Why Purchase Wheel Cleaners?

The problem I have, I usually forget that I sealed my wheels, and end up spraying wheel cleaner stripping away protection. Done it so many times. How long does BF all metal sealant lasts on wheels in your test on a daily driver that gets eashed bi-weekly with 700 miles driven between washes?

 

When Ken was slanging it on the site, it was not bad......honestly. It was 75-80.00 shipped. Same price Phill had it at basically. When he is up and running Ill get it from him, it dilutes and will last me a long time. I bought 4 spray bottles from Phil at one point, diluted it 1:1 and still have over a gallon. Honestly, when you find a product that works this good, shipping becomes part of the "total price" of the product and people just need to get over it.

 

Wheels have to be in pretty bad shape for me to break out the wheel cleaners. I have four of them, and they all serve their purpose:

1) P21S: high end wheels that I have time to let the P21S dwell
2) CG Wheel Cleaner: a nice beater wheel cleaner that I can dillute 1 part wheel cleaner to 4 parts water
3) Sonax: for German wheels
4) Meg's Wheel Brightner: if I really need to get the big guns out.

 

Yeah you'll waste precious product putting wheel cleaner on wheels that are well maintained. People forget the value of how well a good shampoo and brush can take care of most dirt on wheels.

 

AG Wheel cleaner (clena wheels??) 5L for $34
AUTOGLYM Wheel Cleaner Alloy Plastic Brake Dust 5 Litre | eBay

AG Acid free wheel cleaner (CWC??) 5L for $44
AUTOGLYM Wheel Cleaner Acid Free Brake Dust 5 Litre TRA | eBay

Of course shipping "sort" of kills its but still great price! No Us Shipping tough :S

 

I've heard clean wheels is just crap, it's just a APC basically a copy of ZEP citrus, CWC is great but they don't ship to the US regardeless I'm going get some if I am ever in the UK

 

Not sure who told you Clean Wheels is crap but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Its actually a buffered acid and works very well. We've been carrying CWC for almost three years and will still carry it when the store reopens.

 

LOL........... so true, people want to be sexy though busting out the wheel cleaner on maintained wheels, and APC and shampoo is not, its too simple of a concept for some.

 

Don't know why I didn't get a email regarding recent posts in this thread. Anyways, you do realize the $35 price I am talking about is from a Autoglym Distributor and not a reseller (like Ken). Typically a reseller buys from a distributor at a wholesale price and the reseller charges MSRP.

I am new to this "detailing" so thought I'd throw the question up (reason I joined the forum was for advice, expert's knowledge, etc).

I have a price list that is from Spring 2010 or 2011 can't remember off the top of my head but there was a $5 increase in price from $30 to $35. $35 was a price I got quoted (general customer), dealers would get it for a few bucks less than me. And the main thing is $35 is a price that does not include shipping but I am local so I dont pay shipping. I would rather not post the price listed on a public forum because of the chances of conflicting with his potential customers and business. But if your are really interested shoot me a private message. Or if you're still in disbelieve I strongly suggest you call Autoglym Canada (Terry) or send him an email.

 

I like to spray the wheel cleaner on and then rinse off, which removes most of the brake dust. Then I spray the cleaner again and agitate with brushes dwelling in a bucket of soap and water. Using a wheel cleaner provides a ton more cleaning power so that I don't have to work so hard to get the wheels squeaky clean.

 

I try not to use the wheel cleaners on the vehicles I maintain weekly because I typically have them protected with sealant. On filthy wheels I have had luck with spraying the cleaner on the wheels dry (cool to the touch of course), I find that if the wheels are wet that the cleaner does not stick long enough to break down the brake dust.

-Kody-

 

I have issues with some brake cleaners, they quickly 'rust' the rotor surface and then when I back the car out of the driveway that light rust dusts onto my black wheels. Only happens with some wheel cleaners, I noticed it with Sonax mainly, now Im trying to clean my rims more regularly and just use soap and water so this doesnt happen.

 

Don't know if you've ever noticed, but just water will give that rust look to rotors also. Next time it rains just look at your rotors if the car has been sitting outside. Maybe Sonax does it worse, but that's why it's usually best to rinse the Sonax off ASAP.

 

I am used to Toyotas that don't have a brake dust problem, so getting a wheel cleaner for my own car would be a waste of money. I try to wash my car once a week and never have an issue getting the wheels 100% clean using regular soap and water. However, many cars, especially German cars or cars with sports brakes have dusting problems and regular soap and water doesn't touch that stuff.

 

its normal.

 

Rotors(mild steel) + any moisture = light surface rust.

 

Yeah I notice it but to a very small extent, I can back out of the driveway after a rain storm and I dont see any dust or where it looks like rust water pooled. Every time I use sonax I get what looks like watery rust drips. Certain wheel cleaners seem to amplify it.

 

well sonax is attacking iron deposits, and thier is iron dust all over the breaks, it could be coming from the back side of the rotors. i have this issue with CG citrus gel, unless you remove the wheel and wash down the under carriage and dry it i dont think you can avoid it.

 

That could also be because when you are driving, the wheel barrel is relatively unexposed to the rain, unless youre driving through puddles, and definitely not when the car is just sitting. Washing your wheels you are spraying tons of water at them along with whatever chemicals you use..

 

Three approaches -

1. Seal the wheels with 845, 476, something like that. I use prima wheel armour and love it. Then just basic shampoo and brush after each wash - works great for keeping wheels clean.
2. Spray with miscellaneous APC each time, agitate. Works fine.
3. Use wheel cleaner each time. Works fine too. Most expensive. Almost necessary for German wheels that have been neglected for 6+ months, or can be done with APC and many passes.

Once you have your wheels clean, I think the best and easiest way is to seal the wheels and then use soap / water as you wash the car. Twice a year or whenver you clay, break out the APC or wheel cleaner to get them pristine, then re-seal.