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I've got some obstinate brake dust in the recesses of the alloy wheels on my Avensis. I don't normally use wheel cleaner because the stuff I had previously was acid based. Wonder wheels it was called, and it softened the laquer and made the wheels more prone to corrosion. Can anyone recommend a good cleaner that is kind to wheels? Or a method of cleaning that doesn't need chemicals?
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I've used Wonder Wheels for years without problems. I don't leave it on long though, doing one wheel at a time, and I rinse it off very well. And I don't use it every time, just when needed.
The only alloy wheels I've had with a lacquer/corrosion problem were on aftermarket wheels.
Stu might know of something better. I'll grant it's not very nice stuff, I'm sure it accounts for a couple of holes in the trousers.
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I've always found the Autoglym wheel cleaner good (Clean Wheels ?), i don't use it every time i clean the car & like Manatee i do one wheel at a time so it isn't left on for too long.
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Very hot soapy water is worth a try.
It works much better than cold.
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If they're ultra tough, I doubt you'll find stronger than this stuff unless you also want to melt the wheels :-)
www.i4detailing.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ei4detailing%2eco%2euk%2f&WD=iron&PN=Iron_X_1%2ehtml%23a1_21IronX1L#a1_21IronX1L
Iron X, it stinks to high heaven but it's ultra effective.
For less knock-yer-socks off but still strong, bilberry diluted ~4:1 sprayed and worked immediately with a brush will do 90% of tough jobs.
EDIT: should have said, once it's off might be worth applying 2 coats of a strong sealant, one of the crystallising ones seems better for wheels, like gtechniq or nanolex. Could use a normal sealant though I suppose and they'll still be effective for a month or 2 (assuming washing every so often)
Last edited by: Skoda on Mon 2 May 11 at 12:47
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I keep a strong mix of commercial traffic film remover (truck wash chemical) in a spray bottle, a squirt of that and some swift agitation shifts anything....surprisingly cheap to buy the concentrate from truck parts factors.
Don't use it on my own wheels because i wash them properly weekly so the dirt never gets ingrained, but i usually need it when the kids call over with their neglected transports.
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>> a strong mix of commercial traffic film remover (truck wash chemical) in a spray bottle, a squirt of that
>> and some swift agitation shifts anything....surprisingly cheap to buy the concentrate from truck parts factors
I used to use Mr Muscle spray-on oven cleaner, which is the same thing (sodium hydroxide 5% solution). It removes 100,000-mile ingrained brake dust pretty well and doesn't seem to cause any harm to the lacquer finish, apart from removing the wax polish.
I used to use my trigger bottle of TFR solution for dissolving squashed flies on the windscreen :)
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>> I used to use my trigger bottle of TFR solution for dissolving squashed flies on
>> the windscreen :)
>>
I don't think any other cleaning product leaves the screen quite as back-to-new clean, as you say deep inbedded flies just float away.
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>> EDIT: should have said, once it's off might be worth applying 2 coats of a
>> strong sealant, one of the crystallising ones seems better for wheels, like gtechniq or nanolex.
>> Could use a normal sealant though I suppose and they'll still be effective for a
>> month or 2 (assuming washing every so often)
I'm just going to buy some of this stuff and use it on the wheels as well once they're clean
www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/carlack-68-nano-systematic-care-300ml-/prod_380.html
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It's the pitting that ancient brake dust leaves behind that got me thinking about the sealant side of things -- the brake dust eats the lacquer (and paint in some cases) and the pitting swallows new brake dust first and is hard to remove through the wheel spokes with just a brush without taking the wheels off.
I ended up getting the BM's alloys refurbed but i found sealant stopped the brake dust sticking in the pitted bits meantime.
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>> www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/carlack-68-nano-systematic-care-300ml-/prod_380.html
>>
I put this on after claying the whole car. I went through the process a panel at a time, putting the carlack systemic on then the sealant. That was 3 weeks ago. They claim it gives a deep glass like finish - well I can vouch for it. Putting the sealant on is supposed to make the finish last up to a year, so I'll see how long it beads for. I'm well impressed though. The car still looks clean, and I don't have to worry about bird lime eating into the bodywork. Of course the previous owner or somebody has left some scratches on the bonnet that look like they've been attacking it with a brillo pad, but everything else is OK.
And I hosed the underside and sprayed some waxoyl on one of the brake lines where the plastic coating had split and it was corroding underneath*. That should keep GB happy.
:)
*After having the rear brake lines replaced with copper equivalents worth about 20p and labour to make and fit about £300 I've learnt my lesson.
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>> For less knock-yer-socks off but still strong, bilberry diluted ~4:1 sprayed and worked immediately with
>> a brush will do 90% of tough jobs.
>>
>> EDIT: should have said, once it's off might be worth applying 2 coats of a
>> strong sealant, one of the crystallising ones seems better for wheels, like gtechniq or nanolex.
I cleaned my wheels after taking them off using Bilberry non diluted. I put some in an old Autoglym spray bottle. Very impressed. 85000 miles of brake dust and neglect came off after working the first application in with a brush and then using a repeat application and rinsing off. I had to get the obstinate spots off using the back of a toothbrush, but they look great. I also sealed them with gtechniq. Very expensive but meant to last a year, so I'll let you know when it becomes ineffective.
I've also bought some clay bars and nano sealant for the bodywork but that's another day! Thanks for the tips Skoda, very helpful.
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>> I also sealed them with gtechniq.
That stuff is the last word in sealant currently. Expensive, but you get what you pay for in this case.
E.g. never mind fending off dirt which is the normal extent of sealant protection, see this impact / scratch testing www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlQz9NMlWmA -- the video could do with some text, to tell we're supposed to be looking at the difference between the sections labelled P1 and any of the P1+C sections.
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>> That stuff is the last word in sealant currently. Expensive, but you get what you
>> pay for in this case.
The qtechniq C1 is claimed to last ten times longer than dealer treatments. If you put some work in, it's well worth the £38 for 25ml bottle (enough to cover a Ferrari F350!) when you consider that dealer treatments are around £200. If you have an immaculate car and want to keep it that way, it's worth the elbow grease. Saying that, they are easy to apply. The only thing I found with the C5 wheel armour was that the residue that's left is very hard to see, leaving me wondering if I missed any, so you have to be systematic with it, knowing where you started and work your way round.
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>> when you consider that dealer treatments are around £200
Yeah cost wise that's a fair way to justify it, although they're not in the same league performance wise.
The dealer treatments which are no more than a wipe over with a fair-to-middling sealant impregnated cloth don't have anything on gtechniq. Not even close.
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I've seen somewhere recently that WD40 can be used to clean alloys.
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A bit of hard work but no harsh chemicals, I find Paint restorer (T-cut) for Metallics works well, followed by a polymer sealant based polish to keep the grime off. The metallics paint restorers are gentle enough not to destroy the paint but abrasive enough to remove the brake dust. This is of course assuming that you can get your fingers in between the spokes on the wheel. If this doesn't work then you will have to use chemicals and hope the laquer/paint is not damaged too much. Alternatively you could have the wheels refurbished.
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Dont laugh guys but I use
" Cif" Multi-purpose Actionfizz in a green bottle 750 ml about £ 2.60ish, tesco's
even my neighbour was converted and uses it on his X5 and his Clio sport and is astounded at how good it is !
It also cleans the calipers up !!!!!
It has some active ingrediant and just leave for couple of mins and pressure wash off, I now use a dust pad brush cut in half and do the inside of the wheels through the spokes and it just lifts the dirt off ! and smells nice to when done !
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>> This is of course assuming that you can get your
>> fingers in between the spokes on the wheel.
This is the problem Kithmo. I tried T-cut and this works, albeit slowly on the length of the spokes, but it's hard to get pressure in the recesses. They're quite narrow being 8 spoke alloys. The car is an '07 but it's been used for business on motorway trips and has 84000 miles, so the wheels have seen some action.
Skoda - I think I'll try the Bilberry stuff. I just need something I can spray in there and soften or dissolve it.
GB - I usually do wash my wheels but I've inherited this neglect :)
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Acid based cleaners certainly do the job, thats why they are used in the trade, albeit sometimes to excess.
Nasty stuff, but used diluted and with precautions, theres very little it wont shift with ease, I reserve it for baked on brakedust on clients cars and use it as sparingly as possible. Although acid is the active part of the chemical, it usually makes up single figure percentages of the liquid which you then dilute again 20/80 with water, so its nothing close to pure acid of any kind, although still requires caution/protection.
Wonder Wheels isnt that wonderful in comparison to the trade stuff I use. I tried it once after a customer gave me some that had been cluttering up their shelf in garage - did one wheel, it was useless so threw it away ( lifes too short ), only good on light-weight dirt for which there are gentler cleaners anyway.
I use Autosmart Ali on the rare occasions I need something with serious kick, but 5 litres lasts me 3-4 years such is the rarity of use.
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>> GB - I usually do wash my wheels but I've inherited this neglect :)
>>
I deserved a bit of backchat poke in the eye there, not for the first time, and thanks for being gentle with me...my post did read like i was criticising your wheel care, sorry.
What i was trying to say, clumsily as usual, is that once it's baked on even for a few weeks it's there till you use summat nasty on it....which you've found.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Mon 2 May 11 at 20:18
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>> I deserved a bit of backchat poke in the eye there, not for the first
>> time, and thanks for being gentle with me...my post did read like i was criticising
>> your wheel care, sorry.
No need to apologise GB, all meant in jest.
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>>They're quite narrow being 8 spoke alloys>>
My Jetta Sport has 14 spokes...:-)
I gave the alloys a very good clean soon after acquiring the car and then used AutoGlym Alloy Wheel Seal; the dirt just rolls off now when I wash it.
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Maybe I should do the same when I get my new car later this year. The VW Interlagos wheels have 10 spokes but twist around:
tinyurl.com/interlagos-18
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I would recommend it as it does make life so much easier when it comes to cleaning them.
I've got these: tinyurl.com/3nukld8
With a brush it still took a while getting inside the Y on each spoke. Most of the brake dust just runs off now with a little water.
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I tried some "No more dirty bike" cleaner from the local Poundland shop, would you believe it is one pound for a litre squirty bottle. Excellent on dirty wheels and also a good windscreen degreaser.
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I have got narrow spokes on the Focus a bit of a pain to clean.
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Decent wheel cleaner - Manatee
