Alloy wheel cleaner? GO!

[Gman30]

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to know what alloy wheel cleaner people are using?

I'm after a gentle one for regular use with no strong acid/alkaline's in so it won't strip my sealant too much.

My Pascara's are painted then clear coated as normal.

 

[xjay1337]

If they are sealed you should only ever need to use Shampoo and water.
On my mercs I didn't use any wheel cleaner whatsoever between June and taking them off in November. Unfortunately most wheel cleaners are quite strong even if they are non acidic or non caustic, so using a more gentle shampoo is a good idea.

[SkyJawa]

I use Meguiars Wheel Brightener.  You dilute 4:1 so it lasts ages and works very well indeed:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=1320&p=190214&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Wheel%20&%20Tyre%20Care&gclid=CJLpiJjs7rsCFaoEwwodRhcATw

[xjay1337]

That is a good product but is acid based so not LSP safe.

[E30Dom]

Iron-X Everytime... but once sealed just shampoo/water... should last a year or so...

Applied to old brake dust covered wheels...

Rinse with water...

[GTI-Ross]

Iron X isnt a wheel cleaner  ,  it removes iron and thats it.

Bilberry wheel cleaner for me.

[xjay1337]

Iron X isnt a wheel cleaner  ,  it removes iron and thats it.

Exactly! 

[stealthwolf]

As per xjay, I just snowfoam the wheels along with the car for a weekly wash. If they need scrubbing, then I'll use bilberry (not acidic but it is alkali IIRC) and some brushes. Iron-X and Tardis help with iron deposits and tar spots respectively, and I'd use them along with claybar when prepping the wheels for summer/winter, prior to LSP.

[Gman30]

Thanks for the advise guys..

My wheels are sealed with fk1000p every so often after a deep clean and usually washed with shampoo but what with all this bad weather we're experiencing Im having too leave it longer between washes.

I've heard the citrus based cleaners are a good option... A lil extra bite aand sealant friendly!?


Anyone tryed/currently using a citrus cleaner on their wheels regularly...?

[xjay1337]

A citrus cleaner like what...?
There's nothing fancy about citrus cleaners. You should still find even if you leave the wheels for a few weeks that you would be OK with just the normal shampoo you use on the car.
If you need a bit more "bite" then I would break out a weak dilution of a ph neutral wheel cleaner for this I would recommend Chemical Guys Diablo this is actually a very good wheel cleaner and often overlooked.

[Gman30]

A citrus cleaner like what...?
There's nothing fancy about citrus cleaners. You should still find even if you leave the wheels for a few weeks that you would be OK with just the normal shampoo you use on the car.
If you need a bit more "bite" then I would break out a weak dilution of a ph neutral wheel cleaner for this I would recommend Chemical Guys Diablo this is actually a very good wheel cleaner and often overlooked.

Something like these for example: Auto Finesse Citrus Power or Valet Pro Citrus Pre wash... 

I find some small signs of dirt sticking to the wheels though, so I thought a lil extra bite might lift it of easier so less agitation required.

Thanks for the tip i.e the Diablo I'll check it out.

[xjay1337]

Citrus Power is very very expensive per wash (works out about £3.50 per wash if you need to spray around your whole car) and more of a grim remover but I'm sure it would work OK on wheels.
VP Citrus Pre wash is good but ultimately these are not PH neutral I BELIEVE and VP pre wash can effect LSP if used at a strong dilution ratio.

What shampoo are you using out of interest this could play a part.

[Gman30]

Citrus Power is very very expensive per wash (works out about £3.50 per wash if you need to spray around your whole car) and more of a grim remover but I'm sure it would work OK on wheels.
VP Citrus Pre wash is good but ultimately these are not PH neutral I BELIEVE and VP pre wash can effect LSP if used at a strong dilution ratio.

What shampoo are you using out of interest this could play a part.

Yea, to be fair I hadn't thought that I guess there quite mild..

Dodo Juice green one and purple one! I forget there silly names..! I try to pre wash with Magifoam 75% of the time which helps but I can't always get to use it so it's mainly then I'd use it.

Would also come in handy for the odd bit of stubborn grime around the car.

 

[xjay1337]

Use VP Citrus I think 1:10 is a wax safe ratio from memory. Been ages since I used it and I didn't exactly use it alot lol
That's good in a pump sprayer or something
Magifoam is pretty good, but I would recommend making the switch to bilt hamber autofoam which is a more powerful cleaner. it's still LSP safe however as with VP Citrus wash its dependant on it's dilution ratio, It needs a 4-10% PIR (panel impact ratio, that's the % of product actually hitting the surface) to be effective and yet safe to LSP.

Not sure what shampoo you're on about to be honest :)
You could try bumping up by either using MORE shampoo or trying some other ones. I use a shampoo I get from a local detailing buddy of mine which is his own brand as he sells it to his customers to help them protect their paint in the future. I just like supporting his business as he's a good lad so buy his shampoo.

What you could try is Autoglym BSC does clean very well only problem is it doesn't foam up very much.
I'd probably use the wheel cleaner in the tough to clean areas where necessary really. But I've done what I don't really like doing getting into a "what products to use" scenario lol.

In the future if you are not able to regularly wash your car/wheels then I'd probably be looking into ceramic/nano or si02 coatings such as Cquartz which should give you a bit more "ease of cleaning" than your regular paste wax/sealant. 

[Eccie]

My wheels are sealed, but over the winter i use a weak mix of Espuma Revolution wheel cleaner to help shift the crap because i don't hand wash the cars so much - i tend to just snow foam them and power wash them