What Wheel Cleaner?

T

T1berious

Member
Forgive me Z4 er's for I have sinned...

It had been 3 weeks since my last detailing (blame the E92....). Anyway, as per detailing lore, I went for the wheels 1st with the AG Alloy Cleaner ok it's been a while and some of the Brake Dust was a bit thick on the front wheels but I was scrubbing and all sorts to shift even the lightest bits :thumbsdown:

If I have to have clean wheels to use wheel cleaner than that's pretty poor!

So, I call on to you and your experiences....

What Wheel Cleaner do use? What rips through weeks of brake dust like a veritable hot knife through butter? leaving your wheels so bright and shiny you cant look at them too long without protective eye wear?

Cheers T1b :)
 
IMO you want to use Iron-X.

Bilberry is good for weekly dust removal but won't remove embedded/baked on brake dust or tar deposits.

I recently did a full clean on my wheels, and didn't have any iron-x available. The process I used was:

Bilberry to remove main deposits
White Spirit and j-cloth to remove tar, sticky weights residue, and some brake dust
Meguiars cutting compound to remove final stubborn brake dust
Meguiars polishing compound to shine the wheels
Rim Wax (2 coats) to protect the wheels

... and plenty of elbow grease!

And I now know to keep plenty of Iron-X in stock :D
Wheels look good though :wink:

FEFC6A20-DF14-4F01-8C6D-ED3A13B81996-73602-0000463E3F750E50.jpg
 
markeg said:
IMO you want to use Iron-X.

Bilberry is good for weekly dust removal but won't remove embedded/baked on brake dust or tar deposits.

I recently did a full clean on my wheels, and didn't have any iron-x available. The process I used was:

Bilberry to remove main deposits
White Spirit and j-cloth to remove tar, sticky weights residue, and some brake dust
Meguiars cutting compound to remove final stubborn brake dust
Meguiars polishing compound to shine the wheels
Rim Wax (2 coats) to protect the wheels

... and plenty of elbow grease!

And I now know to keep plenty of Iron-X in stock :D


It's best to use a none acid wheel cleaner, be careful of cheap ones they normally have an acid content, by the way I bloody luv those Alpine wheels :thumbsup:
Wheels look good though :wink:

FEFC6A20-DF14-4F01-8C6D-ED3A13B81996-73602-0000463E3F750E50.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Bilberry's ok, buts it's a rather weak mix and not oh neutral. After seeing what acid wheel cleaners can do to alloys over the years, I now use AMDetail Wheels. It's an orange solution which coupled with a detailing brush will cut through brake dust well. Then I use tardis to get the spots off then a light spray of iron-x.

Iron-x isn't a specific wheel cleaner, though I see people almost bathing their alloys in it.
 
Here's an alternative - I use Muckoff for cleaning my mountain bike and have found it works really well on my wheels. Just spray it on, leave for a while and then hose off. Can also use on bodywork if you have mud splashes. Halfords do it, and much cheaper than some of the specialist stuff.
 
I would say the only thing against muc-off is that it doesn't dissolve the baked on brake dust, but is a good general cleaner!
 
I use Muc off for the "WTF!?? I'll get you Mr Pigeon!" moments. but I'm figuring for the baked on stuff it will be a bit light on oomph?

Truth is I'd left it too long, normally I get to it every couple of weeks and go the whole hog but the E92 was in a state and has had a few goes with PB Black hole.

So the Zed was a bit shy of attention, wont happen again. So what is Iron-X actually supposed to be used for?

Cheers T1b
 
I use Iron-x, but only when I take the wheels off and clean them fully, I am probably been a bit over cautious, but if you see what it does to the dust on the wheels..what is it doing to your discs and pads if you spray it all over the wheels when on the car :o
 
I used this on the Zed alloys before: Turtlewax wheel cleaner. Very efficient. Use sparingly.


Link to image
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=853&bih=353&tbm=isch&tbnid=IgSqFCbZwcZuDM:&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Extreme-Nano-Tech-wheel-cleaner-Turtle/dp/B001RMGHLQ&docid=I8Ka__qUKllo8M&imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21OdAqcEX3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg&w=300&h=300&ei=dThXUJ-_E8OU0QXpqYDABg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=239&vpy=-3&dur=189&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=123&ty=38&sig=107453731929127032107&page=2&tbnh=116&tbnw=162&start=15&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:15,i:141
 
Steve220 said:
Bilberry's ok, buts it's a rather weak mix and not oh neutral. After seeing what acid wheel cleaners can do to alloys over the years, I now use AMDetail Wheels. It's an orange solution which coupled with a detailing brush will cut through brake dust well. Then I use tardis to get the spots off then a light spray of iron-x.

Iron-x isn't a specific wheel cleaner, though I see people almost bathing their alloys in it.
Click to expand...

This ^

It's bloody expensive and and if you keep using it like that it wont last very long!

Proper wheel cleaning process for me:

*APC on the tyres and arches, using stiff brushes

*Bilberry solution sprayed onto wheel, microfibre mitt used to clean face and behind spokes.

*Long Megs Spoke brush used to clean inside face of rim.

*small detailing brush used in bolt wells.

*Rinse

*Apply light coat of Iron X then start next wheel.

*Rinse then apply coat of Tardis to remove tar spotting.

*Rinse

*Dry

*x2 Coats of Megs techwax


Wheels - Done.
 
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