Wheels are the dirtiest part of the car and the part that gets ruined most often by the cleaning itself. Acid cleaners pull brake dust off fast and also strip clear coat, stain polished lips and pit chrome. A non-acid cleaner takes thirty seconds longer and never does that.
Do wheels first, and cool
Clean the wheels before the paint so the dirty overspray lands on a car you have not washed yet. Hot wheels flash-dry chemicals and leave spots, so wait after a drive or hose them down first.
Spray, dwell, agitate
Mist a non-acid cleaner over the face, barrel and spokes. P&S Brake Buster and Ardex Proper are both safe on factory clear-coated wheels and strong enough for brake dust that has baked on for months. Let it dwell for a minute. Then agitate: a soft wheel brush for the face, a barrel brush for the inside, a small detail brush for lug holes. The wheel and tire collection has all three.
Tires are a separate job
A tire cleaner or a degreaser breaks down old dressing and road grime that a wheel cleaner will not. Scrub with a stiff tire brush until the foam turns white instead of brown. The SM Arnold tire brush reaches the sidewall without scraping the rim.
Rinse and dry
Rinse thoroughly, including the barrel, and dry the wheel before dressing the tire. Water trapped behind the spokes will drip onto fresh dressing and streak it.
Dress and protect
A water-based dressing gives a clean satin finish and does not sling onto the paint. Apply it to a dry tire with an applicator, not a spray, so it stays on the rubber. Hydress from Ardex and the other dressings in the collection go on thin and last through several washes. For the wheels themselves, a spray sealant like Bead Maker makes the next cleaning easier because brake dust has nothing to grip.