Maintenance of Your Front-End Investment


by Gary Mendoza - Date: 2007-01-19 - Word Count: 501 Share This!

Speaking of sleek cars, is there a better way to make your car look good than having its proper maintenance? It is doubtful that there's a substitute to that. Car maintenance is a given. You can dress up your car's so-called front end investment and protect it with a decent grille guard and new wax. You can also replace the stock wheels and rims with kick-ass new ones. And the car may look good, but, for ever?

Car improvement pays off only within a limited time frame. The same goes for the coveted 'new car smell.' You can bask in on the thought that every thing about your car is in mint condition. But you ought not to forget that without proper car maintenance, a vehicle's decay is indispensable.

Washing your car's wheels and tires on a Sunday afternoon with a bucket of dish soap and water may have been okay some ten or so years ago. But now, more than giving it a good amount of care, you want to maintain your investment. Towards this purpose, you need to use the proper products to make them last.

A few weeks into driving your car without cleaning your wheels and tires can make them look very bad. Especially with wheels having bright finish, brake dust buildup can turn your lemon car into a slick. You may think that you are getting your rims clean by using harsh detergents, but by doing so you are actually taking away the tire's moisture and promoting deterioration. Good quality car wash soap, liquid wheel cleaner, a tire brush, wheel brush and a smaller brush are what you need to get into the cracks between spokes. A toothbrush works great on elaborate wheels and rims.

When doing a cleanup, make sure that the wheels and rims are cool. Cleaning them while they are still hot from driving may reduce the desired effect of the maintenance. You don't want to stain your tires by putting a cleaning agent on a warm wheel. Those in the know use a high quality wheel cleaner that you can spray on and rinse off. But, first, you must make sure the cleaner you choose is for use with the type of tires that fitted on your car, as there are wheel cleaners containing strong acid content that will damage painted or clear coated wheels. You can play it safe and use a cleaner that is formulated for use with any type of wheels and rims if you are not sure what type of tires are on your car.

When it is the rims' turn, give them a good scrubbing to remove the brake dust residue. You may need to spray a little more wheel cleaner on your rims while you use a small brush or toothbrush to scrub in between the spokes and around your calipers. Make sure, though, that the cleaner does not dry completely and leave stains on the rims. When you are done cleaning, give your wheels a good rinse with clean water.


Related Tags: car care, wheels, rims, car maintenance

Gary Mendoza lives in Texas, USA. Even though there are enough wetbacks in this part of the States, he can't get the respect he deserves. But it is good business. He now finds himself in a position to pursue his interest on hot rods.

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