I know there's some stuff that you spray on your rims that makes them easy to clean and prevents brake dust from sticking to them. What's it called? Where can you get it? are there different brands that you would recommend?

 

Wheel wax. There are a number of different brands but the one I had is eagle 1

 

I have the off the shelf Armor All wheel protectant spray and it seems to do a pretty good job of not letting brake schmutz adhere to the wheel...in fact I can see how crappy my application was..because those areas are filthy with the dust!

I think you just have to apply it alot more frequently then the wheel wax.

 

To clean I use Meguiars All Wheel cleaner - safe for painted wheels - spray on - hose off - brake dust is gone without scrubbing

 

Prima Wheel Armour is great for keeping the brake dust from sticking but to remove the brake dust in the first place, nothing works as safe, or as good as Sonax Full Effect.

We are temporarily out of stock of Wheel Armour---I believe we just got some in yesterday but haven't updated our site yet.

Sonax Full Effect
https://www.showcarsupplies.com/shop...p?id=256&bc=no

 

OctaneGuy,

I'm a fan of you and your site, but I've got to tell you I wasn't impressed with the video once I realized you were using a pressure washer. Most of us are trying to learn how to avoid the use of a pressure washer to prevent damage to painted surfaces. I would have thought the pressure washer would have cleaned the wheel with or without the Sonax.

I'm still planning on trying the Sonax, I just wanted to give you feedback on the video.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

I use a pressure washer because in my shop I wash with distilled water that we manufacture and hold in a 60 gallon tank. The only way to get that water on to a car is with a pressure washer.

Are you on FaceBook? Check out this link where I demo'ed the same wheel cleaner at the last MINIs On The Dragon and we had a very low pressure hose.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...0866132&type=3

Here are some pix from this album


BEFORE


DURING


RINSING




There you go, all done in a matter of minutes with no brushing or contact. Just spray on, let dwell, and rinse off with a garden hose.

 

@OctaneGuy

Do you spray the cleaner with rims wet or dry? There are some spots that I have trouble cleaning. I bought Sonax and Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner and both can't seem to remove the super harden brake dust. Any tips?

 

I've been using Griot's wheel cleaner for about 6 years, on 5 different MINIs and 8 different sets of wheels. Spray on, let sit for 30 seconds, use a soft brush, rinse. Easy-peasy.

Thing is....whatever cleaner you use, clean the wheels regularly. Every two weeks at a minimum. Don't let the brake dust get baked into the wheels.

 

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried Griots heavy duty week cleaner. I generally like griots products but would want to see how it compares to Sonax since that have set the bar pretty high. Griots seems like it attempts to work in a similar fashion but gives you twice the product of sonax for the same price. Leaves me skeptical that it won't work as well though.

 

I like to use them on dry wheels although the instructions recommend to use them on wet wheels. I think this is to reduce the chances of it drying and being hard to remove rather than improving the performance. For baked on brake dust, you are going to have to use a brush and a strong wheel cleaner. Sonax Full Effect is very effective and safe at the same time on all wheel types but on really stubborn and dirty wheels, you may have to use a different cleaner like Meguiar's Wheel Brightener which isn't fun to use on a regular basis even though it performs well. Once the brake dust has been cleaned, you can use your favorite wheel cleaner for maintenance.


With Sonax, you don't even need to use a brush. Just spray on, watch the dust bleed, and rinse. But you're right, maintenance is certainly key..letting the brake dust accumulate is not only difficult to remove, but it will eat into your finish often making full cleanup impossible.

 

I have several in my shop and people always question the power washer... this is a very missunderstood tool in car washing. Not that they are necessay for washing, but can be used if wanted. For it to actually do any kind of damage to a properly painted surface whether its wheels or the car paint, you would need one heck of a power washer (over 2500 psi). I have mine in my shop set at 1700 and have had it at 2300 temporarily and you can put it right up agianst paint and it doesn't do a thing (not that I do this often). Most people have the little electric washers which I think are the best for what most are doing, and are particularly harmless.

And even with my big power washer they will not clean the rims completely without a little cleaner or a quick scrub.

On another note I recently was talking to a manufacture rep of a wheel cleaner and he was laughing at me that I actually put it on my BBS rims. He told me that it eats at your brake pads and rotors so much that depending on how much you wash your car it can half the life of them.

He continued to say that unless they are caked with brake dust you shouldn't use a cleaner and the best rout would be to get an extra micro mit and dip it into your soapy bucket after washing the car and wipe down your rims with that and maybe a good brush if needed but no cleaner, just hot soapy water.

What do you guys think of this? I have noticed that the wheel cleaners can oxidize my rotors or leave a kind of film. Anyone else feel this way?

 

BBS makes very expensive rims. From a liability standpoint they will tell you to just use soap and water because most wheel cleaners will damage the finish. I have experienced this first hand on some clearcoated custom rims where I was assured by the owner were painted and my own tests confirmed that so I used Meguiars Wheel Brightener on the first wheel and worked great so I used it on the other wheels and found they fogged them as the wheel cleaner bled underneath the clear. I later found out the manufacturer also recommended against wheel cleaners because of the potential liability. Your rotors will oxidize whether you use a wheel cleaner or not. The surface rust comes off the first time you hit the brakes.

The beauty of Sonax FE is that it only reacts with the iron in brake pads and nothing else. Not many people realize that.

Btw good points on the PW. Like all tools, PW have their use in the proper hands.

Richard

 

ouch! I know he didn't show it, but I'm guessing that may have hurt OctaneGuys ego a little there!

Let me tell you from experience that using only a pressure washer and nothing else on a set of caked wheels really doesn't get rid of much if any of the grime, it's mostly down to the cleaner and brushes you use. Also, pressure washers are totally safe to use on paint, most professional detailers use them on a regular basis because of their adjustability and ability to use quality foam canons. They also help immensely with wheel wells. However, if one is not experienced or just doesn't actually know what they're doing, they could mess up their paint quite seriously. When using a pressure you have to be sure not to get too close to the paint. I had a client show me where he got too close with one on his Honda Fit while he was trying to blast a bug off and he took actual chunks of the paint off. You can easily use the pressure washer, just be careful.

 

So this just caught my eye the other day when I was at Advanced Auto Parts. They now sell Griots Garage products and on the rim cleaner it says BBS aproved... I might give it a whirl and see, but deffinitly wont be testing on my BBS's probably on my truck rims.

Also I orderd some of the Sonax wheel cleaner that Ill try out on my truck first.

Thanks for the input.

 

I stopped using all wheel cleaners about a year ago. Now I just use the soapy water and microfiber brush method. If you wash the wheels when they are completely cooled (sat overnight without being driven on) soap and water takes brake dust and grime off easily. Assuming your wheels are properly maintained and cleaned with some regularity.

 

Griots has two wheel cleaners. The regular one is green and the heavy duty one is colorless. The regular greenish one is only good for light brake dust and regular rim maintenance and is not good for baked on dust. The heavy duty is decent on baked on dust but you still need lots of elbow grease.

 

I used Sonax FE today for the first time. By far the best wheel cleaner I have ever used. Its really expensive and not worth it to be used every week when the car is washed but it does a REALLY good job. It goes on easy and seems to have a thick formulation that clings to the wheel. It really pulls off the brake dust very well. Just light agitation after letting it sit for a few minutes and rinse. With a power washer you might not even need agitation.

 

I used it on my truck rims after I went mudding and had some tar on them somehow. but yes It worked great probably keep using it on my truck and just stick to soapy water on the BBS's

 

Only thing that sucks for me is that crap beyond the brakes that you can't reach unless you take the wheel completely off, call me **** but that stuff bothers me lol

 

If you mean the crap in the barrel of the wheel, get some brushes to reach in there. I saw Octaneguy using one on one of his videos.
I have these: https://www.detailersdomain.com/Whee...Kit_p_721.html
They make it super easy to clean my r112 wheels. The spokes are a pain with a mitt or sponge.

 

I use Espree Wheel Magic. It is green and comes in a clear bottle. I get it at Auto Zone. It's only about $4 a bottle and it won't harm your paint if you spray it on accidentally. Good results on motorbike also. You just apply it on and hose it off. I've been using it for about 4 years and it hasn't damaged a thing on any of my cars.... Very powerful too!