Professionally Clean Your Mag Wheels at Home

Alloy wheels can get dirty really quickly but with some regular maintenance, you can keep them looking like new for longer, adding to the resale value of your car and giving you a sense of pride every time you head out for a drive.

What are alloy wheels?

When we think back 10 years, it only seemed to be the top of the range models that featured alloy wheels. For the rest of us, you would more traditionally get wheel covers or ‘hubcaps’ as they are often referred. You will still find many cars on the road today with hubcaps and these take a different kind of cleaning to alloy wheels but that’s for another post.

Today, most new cars off the showroom floor will have alloy wheels as standard. They come in all sorts of designs and are typically shiny silver rims (although they can come in all sorts of colours depending on the car). 

Alloy wheels are typically created via casting or forging, though other production methods throughout their history have included gravity casting. 

In the end, they’re touted for being lighter than steel wheels, and those that are forged are generally also more durable than those that are cast. 

Whether created via casting or forging, the manufacturing methods allow complex designs to be created, which helps alloy wheels achieve the look that many drivers yearn for to complement the styling of their vehicles.

Why are alloy wheels know as “mag wheels” or “mags”?

Alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. Because of the metals that often make up alloy wheels, they’re also often referred to as “mag wheels.” 

Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much softer and more ductile. Alloys of aluminium or magnesium are typically lighter for the same strength, provide better heat conduction, and often produce improved cosmetic appearance over steel wheels.

Magnesium alloy wheels were the first die-cast wheels produced and were often referred to as simply "mag wheels." 
Magnesium wheels were originally used for racing, but their popularity during the 1960s led to the development of other die-cast wheels, particularly of aluminium alloys. 

The term "mag wheels" became synonymous with die-cast wheels made from any material, from modern aluminium alloy wheels to plastic and composite wheels used on items like bicycles, wheelchairs, and skateboards.

How to clean your mag wheels at home

By their nature, mag wheels are perfectly positioned to collect more dirt and grime that the rest of your car.
Not only does an alloy wheel have to deal with everyday grime from the road and air, these drab brown deposits are mixed with dust from the brakes and can soon get baked on to your wheels, thanks to the oven-like temperatures created by the brakes and tyres.

Whilst you can use your regular car washing product to clean your mag wheels, this will only clean off the surface dirt from your mags and leave you with the baked-on stuff.

In order to deep clean your mag wheels, you’re going to need to turn to a specialist mag wheel cleaning product. At CRC, we have a number of products that can help to get your mag wheels sparkling again, no matter how much baked on dirt they have accumulated.

A specialist mag wheel cleaner is one part of the process, however. We recommend cleaning your mag wheels on a regular basis along with the rest of your car. Regular maintenance is the easiest way to keep your car spotless and to help retain its resale value so try not to leave it too long between washes.

1. Pressure washer

If you are cleaning your allow wheels, the chances are, you are also cleaning your entire car. A pressure washer is a great way to clean your car and remove a lot of the daily dirt and grime and the same applies to your mag wheels.

A pressure washer will remove a lot of the day-to-day dirt, however, it won’t get rid of the baked on stuff. 

We recommend pressure washing your mags first and then get to work with a specialist mag wheel cleaner.

2. Mag wheel cleaner

At CRC, we have a number of different mag wheel cleaning products that are perfect for even the toughest jobs. Here are some of the products we recommend:

CRC Mag Wheel Cleaner
CRC Mag Wheel Cleaner is an alloy wheel cleaner with a powerful non-acid formula that is suitable for cleaning most wheel types including original factory-applied clear coats. Its unique, fast-acting foaming action penetrates, dissolves and lifts off dirt, grease, tar, road grime & brake dust. Cleaning is easy and wheels are left spotless, with no residue or any need to hand dry.

It safely restores all clear coated alloy or magnesium wheels to their original condition. It contains an additive to brighten the metal and an anti-static surfactant to repel dust & dirt, ensuring a long-lasting shine.

It will not harm paint, rubber, chrome, gunmetal, polished or unpolished aluminium or plastics. CRC Mag Wheel Cleaner is also suitable for general automotive cleaning/degreasing where a high grease-cutting ability is required.

Note: Do not use on wheels finished with a metallic coating such as HyperCHROME or others. If unsure, contact the manufacturer of the wheels.

CRC Mag Monster
CRC Mag Monster is formulated with powerful iron emulsifiers to penetrate brake dust and quickly clean your wheels.

By attacking the brake dust underneath road grime, it allows for a complete clean, leaving your wheels shining, with minimal effort. You will be able to see the product begin working immediately, turning purple as it gently cleans.

CRC Mag Monster is pH neutral, acid free, and safe on all painted, chromed, alloy, and plastic dipped wheels.

CRC Mag Monster has been formulated to have a pleasant scent, eliminating the sulphur odour commonly associated with brake dust removers.

Note: Optimised for iron brake dust removal. Not suitable for white wheels, unsealed or porous surfaces.

CRC Wheel Cleaner
CRC Wheel Cleaner is a wheel and tyre cleaner that is non-acid and specially formulated to target the most abused area of your car – the wheels! It quickly and safely breaks down stubborn road residue, removing grime, grit and brake dust. It restores your wheels to their original shine, leaving them spotless and looking their absolute best.

It can be used on all clear coated alloy or magnesium wheels while not harming any paint, rubber or plastics. CRC Wheel Cleaner can also be used as an effective cleaner for general automotive cleaning where a high grease-cutting ability is required.

3. Rinse

Once you have let the mag wheel cleaner do its thing, you can then do a final rinse off. CRC mag wheel products are water-based so easily wash off with water and leave no residue so no need to hand dry after.

We recommend doing a deep clean at least once a month, however, it will depend on how many kilometres you are driving on average and the conditions of the roads you are driving on.

Making your wheels shine

Our mag wheel cleaning products also feature an anti-static surfactant which helps to repel dust and dirt which will keep your mags cleaner for longer.

Of course, your mags are only one part of your car wheel care. If you want to complete the look, make sure you check out our tyre cleaning products which can help to bring worn and faded tyres back to life. 

Tyre cleaning products include:
Dry Look
Pro Series Wet Look
So Easy Tyre Cleaner
Tyre Black
Wet Look

share