How to Cleans Wire Rims with this Stunning 1969 E-Type
The same advice works great for less intricate rims, too.
Cleaning wire rims is an infamously tedious job, and if your Jag is rolling on a set like this gorgeous 1969 E-Type or this stunning 1954 XK120, chances are good that it’s that one task you put off for as long as possible. If so, perhaps the push you’ve been looking for has just arrived in the form of a video full of helpful tips on wire rim cleaning courtesy of an experienced professional detailer.
James Melfi, the video’s host, is currently the Master Detailer and Training Manager for AutoNuvo, a premium car care company with locations in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, and St. Louis. He has a full decade’s experience in the business; before moving to AutoNuvo, he ran his own detailing business for four years. He also trained alongside detailing gurus like Jason Rose, director of global training for the US division of Italian tool and car care company Rupes (and a 20-year alumni at Meguiar’s), as well as Kevin Brown, aka Buff Daddy, the man behind the famous Kevin Brown Method.
Melfi is also one of the resident Ask-a-Pro detailers at Detailed Image, an online car care and auto detailing supplies store based out of Albany, New York. And it’s with them that he recorded a short ten-minute video offering up his professional advice on the best way to properly clean wire rims, just as they do at AutoNuvo. The subject for Melfi’s attention in the video, incidentally, is a truly gorgeous 1969 Jaguar E-Type. He says it’s one of the first cars he built a long-term relationship with, having cleaned it once a year for a number of years now.
For the wheels, Melfi recommends starting with a wash and decontamination using Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus, agitating with a boar’s hair detailing brush before a rinse and isopropyl alcohol wipedown. Then he applies a thin layer of 3D Speed, a polish with abrasives and a built-in sealant, using foam swabs and a microfiber towel. After polishing, he suggests finishing up with a mixture of carnauba wax and Kenotek Pro Showroom Shine.
“[It’s] an absolutely crazy-intricate wheel that takes … a lot of patience,” Melfi tells viewers with, if anything, a sense of understatement. “This is super tedious. It’s not going to be fun, but you’re going to get the results that you want. [It] takes a while, but [it’s] totally, totally worth it.”
Looking at the results that Melfi and the team at AutoNuvo have managed with the beautifully turned out E-Type in the video, well… we’d have to agree with him. The good news is that you can make use of this knowledge regardless of your wheel style and the vintage of your ride. Wire rims are just an extreme example, and Melfi notes that the basic techniques in the video will also work on other, more modern types of rims, especially glossy ones.
For more cleaning tips, check out Detailed Image’s YouTube channel. If you just want to see more of Melfi’s How To series, you can find them grouped in a playlist here.
Photos: BringATrailer