Wheel Cleaners vs Soap

[DFB5.0]

I'm a big advocate of having the right tool, or product, for every job. When I "clean" the wheels on my cars, I'm generally just washing off some light brake dust.

When protected and regularly cleaned, brake dust and road grime does not have the chance to build up and bake onto the surface. In this case, I always recommend just using regular car soap for cleaning. The majority of the dirt shown above generally washes off with a pressure rinse, the remaining grime is then taken care of with soap.

There are a few benefits to sticking with soap over a wheel cleaner. Firstly, its easier on the hands and negates the need for wearing gloves. The smell of most wheel cleaners are at best unpleasant, at worst putrid. Breathing in chemical vapor is also a real risk too.

I generally use what ever soap is in my foam cannon at the time, adding a good slug to my wheel bucket also.

Now, this is where wheel cleaners come into the picture........

This VW Crafter van had baked on brake dust from many hard working miles. This is a situation where the power of a wheel cleaner is most certainly required. Today I used CarPro IronX, which is a iron removing wheel and surface cleaner. The wheels had the product sprayed on dry so as to not dilute, which immediately turned purple. I then hosed the product off, re-applied and scrubbed with a brush before a final rinse.

I still have the smell of that stuff up my nose but at least the wheels are rid of that horrible black mess.

The point of this post is that you don't always need to grab a harsh chemical to clean your wheels. For extremely dirty wheels, a wheel cleaner is an important tool to have. For well maintained rims, a gentle soap will be more than capable and safer to use for you and your car.

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[kilobravo]

Excellent post, D, as always and I, like you, wash frequently so thanks to your advice, I almost never use wheel cleaner on the 500.

 

[TasGT]

Very good post

 

[DFB5.0]

Excellent post, D, as always and I, like you, wash frequently so thanks to your advice, I almost never use wheel cleaner on the 500.

I can't remember, but are your wheels ceramic coated? That certainly helps the situation.

Adding to my original post, I do occasionally use an iron removing wheel cleaner to deep clean them, say every 4-6 months. When I do, the purple reaction is very minimal, confirming the regular maintenance prevents build up.

 

[kilobravo]

Yes, mine are coated D, the OEM CF wheels and there is no question that a coating is your best friend to help keep wheels clean. Nearly a hundred percent of the dust comes off with the PW pre-rinse when coated while without a coating, MAYBE fifty percent can be rinsed off. WELL worth the time and expense.

I also pre-coated the Signature wheels I purchased. Unfortunately, while the rear tires were already in stock at Tire Rack, the fronts were BO'd. Been waiting a couple three months now with my poor wheels stacked in boxes in the garage. Hopefully soon.

And I agree, even when I DO use dedicated chemicals on the wheels, there is very little red/purple no matter the brand which affirms your belief that regular foam soap is more than good enough ninety-five percent of the time.

 

[Bikeman315]

Thank you for another excellent post. So does this advise also pertain to tires? I use a SI02 tire dressing and my tires show almost no browning when being cleaned.

 

[DFB5.0]

Thank you for another excellent post. So does this advise also pertain to tires? I use a SI02 tire dressing and my tires show almost no browning when being cleaned.

I only use a tire cleaner and scrub my tires every few washes for a couple of reasons -
-The pressure rinse, then foaming with soap seems to keep them it decent condition.
-To strip the tires bare in preparation for a new (different) dressing.

That advice would likely be different if you were daily driving or using your car more regularly than me. Tire dressings also tend to attract dust and road grime. My daily driver Ranger for instance needs tire cleaning every second wash.

In terms of products, my go to is undiluted P&S Brake Buster. I like how this product can do both wheels and tires, I also use it to clean extremely dirty wheel wells.

In these two pics, you will notice very minimal "browning" owing to my regular washing.

These tires on the other hand had never been cleaned..........

With Brake Buster just sprayed on -

After agitation -

I would also recommend Shine Supply Wise Guy, this is a very strong alkaline wheel and tire product for heavy duty cleaning. I actually don't use this on wheels for that reason.

Tire cleaning is one of those "why bother" type of detailing tasks, but trust me, a completely clean tire then accepts your chosen dressing much better, both in application and look.

 

[Bikeman315]

Thank you D. I switched to Gyeon tire cleaner and SiO2 sealant. The sealant lasts for quite some time. I get almost no browning when I do clean them.

 

[DFB5.0]

Thank you D. I switched to Gyeon tire cleaner and SiO2 sealant. The sealant lasts for quite some time. I get almost no browning when I do clean them.

I assume you mean these two..........

The Q2 Tire really does seem to seal up the tire and prevent browning, it's solvent base means it lasts longer than water based dressings. I found I really only had to re-apply Q2 Tire every few months.

I really liked the semi-gloss appearance Q2 delivered. I would recommend being less generous with this product and remember to do a final wipe after it has cured to remove any excess. I had a lot of problems with slinging until I learnt this.

This pic from earlier is actually sporting Q2..........

 

[young at heart]

What about S100 general purpose motorcycle cleaner? I used it for many years not only on my dirt bikes after a long hare scrambles but also on all my Harleys. I used it on every inch of the Harleys including clear coat paint, chrome and all kinds of wheels. Never had the first problem of any kind. It’s a lazy man’s dream: spray it on, hose it off and you’re done. I’ve been meaning to get some and try it on my black package wheels. Hard to imagine it wouldn’t work great.

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