Decided she deserved a clean today. Those who have the optional 19" wheels will understand my dread of having to clean the gully behind the spokes. I always wash each wheel separately with iron fall out spray, then various wheel brushes with bilt hamber wash. I've not found an effective way to clean the dust build up in the gully, so I've resorted to using my fingers!

The body wasn't too dirty so just bilt hamber auto foam, followed by a rinse then 2 bucket wash. Then a vacuum inside to finish.

I always like to see the blue pop in the pebble silver after a wash ( see pic with silver car in background). The blue also comes out on rainy days.

Edited 11 October, 202511 Oct by Novichok

More pics

Forgot to add the pebble silver vs silver pic!

Great photos 👍

Like to see someone who takes care and pride in their car.

I try and clean mine, once a week and agree with the wheels, that get a lot of brake dust. Just think that the brake pads are a compound that is less durable and generates more dust than previous Skoda/VW models i.e. Passat TDI 2013 model.

Thanks Mike, I do enjoy the process and taking my time to do it as well as I can! Got to keep her nice.

No idea regarding the pad material, i wouldn't mind so much if the wheel design was simpler!

Yes those wheels look like a nightmare to keep clean. The Octavia 4.5 RS rims are comparatively easy once you remove the aero covers

OK, I've solved the 19" wheel gully cleaning issue. It's not elegant, but it's effective! I've ended up getting a hydrochloric acid based cleaner. Please be careful using this stuff, it tarnishes metal! So I noticed my local hand car wash using something similar and thought I would try it. I wore eye protection and used a small spray bottle to spray my filthy wheels. I left for one minute and then jet washed off. Result, all black gullys now sparkling. Photos to follow...

Before

After

No spending an hour crouching down with buckets and brushes! Progress.

Products depend on dilution ratios as well as pH.

Neat HCL Acid is about pH1 and would melt your eyeballs. But diluted 99:1 (99 parts water) is pH1.4 so not much weaker as an acid but you could happily wash your face in it.

What you’ve found is that acids are much better at breaking bonds between dirt and wheel than either pH neutral or alkali wheel cleaners. Iron Fallout Remover uses ThioGlycolic Acid which, for the Iron particles in your paint, combine to create ferric thioglycolate which is (a) reddy-purple and (b) water soluble (easy to remove by jet wash).

What you’re finding washing wheels is picking up the iron coming off the brake discs, and the acid is a more effective cleaner.

So - depending on what acid is being used and its dilution ratio depends on how effective it is and how careful a consumer needs to be (as opposed to a commercial valet/detailer). Erring on the side of caution is definitely the better tack to take but no hazmat suits are needed.

Autoglym Clean Wheels has HCL in whereas Turtle Wax Wheel Cleaner has Sulfuric, Oxalic and Phosphoric Acids in. Sound terrible but are in small doses and consumer friendly. HCL will attack aluminium whereas other acids won’t so much. The one acid you want to watch out for is HydroFluoric. It’s a contact poison that gets into your skin and causes damage well after you think you’ve washed it off. Some cheaper manufacturers use it for waterspot removers but that’s generally it. That is the only acid that will attack chrome.

All factory finish alloys are clear coated though so won’t have any issue withe these products.

Long story short - acids are better at cleaning but more aggressive comparatively. You can also get wheel mitts which allow you to contact wash behind the spokes just to be sure.