Best wheel brushes 2026
Keeping your rims clean is a chore at the best of times, but a dedicated wheel brush can make the task easier. We put 10 to the test
Even the most enthusiastic car cleaner will wince when washing wheels. You need to bend down to reach them, and they are inevitably the dirtiest part of the car, caked in baked-on brake dust and road grime. You’ll soon be wishing you had chosen a simpler alloy design than the multi-spoke option as you scrub at each corner, too.
That’s why you will want to get your hands on a dedicated wheel brush. It will make the task of washing your rims much easier and faster, because it slides easily into intricate parts of the wheel and even reaching the back of your alloys to leave them looking gleaming.
It will also save your best wash mitt or sponge from the dirt and harsh chemicals found on your alloy wheels. We’ve chosen 10 of the best at a variety of price points to see which is the champ at leaving your spokes sparkling.
How we tested
There are two types of brushes in this test: those using microfibre materials and others that rely on nylon bristles. We tried them on three different types of wheel: an alloy with narrow spokes, a steel with plastic wheel covers and an EV rim with a combination of plastic and alloy parts.
Used - available now
2024 SEAT
Ibiza
10,558 milesManualPetrol1.0L
Cash £14,049
2022 Volvo
XC60
38,489 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L
Cash £28,516
2023 Peugeot
208
12,731 milesManualPetrol1.2L
Cash £13,200
2024 Volkswagen
Golf R
19,712 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L
Cash £29,500We were looking for a brush that would clean effectively without damaging delicate finishes. Since most have a metal core, we wanted to see effective protection so there was no risk of scratching. We also looked for successful ways of cleaning around the bolts and centre cap, and comfortable handles. Finally, we looked at the value for money.
CarPlan Demon Micro Noodle Wheel Brush
- Rating: 5.0 stars
- Price: around £6.92
- Contact: mymotorworld.com
At the end of this week’s product test, it’s the CarPlan that we will be leaving in our wash bucket to use when we clean our own car’s wheels. That’s especially impressive given that it’s one of the cheapest brushes here.
The soft microfibre ‘noodles’ that cover three sides of the cleaning block absorb shampoo and water to be deposited on the wheels, but also seem to be efficient at picking up dirt. The final face is a mesh material which can be used to scrub at tougher deposits of brake dust. Both are soft enough to look after delicate finishes, though.
Simply Barrel Wheel Brush
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: around £7.75
- Contact: carsparesltd.com
If you prefer hardier and easier-to-clean bristles to microfibre, then the £7.75 Simply Barrel Brush is hard to beat. It has a 41cm-long brush with a comfortable rubberised handle, complete with a collar that covers the full width of the bristles to protect your hand and clothes from splatter as you clean. The brush also has a hook point to make it easy to hang up after use.
There’s good protection for the Simply Barrel Brush’s wire core, too, with a soft cap on the end to prevent damage to the car’s wheels during cleaning.
Turtle Wax Ultimate Crazy Plush Wooly Wheel Brush
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: around £12
- Contact: turtlewax.co.uk
The ‘plush’ part of the name refers to the Turtle Wax’s microfibre cleaning brush, which is made up of soft woolly cloth and slightly more abrasive threads, which combine to give good and effective cleaning action without risking any damage.
It sits on the end of the long plastic shaft, giving a total length of 41cm – more than enough to reach through spokes and clean the rearmost reaches of a wheel. The handle is soft and easy to grip, too, even when it’s covered in soapy water.
Carbon Collective 18-inch Wheel Brush
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Price: around £19.99
- Contact: carboncollective.com
As you would expect from what is the most expensive brush in the test, the Carbon Collective 18-incher is loaded with features. It’s long enough to reach the back of the biggest wheels with its foam- cored microfibre pad, while the soft handle is protected by a hand guard. It’s a joy to use, but isn’t worth the additional cost over similar brushes.
Car Gods Hygieia Barrel Wheel Brush - Large
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £9.99
- Contact: cargods.com
At first glance this big-barrel brush looks very similar to the Simply product, except for the bolder purple bristles. It cleans just as effectively, too, with the long handle and big brush making it easy to wash the wheel spokes and behind them easily.
But the Car Gods’ handle is smaller and less comfortable to hold than the Simply’s, and the smaller splatter guard is also less effective. It’s more expensive than the barrel brush, which claimed a recommendation in this test, too.
Halfords Alloy Wheel Brush
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £5.79
- Contact: halfords.com
Halfords has previously won this category with a larger brush, which has since been discontinued. That’s a shame because this smaller brush is less effective than its predecessor. It has a plastic-coated core wire to prevent scratching, but it’s not long enough to reach the back of wheels. The rubberised handle is comfortable to hold, though, and the grips mean it’s never slippery, even when wet.
DiGloss Kamitore Sponge
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £11.99
- Contact: soft99store.co.uk
The DiGloss has a foam core, which keeps surfaces safe and absorbs more soapy water than the bristled brushes in this test. The dimpled microfibre head removes dirt with no issues, but it needs regular rinsing, and cleaning it after use requires more care than its test rivals here.
The Kamitore Sponge’s small size means it won’t reach the back of wheels, and the tiny handle becomes slippery to hold when wet. This brush is best suited to intricate car wheel designs that have delicate finishes.
Simply Alloy Wheel Brush AWB001
- Rating: 3.0 stars
- Price: around £4.99
- Contact: jrpdistribution.co.uk
At a glance the Simply brush looks identical to the Halfords product, even using the same colouring for the bristles. But there are subtle differences between the two. The AWB001’s handle is still rubberised, but isn’t as ergonomically designed as its counterpart from Halfords.
More importantly for this test, the Simply appears to have fewer bristles overall, with the metal core clearly visible. That means it doesn’t clean as effectively and potentially increases the risk of scratching the surface of wheels.
CarPlan Demon Wheels Wheel Brush
- Rating: 3.0 stars
- Price: around £6.92
- Contact: mymotorworld.com
Although it looks similar to the Simply and Halfords products, this CarPlan brush uses yet another design of handle with a triangular shape, which is surprisingly comfortable to hold.
The CarPlan cleaning brush is also fractionally wider than the Simply and Halfords pair in this test, but it loses out to them on overall length. When cleaning wheels, we’d rather have the extra reach to wash the back of a rim. It’s also difficult to justify the Demon’s extra cost compared with its Simply, Halfords and Triplewax competitors.
Triplewax Diamond Alloy Wheel Brush
- Rating: 3.0 stars
- Price: around £3.95
- Contact: mymotorworld.com
Wheel brushes don’t get much cheaper than this one from Triplewax. It uses a single loop of wire and bristles where its similar-looking competitors have two. This means you don’t get as much cleaning power, although the benefit is that it’s easier to get between very narrow spokes.
The handle is hard plastic, however, and offers little comfort for users, but it does the job on smaller and less complex wheels at an unbeatable price.
Verdict
The CarPlan Demon Micro Noodle is what we’ll be using to wash our car’s wheels. It’s the easiest and most effective, thanks to its two different cleaning surfaces, and it’s great value for money, too.
If you prefer a traditional bristle, the low-priced Simply Barrel has the best features and can reach the back of your rims. Third place goes to the Turtle Wax Ultimate, which has a cosseting plush brush that worked well on all surfaces.
Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express? We’ll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too.
