Felt Wheel Wells - tire scrub brush edition

[joffems]

My GTI has felt lined wheel wells which I'm sure many of you have unfortunately had to deal with. After driving over a lot of grass over the weekend I knew that the cleanup job was going to be a hassle.

 

After tackling the grass with  several tools I used before I decided I had to try something new. I grabbed my deep clean tire scrub brush and went at. The size of the brush made it really difficult to get into the wells, but once in it did a great job removing the grass.

 

I am slightly concerned that the brush may damage the liner, but it makes cleaning them so easy that it is a risk I'm willing to take.

 

Has anyone else used the tire brush on wheels like this? Anyone damaged them or ripped them out?

[crowvet]

I wonder if you could spray them with rubberized undercoat??? Just thinking out loud

[L1lD3v1lRydr]

A pressure washer at the car wash always worked for me.

[Green Machine]

Use spray nozzle on hose!

[MichiganSRT8]

pressure washer is the best! some of the ferrari's have them I work on and high end bmw and pressure washer get a good amount out alone. takes a bit but works great!

[Performance Auto Detailing]

Can't stand them on my car but they serve a purpose. Supposedly they give the car a quieter ride. But anyway on my dad's car I can't fit the tire scrub brush into the wheel well but I can fit the carpet & upholstery brush in there and that does the trick! I don't think you could really damage it too much unless you went absolutely crazy scrubbing it

Edited June 28, 2013 by lax

[07RS4]

My Audi is the same....I personally like felt liners.  It's a luxury car, not a truck that I'll be 4 wheeling in.  It gives it a nice solid feel instead of flimsy plastic.

 

I've used the Fender Brush, which seems to be the perfect firmness for them.  I'll have to try the Tire Brush if they ever get too nasty.  If I don't take the wheels off, those brushes won't fit, and the large wheel woolie works perfectly. 

Edited June 28, 2013 by 07RS4

[Team Adam's]

The felt liners (form what I understand) are actually more for soundproofing than anything else. They shield the cabin from road noise. 

 

I agree that they are a real PAIN to clean, especially if you get little plant bits in there. I've often wondered how hard it would be to pull them out if you needed to to a serious cleaning, just haven't had a car that I could try it on.

[THE Mook]

Try using the Turbostick.  It's gentle enough even though it's on a power tool, to get the dirt and grime off without causing damage.

[07RS4]

Try using the Turbostick.  It's gentle enough even though it's on a power tool, to get the dirt and grime off without causing damage.

 

I've given it a go before after I saw Chase put it in one of his write-ups, I still prefer the wheel woolies, just my opinion.  Even if they get filthy, I have so little clearance you can't tell anyways. 

[Natch02]

Interesting. Never heard of such thing.

[LimitedDodge]

Had them on the wife's old M35 in the rear. Most of the time they came clean with just a good rinse. Sometimes I would take a wheel brush and rub a little. Grass clipppings always seemed to take the most effort to get out.

[joffems]

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

A pressure washer at the car wash always worked for me.

 

I used my home pressure washer this time and it wasn't helping. I am currently using a 15 degree QC tip. I am going to see if I can find a 10 degree one for the dirty jobs.

 

My Audi is the same....I personally like felt liners.  It's a luxury car, not a truck that I'll be 4 wheeling in.  It gives it a nice solid feel instead of flimsy plastic.

 

I've used the Fender Brush, which seems to be the perfect firmness for them.  I'll have to try the Tire Brush if they ever get too nasty.  If I don't take the wheels off, those brushes won't fit, and the large wheel woolie works perfectly. 

 

Unfortunately, the wheel woolie just wasn't getting the job done this time. May be that my patience was more of an issue than the tool.

 

The felt liners (form what I understand) are actually more for soundproofing than anything else. They shield the cabin from road noise. 

 

I agree that they are a real PAIN to clean, especially if you get little plant bits in there. I've often wondered how hard it would be to pull them out if you needed to to a serious cleaning, just haven't had a car that I could try it on.

 

I have also been told that they're to reduce noise. I wonder how well they work for the task.

 

Try using the Turbostick.  It's gentle enough even though it's on a power tool, to get the dirt and grime off without causing damage.

 

Interesting idea. I may have to put a turbostick in my next order to try it out.