Tire/Wheel Brush. This brush will allow you to apply the scrubbing potential of the face of the wheel that you need.
And of course, you can’t forget about the lug nut recesses! The Famous Brush fits perfectly in these niche areas and can easily be twisted back and forth to generate the agitation you need to clean these areas.
Now, all that’s left to do is rinse off all that contamination you just scrubbed loose from the surface of your wheels and tires. All that you need for that is a strong jet of water from your hose.
Dress those tires!
Now that your tires are all clean and pristine, you need to keep them that way even when they are assaulted by the onslaught of ice, sleet, and salt. Our BLACKFIRE Trim & Tire Protectant will not only make this easy, but quick too!
Its aerosol application will give you a consistent spray pattern, meaning you don’t even have to bother with spreading it out!
Just let that sit on the tire surface for about 5 minutes before gently buffing the excess product off the surface.
Once the BLACKFIRE Trim & Tire Protectant has completely dried, it will leave a matte black finish, just like the day you bought your tires! It will also act as a protective barrier between your tires and the elements. Just re-apply it every week or so and your tires will make it through winter without any issues!
The Wheely Important Part
Just like your tires, your wheels are going to need to be able to resist the dangerous elements without threat of deterioration. This is where our BLACKFIRE SiO2 Wheel Seal will comes in handy for you!
The SiO2 in its formula will repel water, snow, dirt, and salt from the surface, making sure it never gets a foot hold. Any remaining residue on the surface can be easily and effortlessly wiped away without harm.
Just spread it all across the surface of your wheels and be sure to overlap to make sure all areas are covered.
Just let it haze up and then buff it off once it has. Now your wheels will not only LOOK great, but they’ll STAY great! Just re-apply BLACKFIRE SiO2 Wheel Seal whenever you re-apply your BLACKFIRE Trim & Tire Protectant and you won’t have to worry about the winter weather’s impact on your wheels and tires one bit!
