Cleaning Fabric Wheel Well Liners

[nrsnyder]

In my previous(2011 Silverado) "weekly wash" routine I would clean the plastic wheel well lines with APC and the Adam's fender brush.  I got a 2015 Silverado and that comes with front and back wheel well liners that look to be a heavy felt type product rather than plastic.  Is it safe to use my previous routine(APC w/brush) or will the fender brush tear or soften up the liners?  Thanks

[Ricky Bobby]

Brush won't do any harm, its actually recommended.

 

APC and brushing, then rinse well.

 

The good part about it is that it won't fade and need to be dressed with Undercarriage Spray like normal plastic wheel liners.

[Team Adam's]

The 'carpet' liners are for sound deadening to reduce road noise, but they are a major pain in the rear to clean. 

 

Mostly I just go crazy with the pressure washer and try to use that to get everything out, scrubbing usually isn't effective. It doesn't hurt the 'carpet' but the brush sticks and is hard to work with.

 

APC can be used to break things up, but you will get a lot of foaming in there and have to spend a lot of time rinsing it out.

[nrsnyder]

Thanks for the quick reply.  I wanted to make sure before I cleaned them up this week.  I don't use a pressure washer, so maybe I'll try hitting it with the firehose nozzle first befoore I try the APC/brush combo

Edited March 23, 2015 by nrsnyder

[Ironterp]

I have a new silverado as well and Dylan is right. Those things are a pain in the rear to clean. Especially once they get debris stuck in them. Hard to get it out.

[SYMAWD]

A pressure washer really works best, but I find that using a dry tire scrub brush on a dry liner works pretty well.

[nrsnyder]

Thanks for all the replys.  I was mainly concerned with the brush "breaking apart" or "tearing into" the liners.  We have a lot of salt still on the roads here, so I am going to try some diluted APC on those areas as they seem to be already showing some signs of staining.

[PDC]

I just HATE those felt-style fender well liners! Why not run the felt on the opposite side that faces the undercarriage for sound deadening and leave the wheel side smooth black plastic?

[CadillaChick]

Because not only do they reduce noise, vibration & harshness they also reduce weight.

And they use recycled materials to make them.

 

Thankfully this is here already because it was going to be one of my questions.

Edited March 24, 2015 by CadillaChick

[nrsnyder]

I went at these yesterday and got some pretty good results.  The only thing I might change is on the final step after they are dried I should go back over them with an old upholstry brush or roller to remove the lint.   It did take about double the time it usually did on the plastic liners.

 

1. Brush off all 4 liners with dry fender brush

2. Hose out with stream from firehose nozzle until water ran clear

3. Hit salt sports with diluted APC and agitate with wet fender brush

4. Rise until water runs clear.

5. Used master blaster to try after I finished the rest of the vehicle

 

I hopes this helps anyone else that was/is in the same boat.

[redneck08sierra]

my wifes car has them but I can't get a fender brush in between the tire and the fender liner, I use a toilet bowl scrubber...works pretty well

[AvsBest]

I have them too and I hate them for cleaning. Like everyone said: Mix of high pressure wash, fender brush, APC and a lot of patience. Do it as often as you can to prevent any build up

[TonyG]

Has anyone tried spraying them with an undercoating?

[07stanggt]

On 11/18/2020 at 10:04 PM, TonyG said:

Has anyone tried spraying them with an undercoating?

Welcome to the forum. But, probably not a good idea to spray any type of undercoating on that carpet type material.

[falcaineer]

On 11/18/2020 at 8:04 PM, TonyG said:

Has anyone tried spraying them with an undercoating?

 

4 hours ago, 07stanggt said:

Welcome to the forum. But, probably not a good idea to spray any type of undercoating on that carpet type material.

 

Fabric Protector might work, but they would need cleaned and dried thoroughly first. Longevity is still a question, too, since the wheel wells take quite a beating.