How to Get Your Wheels and Tyres Looking Mint (Mar 2026)

Never, ever wash wheels that are hot to the touch. If you've just come back from a spirited drive or the car has been sitting in the 2pm sun, give it an hour to cool down. Chemicals drying on hot rims is a recipe for disaster.

Get your bucket ready with a bit of car soap and toss your brushes in. Having everything in reach makes the job way less of a chore.

If you've just come back from the bush and the wheels are caked in mud, give them a dry blast with the hose first. No point wasting chemicals on 2kg of dirt.

Spray your iron remover onto the dry wheel. Why dry? Because water dilutes the product. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. You'll see it start to turn purple, that's the chemical reacting with the brake dust. It smells like rotten eggs, so try not to breathe it in too much.

While the wheel cleaner is doing its thing, spray some APC on the tyre sidewall. Give it a good go with your stiff brush. You'll see brown suds coming off, that's 'blooming', where the antiozonants in the rubber move to the surface. Keep scrubbing until the suds are white.

Slide your long-reach brush behind the spokes. Most people just clean the face, but the barrels are where the real grime lives. I've seen wheels look great from the front but absolutely filthy once you look closer.

Use your soft brush to gently agitate the face of the wheel. Don't press too hard; let the chemical do the heavy lifting.

Grab your small detailing brush and get into the lug nut holes. This is where the red dust loves to hide. If you don't get it out now, it'll just run out later and ruin your finish.

Blast every nook and cranny. Make sure you get the calipers and the back of the wheel too. You don't want any of those chemicals sitting there.

While you're there, give the plastic inner guard a scrub with your APC and a brush. It makes a world of difference to the overall look.

Use a dedicated microfibre towel (not your good one for the paint!) or a leaf blower to dry the wheel and tyre. If the tyre isn't dry, the dressing won't stick.

Chuck a bit of dressing on your applicator and wipe it evenly around the sidewall. Avoid getting it on the tread, that's a safety hazard, especially on motorbikes (but don't do that on a car either, it's just pointless).

After 5 minutes, give the tyre a light wipe with a clean cloth. This prevents 'sling' where the dressing flicks onto your doors once you start driving. I once did a white Prado and forgot this step, the missus wasn't happy when she saw the black spots all down the side.