Clay, wheel brush, and cleaners.

I have really only used the OTC clay (which will never hapen again), CM Blue, and Autowerks Exclusive Medium Grade. I have found that I like Kens medium clay because it's not super pricey. To keep costs low, which clay would you all recommend?

When it comes to wheel cleaners, I have only used Zep 4:1 and Megs Wheel Brightner at 4:1. Is there another product out there that I can clean wheels, tires, and wheel wells with thats not uber expensive?

When it comes to brushes for wheels, barrels (which I admit I have never cleaned because I dont have a brush to reach), and wheel wells, what brush, or combination/assortment of brushes are you all using? I am using the cheap long handled brushed from Ikea and a cheap short handle brush from Wal Mart for these purposes. Again, the idea here is to keep cost as low as possible.

I noticed Ken @ AE is selling his own version of a wheel brush:
Autowerkes Exclusive :: Exclusive Spoke Brush :: 2008 :: Shop

Has anyone used the above brush? Would I be better off just picking up the RG XL for the wheels/barrels?
Autowerkes Exclusive :: Raceglaze XL Wheel Brush :: 2008 :: Shop

It looks like Ken is currently out of it so that sucks! Does anyone used a dedicated wheel well brush such as the one Ken is selling?
Autowerkes Exclusive :: Exclusive Tire & Inner Fender Brush :: 2008 :: Shop

I really need to get this process down so I can cut down on time and also enjoy using these fine products on my Mustang. I am tired of not having a solid, non-harmful APC to use on my wheels and tires while cleaning the Mustang.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Sean

 

Get Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner for rims and tires, Optimum Power Clean for safe APC, and the Raceglaze XL Brush cant be beat for wheels. Any brush that fits between your tire and into the wheel well is fine for that use.

 

Swissvax wheel brushes, and Woolies works for me!

 

You can't go wrong with the Exclusive APC from Autowerkes Exclusive (should be available soon) Just got my sample today and the stuff is awesome. It's like magic and is safe on pretty much all surfaces. Good for wheels, wheel wells and tires as far as I know judging by the results Ken has got with it using proper dilutions. And for brushes I like using both the Swissvax and Raceglaze ones.

 

For clearcoated wheels and tires I use Mean Green for the basic cleaner. It is cheap - $5 a gallon at our local dollar store. it takes off must of the crud. Mean Green has been my primary tire cleaner for years. Then for crusty brake dust I use Sonax. I found Sonax will dissolve stuff that Meguiars, Eagle-1, p21s, etc. would not touch. So far I have not seen any damage to the clearcoat. Naptha (Lighter Fluid) is the best solvent that I have found for tar and the adhesive for tapeweights. WD40 works on some adhesives, but naptha gets almost all of them off.

Once the wheels are clean I give them a couple coats of Zaino Clearcoat Polish to make them easier to keep clean.

 

I have two Mercedes and as you can imagine the brake dust is terrible. I wash my DD every weekend, and about 70% of the wash time is spent on the wheels. I really need a better solution.

I use a Daytona Speed master brush for cleaning behind the face of my wheels, an Adam's Lug Nut Brush for the lugs and the small crevices, and a boar's hair brush for the face of the wheel and cleaning the tire itself.

The Daytona Speed Master is a love/hate relationship with me. I love the results and how well it cleans all the tiny crevices behind the face of the wheel. But I also hate everything about its design. The sprayback when you pull the brush out is so terrible that I almost have to wear goggles. After the handle gets wet, it becomes almost impossible to grip and twist. You are constantly wiping down its handle so you don't strain your hand trying to grip it. Imagine a glass cylinder covered with soapy water. I tried wrapping the handle with tennis racquet grip tape, but that doesn't last very long, so I usually have to wrap it around with a small MF towel while I use it.

I've been looking for a better solution and just bought Adam's TruboStick that attaches to my cordless drill. I must say it really cuts down on the time and effort compared to the Daytona brush. You still need a brush of some sort that can bend and get behind the spokes though. The TurboStick doesn't bend and can only clean your barrel face and (depending on your wheel design) some of the area behind each spoke. It basically cuts down the time you spend holding a brush to about 20%. I am about to try CG's Racoon brush that just came out. It looks like a similar design but they say their handle is non-slip! That's enough for me to try it.

As for chemicals, I keep going back to Adam's Green Wheel Cleaner for the wheel. For the tires, I use Adam's APC. I tried Sonax twice and I must be doing something wrong because it just didn't do what the videos have shown. Perhaps it requires a pressure washer?

 

DaytonaJae - You may want to look at the Sonax Contest thread down in the Manufacturers section of the forum. Maybe you can see what you did different. There are about six pages of Sonax wheel cleaning. I used an autocross wheel that had been cleaned with Mean Green and then p21s. The U.S. version of p21s does not do much more than the Mean Green. I bought the Sonax to get the rest of the crud off. My post is about half way down page 6. Click on the thumbs to enlarge.

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/sonax/29731-detailers-domain-sonax-full-effect-contest-6.htm

 

Thanks for the info and the link.

Forgive me for asking this, but I am really wanting to understand how the Sonax Full Effect is supposed to work. I am baffled both times I tried it.

The first time I bought Sonax I sprayed it on my wheel, let it sit until everything was dark red just like all the videos and tutorials showed. I then rinsed it off using a garden hose and a firehose nozzle. This resulted in less brake dust but still about 50% of it was still on the wheel.

I went back to Adam's Green Wheel Cleaner with my brushes to finish them up.

A few months later, after reading even more reviews and watching more videos on Sonax, I ordered another bottle again, and tried it once more, with the exact same results.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the whole point of using Sonax to clean your wheels is so that you don't have to pick up a brush. Just spray on, wait to turn red, and hose off, right?

What am I doing wrong here? Do I need a pressure washer with the Sonax in order to get the same results as everyone else? Or do you actually need to agitate it?

The reason I am baffled at this is because the instant that I have to pick up a brush to get a wheel clean is the instant the Sonax's higher price becomes an issue to me. Every wheel cleaner I have tried gets my wheels perfectly clean, if I use wheel brushes and agitate the brake dust off. I have used Adam's, P21s, numerous APCs, even one time with Simple Green, a few times with Dawn, and even windshield cleaner fluid in a bucket (hey, I was desperate that time) and all of them, after some brush work, get my wheels perfectly clean.

Now granted, some chemicals dissolve the brake dust faster and as a result, require less brush work, and others are gentler on your painted wheel, buy my point is, if I use a brush, all my wheels will be perfectly clean.

I spend a lot of time and effort keeping my brake dust off my wheels every weekend, and am always on the lookout for ways to decrease the time spent. So naturally, I wanted to try the Sonax. But if I have to use the same amount of effort by picking up a brush and agitating each wheel to get them perfectly clean, what's the difference between the Sonax and the Adam's, except for the Sonax costing about 3x as much?

I'm not attacking those who use Sonax or anything, I am trying to understand what I am doing wrong when using Sonax, or what makes Sonax so special if I have to use the same amount of effort to get the same results.

 

Sonax should go on a dry wheel not a wet one.

 

I have not found any cleaner that is a true spray and rinse cleaner. I wash the car a couple times a month so normally I just spray the tires with Mean Green and brush the tires. Then I use a wash mitt on the wheel. Tire wash bucket usually has Joy or Dawn in it. The Sonax is for the crusty stuff that accumulates at the corners of the spokes. I might not use Sonax with every car wash.