Wheel cleaner that really works great !

[gerryvz]

Recently on a Griot's Garage order, I tacked on a 35-oz bottle of their new Heavy-Duty Wheel Cleaner. I was sort of skeptical because their green "Wheel Cleaner" works fine for wheels that are not that dirty (brake dust, etc.) but really doesn't work that well for wheels that are crusted with brake dust.

I finally tried it tonight and -- wow, I am really blown away by this product. It's not often that I am this impressed with how well a product works.

Basically you wet your wheel down, spray it on, let it sit for about 5 minutes, scrub it with a wheel brush or other wheel cleaning implement, and then rinse. I did it two times for good measure. Wow, what a difference !! I ended up doing it on my wife's E320 wagon as well as my 560SEC and it worked stunningly. Cleanest I've ever seen the wheels before.

When the wheel cleaner works, it turns sort of a purplish/wine color as it sets to work and runs down onto the ground. That way you know that it's working. Of course the more brake dust, the heavier the concentration of the purplish liquid. Front wheels are always dirtier than the rears.

Bottom line is that I'm REALLY glad I got this product as I've now found a new and almost effortless way to get the wheels sparking clean. Here is a link to the product and also a video on their site.

Cheers,
Gerry

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/car+care/wheels+&+tires/wheel+tire+cleaners/heavy-duty+wheel+cleaner+35+ounces.do

How-To Wash

 

[2phast]

I have never used any wheel specific type of cleaner, just never seen the need for a dedicated product.

When I wash my car, I use the same soap on the wheels as is used on the body. Of course I have a seperate microfiber mitt just for the wheels.

For wheel touch ups, I use Griots Spray On Car Wash (or the Quick detailer) and I have dedicated microfiber towels just for this purpose.

Good to hear though that their wheel cleaner is good.

 

[036]

If brakes are original you dont need anything but warm water once a week

 

[gerryvz]

I have never used any wheel specific type of cleaner, just never seen the need for a dedicated product.

When I wash my car, I use the same soap on the wheels as is used on the body. Of course I have a seperate microfiber mitt just for the wheels.

For wheel touch ups, I use Griots Spray On Car Wash (or the Quick detailer) and I have dedicated microfiber towels just for this purpose.

Good to hear though that their wheel cleaner is good.

Sometimes it's nice to have something with a little more cleaning power than just car wash soap and hot water. I am the first to admit that I am lazy about keeping my wheels clean, so I often let a lot of brake dust build up on them. Furthermore, it's a pain for my AMG and Lorinser wheels to get the areas inside of the "script" (logos) super clean. This wheel cleaner is pH balanced (won't harm clear coat and paint) and really cuts through the crud, particularly when you let it sit and then agitate it with a brush or mitt with some water.

I have a lot of the green stuff and I'll use it for "touch-ups" (like you use the Speed Shine/Spray-On Wax) but once it's gone I'm going to exclusively for this new Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[szvook]

No true wheel cleaners for me, although Mothers has a cleaning product for HRE wheels which requires a gentle approach for painted wheels and other coatings - rinse it off before the product dries on the wheel. I just use soap (same soap for car and wheels – Eagle One) and elbow grease and although it takes me longer to wash/polish just the wheels compared to the car, I use it as car therapy, turn up the beats and take my time with each wheel. I also use compressed air to dry off my wheels to minimize contact.

My first line of defense for cleaner wheels (especially with polished aluminum barrels, the centers are brushed aluminum and clear-coated) was to switch to ceramic brake pads which made a huge difference. Once I got the larger Silver Arrow brakes, the brake dust was even less due to the calipers sitting further away from the center and generating less heat.

I only use sponges to wash my wheels with lots of soap and rinse frequently in-between. Polishing the barrels is the only time where I use a wheel cleaning product and I do use Mothers aluminum polish cause I get it free.

 

[mikeym]

Any recommendations to remove brake dust?

As part of changing brake lines, I took the wheels off and decided to wash them. After some dish washing liquid and elbow grease, pretty good results but some brake dust is still on. Would like to fully clean them and then wax them. Spray 9 didn't make much difference.

One of the wheels is trashed, so, no issues is throwing something heavy duty at it, so, open to all suggestions.

 

[vatc5637]

Sonax or Gyeon wheel cleaner.

 

[Stegel]

If you want to avoid highly acidic cleaners (and I think everyone should!) one of the chellating cleaners is the way to go - sprays on clear, turns purple in a few minutes as it lifts the iron particles, then scrub off. Repeat for persistent areas of soiling. In the UK we have Bilt Hamber Autowheel but if that’s not available in the USA I think Meguirs make a similar product. (they're also great stuff for removing rust stains when my daughters leave a hair clip in the shower and it rusts and stains the tray!).

 

[Ntrepid]

Sonax Full Effect https://www.amazon.com/Sonax-230200-755-Wheel-Cleaner-Effect/dp/B003UT3S6Q


Robert

 

[ace10]

I've had good success with Griot's Heavy Duty. And I'm not one to frequently clean my wheels, so by the time I get to it, they're typically pretty nasty.

 

[btravis77]

Guys,

I've been happily using P21S gel for a few years- but it's quite expensive. What other alternatives are there that ppl like?

 

[TerryA]

All I’ve ever used is McGuire’s “Crystal Auto Shampoo” and their “Ultimate Detailer” mostly the detailer since I hardly ever wash my car.

I use the same microfiber cloth for only the rims until it gets to dirty and then toss it.

Works for me

 

[gsxr]

Anyone know the difference between Sonax Full Effect ($16) and Plus ($30) to justify twice the price?

https://www.amazon.com/Sonax-230200-755-Wheel-Cleaner-Effect/dp/B003UT3S6Q

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KS5JJ4A/

 

[mayurhuria]

Anyone know the difference between Sonax Full Effect ($16) and Plus ($30) to justify twice the price?

https://www.amazon.com/Sonax-230200-755-Wheel-Cleaner-Effect/dp/B003UT3S6Q

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KS5JJ4A/

As per their website The plus is 30% stronger but both are acid free.




Being a detailer myself, I keep one acid free and one acidic wheel cleaner in my go to products. Depending on wheels I have to tackle.
If some are good on maintaining their wheels like 2 weekly or even monthly and wheels are in good condition already then Sonax full or (my personal favourite and cheap enough) Bilberry Wheel Cleaner is the way to go.
Ultimate solution and my recommendation will be "Gtechnique C5" wheel ceramic coating is the way to go. Post that you won't be needing any dedicated wheel cleaner. Just regular car shampoo. The coating is said to work good enough against brake dust from dedicated track pads(which we know how much they produce dust).

 

[a777fan]

Anyone know the difference between Sonax Full Effect ($16) and Plus ($30) to justify twice the price?

https://www.amazon.com/Sonax-230200-755-Wheel-Cleaner-Effect/dp/B003UT3S6Q

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KS5JJ4A/

Oh yes. The 'Full Effect' is crap. The Plus is amazing.

I haven't comparison shopped at the Plus price point though, so I am unsure if the same effectiveness can be found from another manufacturer for cheaper...

 

[maw1124]

I've had good success with Griot's Heavy Duty. And I'm not one to frequently clean my wheels, so by the time I get to it, they're typically pretty nasty.

+1 on Griot’s Garage… smells decent too so you don’t feel like you need to wash your eyes out to use it… spray on, let it turn purple, spray off. EZ peezy.

maw

 

[Whitemamba23]

My recommendation is to clean up the wheels perfectly and apply a ceramic coating to the entire wheel including the barrel, back of the face and front of the face in every crevice. Once you’ve applied that coating, cleaning the wheel becomes so much easier. All the brake dust falls off with a little bit of cleaner and water.

 

[Matt-R20]

My recommendation is to clean up the wheels perfectly and apply a ceramic coating to the entire wheel including the barrel, back of the face and front of the face in every crevice. Once you’ve applied that coating, cleaning the wheel becomes so much easier. All the brake dust falls off with a little bit of cleaner and water.

+1 This is the trick, ceramic. For a cleaner, I prefer P&S Brake Buster.

 

[gsxr]

Follow-up question: Is there a particular ceramic coating recommended for wheels, or will any old ceramic stuff work cromulently well?

 

[maw1124]

I annually use wheel polish and regularly use spray on wax but wondered whether it mattered. I don’t worry about the barrels and don’t know whether I’d actually ceramic coat them but if it works then maybe the product @JC220 recently suggested might be on deck. You know, cost / benefit.

maw

 

[gsxr]

I've been washing / waxing for years, including the barrels. Once you clean the thick layer of black dust off the barrel & inside face, it is not too difficult to keep clean. But the first time may take hours of scrubbing. And wax doesn't seem to help much. It would be an interesting experiment to clean a wheel and coat 1/2 with ceramic and either leave the other half untreated, or use generic wax. Then see if there's a visible difference after months of driving, and/or when they are next washed. I've done the 50/50 thing with wax but never really saw a difference.

 

[Matt-R20]

I use Gyeon Q2 wheel coating. I believe you can use paint coatings as well, the wheel coatings are for higher heat and can also be applied to painted brake calipers. Honestly if you are going to ceramic coat something, wheels are the first thing I start with, especially if the wheel is intricate. Also, coatings work really well on matte wheels as they tend to stain more easily. From a cost perspective, its not more cost to do the barrels, as one bottle is usually enough for a couple sets of wheels and the stuff goes bad once you open it. Coated barrels mean you have less stuff sticking to them, but it might be location dependent. Certainly here in SoCal, dust is the issue, we don’t have much wet. One last point, don’t coat wheels prior to tire install or wheel weights won’t stick, you do it after your mount and balance.

 

[8899]

+1 This is the trick, ceramic. For a cleaner, I prefer P&S Brake Buster.

Yes...P&S Brake Buster is a great wheel cleaner...I always have some in my garage.

 

[Whitemamba23]

Follow-up question: Is there a particular ceramic coating recommended for wheels, or will any old ceramic stuff work cromulently well?

These days there are so many ceramic coating options. They’re all more or less the same. I use Ceramic Pro wheel & caliper.

Ceramic > wax alll day.

 

[maw1124]

It’s just gotta be a spray on, rinse off for me. I’m not going back to my car reconditioning days, and mine don’t get dirty enough to think or work too hard at it. Fortunately for me, materials science is catching up with my preferences. Which of course I wouldn’t have known if not for the good folks here.

maw

 

[mayurhuria]

Follow-up question: Is there a particular ceramic coating recommended for wheels, or will any old ceramic stuff work cromulently well?

Go for "Gtechniq C5" eyes closed.
Its my favourite. Its cheap and very effective to even brake dust from dedicated track pads use.
It can be also used on callipers etc. Just youtube and you will find tons of videos all praising about product.

PS:- once you ceramic coat the wheels, you need not/should not use dedicated wheel cleaner as it will lessen the life of coating. Just the shampoo will be enough.