Looking after your alloy wheels

Before driving off in your new wheels

• Your new wheels are supplied with a protective lacquer finish to help protect against corrosion but one tip is to give them a coating of good quality car polish back and front. This will help prevent the road salt, brake dust and dirt 'keying' to the surface on first use.
• You can also use an alloy wheel wax as well to help clean, restore and protect them against brake dust and moisture. Whilst not essential, using a specialised alloy wheel wax will also mean that your alloy wheels are easier to clean.

Clean frequently

• How often you need to clean your alloy wheels depends on the environment, road hazards and weather conditions. If you are in a harsh winter environment where salt and chemicals are used to de-ice the roads, it's more important to clean frequently.
• Frequent washing with mildly soapy warm water [having hosed all the loose abrasive grit off first] is the best way to keep wheels clean. Never use abrasive cleansers, electric buffers or wire wool pads on your wheels.
• It's important you keep alloy wheels clean of brake dust to prevent damage as the brake dust is corrosive.
• Where possible let your wheels cool thoroughly before cleaning them.
• Avoid car-wash wheel-cleaners in case they scratch.
• Whilst there are dedicated alloy wheel cleaners available some may contain acid based chemicals which will erode the finish in the long term whilst giving a good result in the short term. We would recommend that you only use Non Caustic based alloy wheel cleaners

Avoid kerbing your alloy wheels.