The dirtiest part of a car is going to be the wheels. It gets splattered with mud, road salt and pretty much any other type of road muck you can think of. It’s for this reason that it’s recommended you clean your wheels first and not use the same brushes anywhere else, the levels of dirt are huge compared to the rest of a car.
Related: How to modernise a car on a budget
It’s possible to keep wheels cleaner for longer however with a protective wax coating developed specifically for wheels. These waxes should keep mud, brake dust and road grime from sticking to a car’s wheels and make future wheel cleaning a simple case of rinsing them down with a pressure washer. We’ve picked our favourite wheel waxes right here.
> The Ultimate Guide to Car Care
The best wheel waxes
Pure Definition Wheel Wax
The best wheel wax
Price: £14.95 | VIEW OFFER
Enhanced with clever nano polymers for extra protection, this wheel wax from Pure Definition promises six months of protection from brake dust, grime and UV damage. Designed to be easy to apply, this wax is handcrafted and the 50g of supplied wax should be enough to coat even the largest of alloys. It’s suitable for use on painted, polished, diamond cut or standard alloy wheels and should even add a deeper extra gloss to the finish.
Auto Finesse Mint Rims
The best wheel wax for performance cars
Price: £20 | VIEW OFFER
Our favourite wheel wax currently for sale is Mint Rims from Auto Finesse. Made from a blend of synthetic waxes to offer the best possible protection, this mint-scented wheel wax is the best way to keep your wheels fully protected for up to three months. Auto Finesse claim it’ll still work perfectly well in high-speed performance conditions like track days and it’s perfectly acceptable to use on pretty much any wheel finish; including bare, painted and anodised alloys.
EZ Car Care Wheel Wax
The best wheel wax on a budget
Price: £14.49 | VIEW OFFER
Another blend of natural and synthetic waxes, this paste wax from EZ Car Care features carnauba wax in its formula as well as synthetic polymers and waxes to offer excellent protection and a nice natural glow to your wheels. It should last up to six months depending on how much you use the car and if a second coating has been applied. It also only requires 15 minutes of curing, is really easy to spread and smells like lemon sherbet.
Why can’t I use car wax on my wheels?
You may think that car wax will be suitable for adding a little extra protection to your alloys but that’s not the case. Wheels get extremely hot thanks to the brakes being used and are subject to brake dust, a particularly stubborn contaminant. Normal car waxes aren’t designed to cope with these extreme temperatures or contaminants which is why wheel waxes have been developed.
What about wheel sealants?
Wheel sealants are the next step in wheel protection. Skipping any natural waxes, wheel sealants are purely synthetic and designed to offer the ultimate layer of protection for wheels. They offer better protection and arguably a clearer shine, but at the expense of the nice, warm glow that a wax-based product creates.
Some wheel waxes will blend synthetic polymers with natural carnauba wax to get the best of both worlds, long-lasting protection with a natural finish.
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