Having the Right Tools

i'll post up a pic of mine later on today... i got the first one from ken and have used it on a lot of cars!!! still holding up pretty well

 

Here are some pics of all the brushes I have in my collection:

First up from left to right are: Black Magic Brush bent to 90 degrees, Griots Wheel Scrub which is great for tight areas but is a lot of work to clean really deep barrels because the scrub part is so short, the famous Swissvax wheel brush, and the short handle Home Depot wheel brush which also does great on door jambs, engines and wheel faces that don't have a very intricate design.



Next up are the following from top to bottom: OrngeZ wheel cleaner (the guys that have been here a while will remember this one). OrngeZ is a member here that found these paintball gun barrel cleaners worked great for cleaning wheels. It works really good on wheels with spokes very close together but doesn't get into tight areas behind calipers very well. You don't get any back splatter with these though. Next is a lug nut brush from Autozone, Stiff bristle Home Depot Tire brush, Long handle Home Depot wheel brush that I use soley for wheel wells. The long handle and soft bristles let it get into virtually every wheel well, and finally off to the side is the green foam finger pocket. I've had about 3 of these for a couple of years and they have held up quite well.



Next is the EZ Detail Brush and an Autozone knockoff of the EZ. The AZ one will get behind really tight calipers but doesn't hold up at all. You might get 10 uses out of it maybe before it breaks, of course its only like $6 but it is very flimsy.



And finally you see the World's best wheel brush the Raceglaze brush from Autowerkes.

 

sweet, thanks for the pics!

 

what would you say makes the raceglaze ones the best?

i basically have tried everything but that one. love the lug nut one!

 

Nice wheel cleaning set up JL.

 

Dang why didn't I think of using that paintball barrel cleaner. I threw those away since they're terrible for their intended use...sigh...


But does anyone know any deals for a EZ brush or Raceglaze? High shipping rates really kill the deals for me.

 

Use caution when using Wheel Brightner (WB) Even a pH 5.0 acid with a dilution rate of 4:1 (as recommended by Meguiar's for their Wheel Brightener Ammonium bifluoride SiO2 (ABF) based cleaner results in a pH 4.5 solution.

One of the most common, and potentially dangerous, wheel cleaners; its effectiveness removing brake dust and difficult contaminants from chrome wheels is undisputed, but some chemists say ABF presents an unjustifiable and potentially lethal risk to carwash operators and their employees.

Industry experts say that the dangers of ABF are clearly outlined on the chemical's Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), and many consciously ignore the obvious risks because ABF is cost effective and reliable.

 

That report came out in 2001 - I read it on the Car Wash board. Has anybody done any follow up? Looked at the amount of AB in Wheel Brightner? And what was the range-sample size for the original report - that was not mentioned. Personally, I play it safe with stuff - now a lot more than back in the 70's, but does anyone believe Megs would sell anything that could turn around and bite them?

BTW - there is NOT a shread of evidence that DDT was ever harmful to anything but bugs,and it could save hundreds of thousands from malaria every year.

 

I agree with you 100%. If this thing had such adverse effects and as sue happy as our society has become, someone would have already hit Megs with a class action lawsuit and WB would no longer be in production.

 

That's like picking one company out of many who use harsh acidic based components in their wheel cleaners. Acid is still used among many detailers and car washes, so ultimately the burden really rests on the user. Yes WB might be extremely harsh to use, but if you know the dilution rates and dwell times it wont harm anything unless used inappropriately.

 

I have and use WB as well as Car Brite wheel acid. I remember reading in a post Jon had done (TOGWT) saying that these acids do NOT wash away with water. I always follow up the acid with an application of APC. Does anyone else do that?

 

They DO wash away with water. That's why when you get an acid on you they tell you to rinse thorougly with water. They don't tell you to apply an APC. You put enough water on an amount of acid and you make its percentage of acid practically non existent. Using an APC to rinse with afterwards just makes the chance of leaving any thing behind even less. Not a bad practice at all but thoroughly rinsing with water will do the job.

 

Agreed, the right tools make the world of difference. I've been enjoying the EZ brush as well. Haven't had any issues with it yet. Going to pick up the mini brush next time I place an order.