It can be a real pain to clean your wheels and tires, because it’s hard to get into all those little nooks and crannies and reach deep into your wheel barrels and fender wells. Spoke wheels are even more demanding to clean.
While an old rag wrapped around your finger might work, nothing makes cleaning easier and more fun than specialized wheel and tire brushes. Yes, you read it right, brushes: plural. There’s a brush for every job.
Check out the best wheel brushes and tire brushes on the market:
Different Types of Brushes
Let’s take a look at the different types of brushes:
- A wheel brush has a short handle with a wide head with long, bristle-ended soft hair. This type of brush is ideal to clean the surface or face of the wheels in record time without scratching them.
- A tire brush has a short handle with a wide head with long coarse hair. You need these coarse hairs to clean all that caked brownish gunk called blooming off your tire walls. A tire brush is much tougher than the wheel brush but can’t be used for the wheels because the coarse hairs will scratch their surface.
- A wheel wooly is a long, slim wheel brush made entirely out of non-scratch material. The brush head has a cylindrical, elongated shape and is made of soft carpet fibers. This shape fits between spokes and in cavities, between calipers and drums to reach the barrel of the wheel with ease. Some wheel woolies have a bendable end for even more maneuverability. A wheel wooly gets where a soft wheel brush can’t reach.
- A lug nut brush is a bristle with long soft hairs that fit perfectly inside deep wheel nut holes that are hard to reach with a short wheel brush. Around its bristle head there is plastic or rubber scratch protection.
- A fender brush is a long handled coarse haired wheel brush that is shaped and angled to easily clean those hard to reach inside fenders without damaging their coating.
How we did our review
We rolled up our sleeves and got down and dirty with some mighty fine specimens! Some had coarse long hair, some had soft hair. Yep, still talkin’ about wheel and tire brushes 😉
Though we’ve used lots of different wheel and tire brushes over the years with mixed results, we really got picky for this review and tried many options. What we ended up with is a selection of brushes for different specific uses that complement each other, every brush designed for a specific task. We’ve meticulously tested all brushes for efficiency, durability, ergonomics and ability to clean without damaging the targeted surface. Only the best in our test were selected. Why settle for less?
For our final ranking, we also took into account what customers and the general detailing community had to say. We filtered out fake reviews to make it a fair and reliable comparison.
If this selection doesn’t brush you off your feet, we don’t know what will…
CCM’s Top 7 Best Wheel and Tire Brushes
Best Wheel Brush
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Best Wheel Brush
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Specs:
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- Purpose: Wheels
- Hair type: Medium soft with ultraplush bristle ends
- Handle type: Short
- Rubberized: Yes
- Chemical resistant: Yes
- Size: 12” x 4” x 3”
We instantly liked this brush from the first time we held it in our hands. It feels nimble and is pleasant to use with its rubberized handle.
If you first thoroughly rinse your wheels to get sand and grit off, this brush is completely safe to use on all wheel surfaces. It has very soft bristle ended hair tips. Of course you should always be extra gentle with black painted wheels.
This wheel brush reaches the tightest spots with ease and softness. We also noticed that the soft, dense hairs created a thick foam while we were scrubbing, which is a bonus because this enhances the cleaning power. We also felt completely confident that this detailing tool would not bump or scratch because of its rubberized edges, which makes the whole cleaning process more relaxing.
Most customers love this gentle brush as much as we do. They confirm that its soft bristles are suited for all wheel types. They say that even after a couple of years of use it has held up well. Some claim that it is too soft for tires and wheel wells and that is absolutely correct, it wasn’t designed for that purpose.
It seems that also when it comes to cleaning wheels, there’s no softer touch than mothers…
TIP: It’s important, especially for soft brushes that are used on delicate surfaces, to check them before each use. If the tips curl or split, discard the brush.
Again, always first thoroughly rinse off all sand and dirt particles from your wheels before you use this brush. It’s that tiny, sharp grit that causes scratches, not this gentle brush! Rinse your brush as often as possible too.
PROS:
- Safe to use on delicate surfaces like wheels
- Rubberized edges to prevent damaging your car’s delicate surfaces
CONS:
- Too soft for tires or wheel wells
- Soft hairs wear faster than coarse ones do
Best Tire Brush
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Best Tire Brush
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Specs:
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- Purpose: Tires
- Hair type: Coarse
- Handle type: Short
- Rubberized: Yes
- Chemical resistant: Yes
- Size: 8” x 3” x 2”
There’s a lot to like about this professional quality tire brush: It won’t scratch when you accidentally hit surrounding paintwork or your wheels because its handle with rubberized edge, is scratch-proof and its coarse nylon hairs will remove the toughest grime.
What we love most about this brush is that it doesn’t compromise. It does not pretend to be anything else but a hardcore tire brush. Most brushes promise to excel both in tire cleaning and wheel cleaning, which is impossible!
You need a soft bristle-ended brush or a wooly to clean your wheels without scratching them. However, their soft hairs will do an awful job at cleaning the stubborn dirt off your tires. You’ll need coarse hairs for that task.
In our tests Adam’s Rubberized Tire Brush stood out in efficiency as well as durability. It’s built to last and really has a bite to it when scrubbing dirty tires. It won’t turn all curly and wooly after a few uses.
If you’re looking for the best tire brush, this is it!
Customers say they like that this brush is ultra stiff. They confirm that Adam’s Tire Brush will scrub your tires very aggressively to get all the dirt and grime off. One reviewer was upset that he’d been using a soft brush so long not knowing how easy the job is with this professional tire brush. He really likes the design, feel and color. He correctly states however, not to use this brush on your wheels.
One thing’s for sure: you won’t get tired of this brush…
PROS:
- Professional quality
- Rubberized edges to prevent damaging your car’s delicate surfaces
- Ideal size for tire walls
- Durable, coarse bristles
- Long lasting
CONS:
- Not suited for wheels
- Premium price
Best Angled Wheel Woolie
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Best Angled Wheel Whoolie
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Specs:
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- Purpose: Wheels, Wheel barrels
- Hair type: Short, Dense Ultrasoft Polypropylene Fibers
- Handle type: Long
- Rubberized: No, but won’t scratch
- Chemical resistant: Yes
- Size: 19” x 3”
In our search for the best wheel brush we tried Adam’s 45° angled wooly and we were pleasantly surprised. It’s so soft it won’t scratch any wheels, even those fragile glossy black ones. It has no metal parts that can scratch your wheels either, unlike most cheap ones. The handle feels robust and the shaft won’t bend when pressure is applied.
Make sure that before you use any brush on delicate wheels, you thoroughly rinse them first. Preferably with a pressure washer. It’s the sand and grit that causes scratches, not an ultrasoft brush or wooly like this one if it is used with a delicate touch. Also rinse your brush as often as possible.
This awesome wheel wooly holds a ton of suds and creates great foam. We loved the way we could reach behind all spokes with ease like no straight wooly can. There’s also a smaller size to get into even tighter gaps like between large brake calipers.
Although this wooly certainly can be used as a stand-alone wheel cleaning tool, we don’t see us dropping all our other brushes to only use this one in the future. We absolutely love the angled shape and we will keep using it, no doubt about that! Yet we found the shape to be quite awkward to get full-depth into our deep 11”+ test wheel barrels. We think Adam’s Angled Wheel Detailing Brush is awesome to get behind the spokes where no other brush can reach, but we feel a straight wooly is better to clean those deep wheel barrels. For us it’s a great addition to our wheel detailing kit, not an all-in-one brush.
Although you might have to get used to the angled shape, most people say that it is perfect for wheel and barrel cleaning because the angled shaft allows you to apply enough pressure to remove stubborn grime from spots you can’t normally get to. A customer wrote he had tried several wheel brushes in the past, but liked this one best because it cleans safely and effortlessly. He said that he feels it will last for quite a while also.
Our verdict: this is the best angled wooly out there to clean behind your wheel spokes and an awesome brush to complete your wheel detailing tool kit. Highly recommended!
Great job, Adam’s!
PROS:
- Professional quality
- Dense, super soft fibers won’t scratch your wheels
- Strong, rigid handle
- Holds a lot of suds
- No metal parts that can damage your car’s delicate surfaces
- 45° angle is ideal to get behind those difficult-to-reach wheel spokes
- Long lasting
CONS:
- Awkward angle for deep barrel cleaning
Best Lug Nut Wheel Brush:
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Best Lug Nut Wheel Brush
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Specs:
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- Purpose: lug nuts (short brush) / wheel faces (long brush)
- Hair type: boar’s hair
- Handle type: short and long
- Rubberized: No, plastified
- Chemical resistant: Yes
- Size: Short handle 6,5” Long handle 9,5”
Lug nut holes are notoriously difficult to clean, especially around the nuts. If you use a brush that is too coarse it will scratch your wheels, if it’s too soft, it won’t loosen the caked grime.
The solution to the problem is a boar’s hair brush: it’s stiff enough to get deep in the lug nut holes and work the dirt around the nuts without scratching your wheels.
We chose this awesome brush set because this combo of a short handled and a long handled bush is all you need to gently clean the most difficult and fragile details of your car. They are absolutely 100% safe to use because they have scratch-proof plastic handles and no sharp edges. Between all of the test brushes, we liked these the most.
We like how the ergonomically shaped short brush lessens muscle fatigue and gets into the lug nut holes without any effort. The long brush on the other hand is ideal to clean grilles, logo’s, lettering, door frames, panel gaps, brake calipers,… Because of its longer reach we also like to use it as an engine detailing brush. These premium boar’s hairs are extremely flexible and durable and will even outlast most synthetic brush hairs.
There’s one thing you ought to know about boar’s hair detailing brushes in general, and that’s a returning comment in lots of reviews: they shed hair. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
That’s perfectly normal though. This hair loss is the worst with first uses, it gets better along the way. All boar’s hair brushes keep shedding some hairs now and again though. In our tests we found this to be a constant across all boar’s hair test brushes. For exterior car detailing this did not bother us, because any shed hair gets rinsed off anyway.
We would however not recommend using boar’s hair brushes for interior car detailing. You could end up pulling out your own hair in despair having to vacuum rogue hairs after dusting…
For interior car detailing, use ultrasoft synthetic brushes instead. They don’t shed hair and they attract dust too. That’s two big bonuses for dry dusting in our book.
The vast majority of customer reviews are very positive about this brush combo and confirm that it leaves no marring when they use it to clean emblems and tight car exterior areas. They like the fact that the bristles are very soft but still firm enough to clean lug nuts for example, or valve stems. A professional mobile detailer states that these brushes are by far the best detail brushes he’s ever used.
Nope, you won’t get bored with these brushes…
PROS:
- 100% safe on delicate surfaces
- Genuine premium quality boar’s hair
- Professional long-lasting quality
- Can be used with all wheel cleaners
- Ergonomic short handle minimizes muscle fatigue
- Metal-free construction
- Designed, assembled, & packaged in the USA
CONS:
- Sheds hair like all boar’s hair brushes do
- More expensive than synthetic brushes
Best Fender Wheel Brush
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Best Fender Wheel Brush
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Specs:
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- Purpose: Fenders
- Hair type: flagged nylon bristles
- Handle type: long
- Rubberized: yes
- Chemical resistant: yes
- Size: 20” x 3” x 3”
What can we say? Everything about this brush is long: its handle, its hairs, its reach… It’s also a long lasting professional quality.
Bet you struggle too when you’re cleaning your wheel wells? They are filthy places to clean. They are often caked with a cocktail of gritty dirt and tar. If you use a short handle brush, all this nastiness will sprinkle off your brush hairs all over your hands and arms. It’s always a challenge to reach the rear inside too…
That’s why we think that just like professionals, any serious car detailing enthusiast should own a long handle fender brush. It makes this nasty job so much easier!
However, we were quite disappointed testing the majority of fender brushes. Most of them are way too soft to do an efficient job and wear much too fast. Many have weak handles that bend or break under the slightest pressure. Often, they cause scratches too because they are not fully rubberized.
Adam’s Fender Brush is just the opposite. It has a sturdy ergonomic handle that reaches the far most spots of your fender wells without straining a single tendon. Because of its fully rubberized edge, you can’t ding or scratch your fender edges either while you’re cleaning. Its coarse, long nylon hairs will last and won’t curl up in a tangled hairball after a few uses like most, yet its hairs’ soft bristle ends won’t damage your fender wells either.
There’s no two ways about it: we just loved using this brush!
Apart from some customers complaining about the premium price, the majority wrote they absolutely love this brush and would recommend it. They confirm that this is a great tool that makes detailing quicker and more enjoyable. Customers who used to only clean their wheel wells with a hose because they thought the whole cleaning process was too much of a bother, are now thrilled that they can keep their wheel wells spotless with minimal effort. They love the fact that the bristles have the perfect stiffness and that the length of the handle is built to allow them to get into the wheel well from different angles to make sure all the debris is removed without scratching. A customer states that the build quality is sound and expects to be using it for many years to come.
Well, guess it’s time you bought this awesome detailing tool, it’s long overdue…
PROS:
- Long lasting professional quality
- Rubberized edges to prevent damaging your car’s delicate surfaces
- Long reach
- Coarse bristles that won’t damage your fenders
CONS:
- May not fit tight fender wells
Best Overall
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Best Overall
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Specs:
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- Purpose: wheels, lug nuts
- Hair type: chenille microfiber
- Handle type: removable handle
- Rubberized: No, scratch-free materials
- Chemical Resistant: yes
- Size: 16” x 3” x 1”
The reason why we chose this innovative product for our Best Overall is that it solves shortcomings found on most common wheel brushes. And it works like a charm!
Gotta tell you, at first glance we were as puzzled as you probably are… Or should we say at first encounter? This innovative, patented wheel detailing tool is totally out of this world…
At second glance, we liked the idea of the bendable head, its soft, washable chenille brush and incorporated lug nut brush design. It’s only when we started testing this mongrel that we fell in love!
Where do we start? There’s so much to like…
Let’s start with the obvious: its elongated bendable design reaches deep, between, under, behind and over like no other wheel cleaning brush can, on this planet, I mean…
You can bend the soft chenille head any direction you like and it will hold its posture firmly. It won’t bend back with light or even medium brushing action.
Its washable chenille cover has extraterrestrial softness built in and can be switched for other optional colors. A different color for a different use maybe?
Its clever handle can easily be detached too, ISS style, if you want. Why anyone wouldn’t want this handle attached is beyond us, but anyhow, you can remove it should you have the urge.
Another capsule can be docked onto the back of the handle of the WoollyWormit: it’s a clever spongy wheel lug hole brush, in two different sizes nonetheless. How awesome is that? Why did no one come up with that idea before?
These little round sponges are washable too, of course. We would have liked them to be about an inch longer to clean our really deep wheel lug holes without touching the wheel with the plastic holder. However, for most standard wheels it’ll do just fine.
We certainly liked the fact that the chenille head has a flat shape, allowing us to clean between our large front calipers too. Most other wheel woolies don’t fit in between.
The brush is tapered though, so to clean between big calipers it will only fit about halfway through. This means that you won’t be able to clean the deepest part of your wheel barrel where your caliper is situated. Also, if you have an intricate wheel design with small holes, the brush head may be too wide to fit. The WoollyWormit can pass through openings larger than 1.1” (2.8 cm.) x 2.2” (5.6 cm).
Again, the vast majority of users will have ample clearance and won’t experience any issues.
This detailing tool is so popular that there was a very large review base for us to explore. Many reviewers state that this is the best wheel cleaning tool ever. They like the fact that it is so easy to use and can be formed any way they prefer. However, customers who have wheels with small crevices say this brush can’t get to the tightest spots and they need extra brushes. Most people think that the built-in lug nut cleaner is very effective.
This Woolly is just awesome! Worm-it down your wheel barrels and behind your wheel spokes and your wheels will look amazing!
PROS:
- Bendable design to reach areas other brushes can’t
- Integrated wheel lug hole brush
- Washable soft chenille brush, 100% safe for all wheels
CONS:
- Not suited for intricate wheel designs or to get between very large calipers
Best Wheel Wooly Set
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Best Wheel Wooly Set
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Specs:
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- Purpose: Wheels, wheel barrels
- Hair type: Dense absorbent synthetic wool microfiber
- Handle type: long polypropylene stick handle
- Rubberized: No, scratch-free
- Chemical resistant: Yes
- Size: Small 8” long, Medium 12” long, Large 18” long / Brush Heads Small 3”x1″, Medium 3 1/2”x1.5″, Large 7”x3.5″
Out of all the wheel wooly sets we’ve tested over the years, this set is the one we like the best.
Using these wheel woolies, we particularly liked the soft, dense brush head material that is absolutely 100% safe to use on any wheels. They have no metal or sharp parts of any kind that might scratch your wheels.
The long, rigid stick brush handles are very efficient too because they don’t bend as much as most. They have a high quality feel.
The brush heads hold a lot of suds and have a nice foaming action too.
The large size is ideal to clean the wheel barrels because they have the largest coverage and furthest reach.
We used the medium size to clean the larger wheel orifices.
The small one seemed too small to be of any use at first. Yet, this small guy turned out to fit perfectly between our very large calipers where the larger sizes wouldn’t fit. Great team!
After we’d cleaned our wheels we dried them with a car blower and were amazed by the spotless result! As usual, we finished our job applying tire shine to make our rubber pop.
Don’t you love freshly cleaned wheels and new looking tires? I know we do!
Honestly, between the hundreds of reviews, there’s not many negatives. The only thing that pops up every now and again is about these woolies being premium priced. We can fully agree with those people but think that’s only fair, because you pay what you get: premium American made craftsmanship!
Customers like the 3 different size brushes that allow them to clean the deepest and the tightest spots as well. A professional detailer confirmed that these are indeed the original Wheel Woolies, and they are soft and thick. He writes that the price caused him to hesitate at first because he tries not to waste funds on unnecessary gadgets but that his concerns were unfounded and that he is very glad he made this purchase. He thinks the little brush is underestimated because it really gets in all nooks and crannies and between large brake calipers. This wooly set has already paid for themselves in practical use, he says.
Doesn’t matter if you’re a weekend warrior or a professional detailer, this wooly set is a wheely good investment that pays for itself in time and efficiency.
PROS:
- Professional quality wooly set
- Dense, super soft fibers won’t scratch your wheels
- Strong, rigid stick handles
- Hold a lot of suds
- No metal parts that can damage your car’s delicate surfaces
- Long lasting
- Made in America by American Brush Makers
CONS:
- Premium price (but worth every penny)
Comparison Table Of The Best Wheel Brushes And Tire Brushes
| Brand | Name | |
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| Best Wheel Brush | Mother's | Wheel Brush |
| Best Tire Brush | Adam's Polishes | Adam's Rubberized Tire Brush |
| Best Angled Wheel Whoolie | Adam's Polishes | Adam's Angled Wheel Detailing Brush |
| Best Lug Nut Wheel Brush | Detail Factory | Detailing Brush Combo Kit |
| Best Fender Wheel Brush | Adam's Polishes | Adam's Fender Brush |
| Best Overall | WOOLLYWORMIT | Wheel Brush |
| Best Wheel Wooly Set | ABN | Wheel Woolie 3-Piece Kit |
Final Thoughts
Washing your car’s wheels can be a daunting task and one that most people dread. However, if you use the right tools and rinse your brushes very frequently to prevent grit getting trapped in your brush scratching up your wheels, you should not worry.
You only get in trouble if you don’t rinse enough and use the wrong brushes. Not only do good brushes prevent you scratching up your expensive wheels but they also make the cleaning job easier and faster.
Depending on your type of wheels and your personal preferences, these are the wheel brushes we recommend:
Let’s start with the dirtiest part of the wheel cleaning job: the wheel wells. We liked Adam’s Fender Brush best because of its long reach and coarse brush to really get in there. It’s safe too because it is rubberized to prevent dings and scratches.
We gave our tires a good scrub to get that brown gunk off and really loved the effortless way Adam’s Rubberized Tire Brush dealt with that. It had a stronger bite than its competitors and also has the rubberized protection. It’s built like a pro and cleans like one too.
If you wanna clean your car’s wheel faces in the most efficient, safe way, we recommend using Mothers Wheel Brush. Its very soft bristle-ended hairs won’t damage your wheels but are firm enough to remove grime. Again, they are rubberized all around which we think is crucial. They’re comfy to hold too.
Chances are that your wheel brush won’t reach all the way into your lug nut holes. The lug nut hole brushes from the Detail Factory are purpose-built to solve that issue. With their superior real boar’s hair and anti-scratch protection they’re the ones to get.
To get in the wheel barrels of the most intricate wheels, we recommend using ABN’s Wheel Wooly 3-Piece Kit. Its professional quality guarantees a scratch-free result. It’s a three-piece set that fits all wheels.
If you need an addition to your 3-piece wooly set that can get behind your wheel spokes too, Adam’s Angled Wheel Detailing Brush is the angled wooly to use. Its strong ergonomic handle and soft angled head gets the best results.
Don’t wanna buy several different brushes? Want one multi-purpose brush?
The innovative all-in-one WoollyWormit Wheel Brush is a wheel brush that can do all the wheel cleaning chores without the need of extra brushes.
Now that you have the right gear, check out how it’s done: How To Clean Wheels and Tires.
Happy detailing!
FAQs
What’s the difference between a wheel brush and a tire brush?
The key difference is in their hair. A wheel brush has soft, bristle-ended hairs while a tire brush has coarse hairs.
Wheel brushes are soft-haired brushes designed to thoroughly scrub your wheels without scratching their smooth bare- or coated metal surface.
These brushes come in different shapes so you’re able to clean in even the tightest spots. Teamed up with a good wheel cleaner, a good wheel brush will make your wheels look shiny and new with the least effort and without damaging them.
Tire brushes on the other hand, have tougher hairs because they have to cope with the rough rubber tire surface that isn’t prone to scratching but hard to clean. To get your tires in pristine condition, just scrub ‘em with a tire brush and some tire cleaner, a product that is formulated to quickly dissolve the brownish top layer called tire blooming. Can’t get any easier!
That is why, if you want to work efficiently, you’ll need both a wheel brush and a tire brush.
How do I clean a wheel brush?
The best way to clean a wheel brush is to simply rinse it with water when you’re done and let it air-dry.
Does a wheel brush scratch my wheels?
A wheel brush won’t scratch your wheels as long as you rinse it frequently. It’s the gritty stuff that gets caught between the hairs that scratches your wheels, not the soft wheel brush hairs.
Can I use a tire brush for my wheels?
No, you should never use a tire brush to clean your wheels because it has coarse hairs that will scratch your wheels.
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