February 22nd, 2023 by Sarah Miles

For those who take pride and joy in their car, the one area above all that they truly take joy in is a gleaming set of alloy wheels. Detailed in the right way, they are a thing of beauty but taking care of them is much more than their aesthetic appeal; it will keep them in great condition too, preventing things like iron fallout and, ultimately, rust damage.

Here is a great routine for keeping your tyres and wheels looking fantastic and staying in top condition:

Remove iron fallout

Iron fallout, also known as iron contamination, can present as small patches of discolouration on the metal parts of your wheels. It makes them look grubby but there are much greater things to worry about than how they look. Tiny particles of hot iron from your brake pads or from the roads attach themselves to the metal and form a strong bond. Over time, these particles oxidise and start to discolour the wheels. This will corrode the metal and eventually cause it to rust.

The bad news is, you can’t just wash the particles away as their jagged edges allow them to embed into the metal. However, they can be removed with a specialist product and if you apply this at the discolouration stage, you can reverse the damage. The product you need is an iron fallout remover. It works by creating a chemical reaction that causes the iron particles to change shape and lose their bond with the surface.

This process produces quite a pungent odour and changes colour to indicate it’s working, inspiring names such as Troll’s Breath or Dragon’s Blood. Apply it to the wheels, leave for 10 minutes, and then just wash it away.

Prevent iron fallout

While removing iron fallout is relatively easy to do, as outlined above, it’s always better to take measures to prevent it being from an issue in the first place (and guard against not noticing until damage has been caused). An Alloy Wheel Foam Cleaner not only cleans your wheels but removes the stubborn grease and tar that can provide conditions that help iron particles stick, and prevents the build-up of brake dust that can contain these harmful contaminants. It will also remove the general mud and dirt that wheels accumulate from driving in winter conditions.

Alloy Wheel Foam is like a specialist snow foam for your wheels and it comes in a handy aerosol so you don’t even need a power washer and snow foam lance. Just spray it on, agitate with a brush for stubborn dirt, leave for a couple of minutes, and then rinse away. The thick foam will penetrate into all the tiny areas that you would struggle to reach, cleaning by hand.

Get behind the wheels and under the car

If you really want to make a thorough job of it, using a chassis cleaner attachment with a power washer will do the job belt and braces. It rolls under the car, forcing jets of water up onto the underside and behind the wheels. Not only does this allow you to get to the parts of the wheels that you wouldn’t be able to reach by hand, but it also helps to prevent salt corrosion, which happens when the lower areas of cars get splashed with salt from the roads This leads to corrosion and then rust if not washed off regularly through the winter.

Shine up!

Now that you have removed nasty iron particles and washed the dirt and salt away, your wheels and tyres will be clean, but will they gleam? Your wheels will but your tyres could still look dull and tired, spoiling the overall appearance of your wheels. Luckily you don’t need to do anything as drastic as changing your tyres, just apply a little shine dressing!

Tyre Shine Dressing is like a cosmetic for your tyres, adding a slick wet-look black coating to the tyres, rejuvenating them with just a spray. Once dry (which only takes around 10 minutes), it will last for weeks, even in wet winter weather.