Looking for a non acid alloy wheel cleaner

[carfenattic]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum. I am looking for a good non acid alloy wheel cleaner for my 323I. I want to clean the brake dust off my wheels, but I dont want to damage the wheel with an acid cleaner. What wheel cleaner do you suggest?

Joe

[MrNorwall]

Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner Dilutted 4:1

[JohnZ3MC]

P21S Gel is another consideration. About as strong as you can get without being acidic. Autogeek sells it and I just noticed you're in Florida too.
-John C.

[TOGWT]

Wheel Cleaners- http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f35/wheel-cleaners-1201.html

Acid wheel surface damage - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=43975

[Keef]

P21S Gel is another consideration. About as strong as you can get without being acidic. Autogeek sells it and I just noticed you're in Florida too.
-John C.

+1 on P21 S wheel gel. A little pricey but worth every penny IMO...

[poni]

Menzerna Gel Tire & Wheel cleaner is ph-Neutral

[BimmerBummer]

+1... works great and cheap!

Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner Dilutted 4:1

[M3zie]

Slightly OT...whats a good wheel brush to use that won't scratch the finish?

[JohnZ3MC]

Slightly OT...whats a good wheel brush to use that won't scratch the finish?

I used to use a sash brush, 2 inch with duct tape wrapped around the ferrule. It worked well but I've recently bought the EZ-Detail brush. Bigger, more flexible, holds more cleaning product, and can get into small places better than the sash brush.
The EZ-Detail brush is pricey but amortize it over 10 years or even 20 and it becomes incredibly cheap.
-John C.

[Matt@Autogeek]

P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner is awesome.

[TOGWT]

Wheel Detailing Brushes - http://www.detailuniversity.com/forums/school-wheel-tire-detailing/1369-any-brushes-clean-rims.html

Wheel Cleaners- http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f35/wheel-cleaners-1201.html

[nathancarter]

I bought the "Spoke and Slot brush" to clean my Type 73's. It's two wire loops perpendicular to each other, but I had to cut off one of the wife loops to make it fit between the spokes.

It's starting to get pretty beat up now from frequent usage, so I have just been using a sponge and my fingertips. Should I just go for another of the same thing, and replace every six months or a year, or will the "EZ Detail brush" hold up longer for repeated scrubbing between spokes? I don't even bother scrubbing the inside of the barrel behind the spokes, but the EZ Detail Brush might make that possible.

The spokes on my wife's Volvo S60 are even closer together, but she doesn't care if they're dirty for a month at a time.

[carfenattic]

Hi John,

Yes. I live in Clearwater, Florida. I jumped the gun and picked up some non acid wheel cleaner from a local auto detail supply store in Largo. Its brown and nasty looking, but it cleaned my wheels better than anything I ever used. Its called Brown Royal wheel cleaner. Alot of professional detailers use it. The best thing about this cleaner is that I did not have to scrub my wheels. I just sprayed it on and hosed it off. This store carries all sorts of commercial grade detail products. I am so happy that they are located in my area and they also have an online store. Thanks for all of the responses.


Joe

[HBpredhunter]

i use simple green and sometimes if its realy bad i use safty clean all purpose degreaser. its biodegradable and non acidic, and is even stronger than simple green.

[JohnZ3MC]

Joe,
You're the second person recently that has mentioned Brown Royal. I've never heard of it before but both you and someone else said it cleaned wheels when everything else didn't.
I have some exploring to do,
Thanks for the reference,
-John C.

[carfenattic]

Hi John,

The wheel cleaner works great. But I also picked up some of the wash & wax soap when I was there. I think its called deep purple. Man, let me tell you that after I got done washing my 323I it looked like I waxed it.The water beaded off the car. My car is black and I have a hell of a time with it. Do you live in Florida?


Joe

[JohnZ3MC]

Nope, not Florida. In fact, about as far away as you can possibly get from Florida.
My town is about 80 miles north of Seattle Wa, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island but I'm in Canada.
I'm always envious of you American fellows who can get great detailing products easily and without huge customs fees.
Your climate also makes me envious - heck, just a few days ago I had a raccoon giving me trouble because I was near his tree and he thought I had designs on his lady friend. She was cute but the wrong species. Deer routinely wander through the yard.
The native people here call April 'The month of many moods', and it's close to April. Today it was sunny, it snowed, sunny, it hailed, it snowed, then sun periods then gray and cold. You guys get sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun and more sun.
I'm depressed.
-John C.

[Zack01GC]

Deer routinely wander through the yard.
The native people here call April 'The month of many moods', and it's close to April. Today it was sunny, it snowed, sunny, it hailed, it snowed, then sun periods then gray and cold. You guys get sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun and more sun.
I'm depressed.
-John C.

You'd fit right in here in Pennsylvania.

[carfenattic]

Hi John,

Canada is a beautiful country. Hey I am originally from New York. I remember the gray skies and cold weather. Living in Florida for 13 years, I kind of miss the cool weather. I am going to start to hate it here when we get past June. It will be so hot and humid, its like living in hell with palm trees. Thats too bad about the customs fees. I guess it makes it hard to order items outside of your country.


Joe