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Our Top Choices For The Best Wheel Cleaner Brushes

What do you usually use when cleaning the wheels and tires in your ride? If you’re like most people, you probably use an old, beaten up towel or a dirty sponge. Besides, the wheels and tires are the dirtiest parts of a vehicle, which is a result of being closer to the ground – so why not use an ordinary cleaning sponge, right?

Well, if you really love your car, nothing beats the effortless cleansing action of a wheel cleaning brush. When used in conjunction with the best wheel cleaners, you can clean, degrease, and decontaminate the wheels in your car in half the time.

Best of all, you can do it with minimal elbow grease. Using a proper wheel brush also prevents scratches and marring on polished, painted, or stainless alloy wheels. Those thin bristles and long handles are designed to clean your wheel on both the inside and outside, and you can do it without removing each wheel from the hub.

If you haven’t tried using a wheel brush to clean your car wheels, now is the perfect time to start. With that being said, here are our top choices for the best wheel cleaner brushes.

The 5 Best Wheel Cleaner Brushes Reviewed


Product NameQualityPriceOur Rating
Mothers Wheel Brush, StandardA$4.6 stars
Takavu Master Wheel BrushA$$4.5 stars
Takavu Wheel & Tire BrushB$$4.5 stars
Liquid X Original Wheel Woolies 3-Piece KitA+$$$4.8 stars
Chemical Guys Gerbil Wheel and Rim BrushB$4.2 stars

**Below, you’ll find our more detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

Mother’s Wheel Brush


Why We Pick It

If all you need is a basic wheel brush, you’ll like the Mother’s Wheel Brush. The long bristles are soft enough to protect your wheels from scratches but are abrasive enough to gently lift off dirt, mud, grime, and brake dust. With a non-slip comfort grip with rubberized bumpers, you can safely clean wheels, tires, fenders, and bumpers using a single tool.

What really makes this product stand out is durability. We had this brush for more than six months and it still cleaned our alloy wheels like it was new.

However, there’s a minor drawback. The brush head may be large enough to clean larger surface areas, but the handle is not long enough to clean the inside of the wheel.

Pros

  • Ergonomic design
  • Large brush head effortlessly cleans wheels, tires, and bumpers
  • The rubberized grip offers superior control
  • Affordable price
  • Durable construction

Cons

  • Cannot reach the inside of the wheel

Takavu Master Wheel Brush


Why We Pick It

Sure, the Takavu Master Wheel Brush is excellent for cleaning both steel and alloy wheels. Equipped with a 9.5-inch brush head manufactured from premium PP bristles, this wheel brush can effortlessly remove dirt, grime, and contaminants without scratching the finish. The flexible design easily reaches tricky areas like between the spokes and all over the inside of the wheel. But it’s a multipurpose brush which can also be used to clean the engine bay.

The Takavu Master Wheel Brush has a rubber capped tip to further prevent scratching or marring the wheel surface. And with a rubber ring protector at the handle, your hand or knuckle is protected from banging or scraping the wheel. 

This wheel cleaner brush is not the cheapest, nor is it the most durable we tested so far. But when it comes to efficiency, it remains one of the best.

Pros

  • Soft bristles to prevent scratches
  • Large brush head cleans the inside of the wheel
  • Rubber ring protector protects against scrapes and knuckle damage

Cons

  • It’s a bit expensive
  • Minor gripes with quality

Takavu Wheel & Tire Brush


Why We Pick It

For less money, you can also look at the Takavu Wheel & Tire Brush. You get a modest tire brush and a smaller wheel brush for the price of one, which is excellent value for money in our book. The truth is you need separate brushes for cleaning wheels and tires, and you get both in this wheel and tire brush combo from Takavu. 

The kit contains a large tire brush with long, soft synthetic bristles. The handle is elegantly contoured for better ergonomics. You can also use the wheel brush to clean textured plastic trim pieces, suspension parts, fender wells, and even the undercarriage of your vehicle.

On the other hand, the included wheel brush is one of the safest for alloy wheels. With 2-inch long bristles and a long handle, you can easily get rid of caked-on dirt inside the lug nut holes and between those thin spokes. Also, the wheel brush is also great for cleaning the interior like the air vents and crevices in the dashboard.

Pros

  • Wheel and tire brush combo at a lower price
  • Thick bristles effortlessly clean tires with a single wipe
  • Wheel and interior brush provide scratch-free cleaning

Cons

  • Not much

Liquid X Original Wheel Woolies 3-Piece Kit


Why We Pick It

One of our longstanding favorites in this list of best wheel cleaner brushes is the Liquid X Original Wheel Woolies. This professional-grade wheel and tire cleaning kit may come at a higher price, but you’re paying for three brushes for a complete wheel and tire cleaning solution. 

Best of all, you’re paying for quality. However, if you feel $60 is too much for a set of wheel cleaning brushes, we can’t blame you. But take a closer look and you might change your mind. First off, all the brushes in this kit are crafted from soft synthetic wool. The thicker and plusher fibers are able to hold more sudsy water for faster cleaning.

The kit consists of an 8-inch brush for cleaning tighter areas like lug nut holes and wheel crevices; a 12-inch angled caliper slope brush to remove dirt, grime, and brake dust from behind the wheels; and a modest 18-inch brush for cleaning larger areas like fender liners and wheel barrels. 

We agree that having three wheel brushes is a bit much. But if you’re dealing with large wheels or more expensive alloys, our vote goes to Liquid X.

Pros

  • You get three wheel brushes in a single kit
  • Synthetic wool fibers provide a scratch-free finish
  • Metal-free design with plastic handles prevents scratching and marring the surface
  • Plush fibers hold more sudsy water for more effective cleaning

Cons

  • It’s a bit pricey

Chemical Guys Gerbil Wheel and Rim Brush


Why We Pick It

If you’re looking for good value, take a closer look at Chemical Guys Gerbil Wheel and Rim Brush. Starting at less than $10, you get a quality wheel cleaner brush crafted from 100-percent genuine sheepskin. The thick-haired material is good enough to hold over 8 ounces of soapy water to effectively clean sensitive alloy and chrome wheels in a single pass. 

Featuring a short and fat profile, it easily reaches and cleans tight spaces in alloy wheels, spokes, exhaust tips, door jamb, and even the engine bay. Sheepskin is soft enough to prevent scratches yet powerful enough to scrub off the dirt, road grime, brake dust, and other contaminants.

The Chemical Guys Gerbil Wheel and Rim Brush is one of the most affordable wheel brush in this list, but it’s not exactly the most durable, either. If you like cleaning cars and you have more than one vehicle in your garage, this product is not for you.

Pros

  • Genuine sheepskin gently cleans without scratching
  • Lightweight construction with no metal parts
  • Thicker material holds more soapy water than other brushes
  • Affordable price

Cons

  • Some issues with the product quality

How To Clean Wheels And Tires


How To Clean Wheels And Tires

Stop using an old towel or sponge to clean your wheels and tires. Using a proper wheel brush will not only save you time, but you get better results without using elbow grease or harmful cleaners.

Step 1:

Rinse off each wheel to remove standing dirt and dust. If the wheels are extremely dirty, it’s better to remove excess mud and grime before applying a wheel cleaner.

Step 2:

Grab a bottle of wheel cleaner and spray adequately over the entire surface of the wheel. Quality wheel cleaners will change color as the cleaning solution contacts brake dust and other contaminants.

Step 3:

Allow the wheel cleaner to soak for a minute or two. The trick is to spray the wheel cleaner so it can dwell on the surface.

Step 4:

After a minute or two, grab a wheel brush to lightly agitate the surface. This also removes stubborn dirt and brake dust from those hard to reach places on multi-spoke wheels. Don’t hesitate to spray more wheel cleaner as needed.

Step 5:

After agitating the wheel surface, go on and clean the tires as well. Wheel brushes are also great for cleaning tires.

Step 6:

Rinse the wheels with pressurized water. Make sure to remove all traces of the wheel cleaner.

Step 7:

Wipe the wheels dry using a microfiber towel.

Conclusion


Our pick: Liquid X Original Wheel Woolies is the best wheel cleaner brush and Mother’s Wheel Brush is the best value.

Wheel brushes may seem unnecessary when an ordinary sponge is good enough for the job. But if you want to clean your wheels faster and more effectively, nothing beats a good wheel brush.

Our choice for the ultimate wheel brush goes to Liquid X Original Wheel Woolies and the Mother’s Wheel Brush coming at close second. 

About George Bradley

George is an enthusiastic blogger and an auto mechanic expert whose mission is to provide the readers with the best tips, guides, and recent events in the automotive industry. He has been involved in researching on various topics that are essential to the car owners, especially when it comes to an understanding, maintaining and handling their vehicles.

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