# Wheel cleaner



## HemmiHonda (Apr 10, 2010)

Hi 

I am looking for a good wheel cleaner 

I'm looking for the name of the one that turns red or something when it gets in contact with dirt. Think it does that :tumbleweed: 

if you could be so kind by telling me the name of it or about a better wheel cleaner, that would be great 

best regards,
HemmiHonda


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

I dont know about the wheel cleaner but once clean auto express said the mer wheel wax was the best they tested but cant seam to see it other than on fleabay.


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## C43AMG (Jun 3, 2006)

Bilberry.


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## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

C43AMG said:


> Bilberry.


Yep that's what most people seem to recommend, i've used it once and thought it was good!

If you want something that's Gel like, the Autobrite Wheel Gel is supposed to be pretty good too? Think they've still got a good Group buy offer on for about £30 with a Meg's style brush, 5L bottle and a small bottle to dispense into with a foaming spray head? I am tempted to go for it myself...


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## raeno (May 4, 2010)

nickg123 said:


> Yep that's what most people seem to recommend, i've used it once and thought it was good!
> 
> If you want something that's Gel like, the Autobrite Wheel Gel is supposed to be pretty good too? Think they've still got a good Group buy offer on for about £30 with a Meg's style brush, 5L bottle and a small bottle to dispense into with a foaming spray head? I am tempted to go for it myself...


I'be bought the 5L Britegel & its very good at what it does. If you want a product that stays on the wheel, as opposed to the pavement Britegel is a winner & it cleans very well too (just dont leave it on too long)


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## Guest (Aug 10, 2010)

HemmiHonda said:


> I'm looking for the name of the one that turns red or something when it gets in contact with dirt. Think it does that :tumbleweed:


Do you mean Sonax wheel cleaner?

ValetPro's Bilberry, mentioned by others above, is a very good wheel cleaner. Comes as a concentrate so you dilute as required. This makes it more cost effective than buying ready-to-use products.


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

bilberry is brilliant. put some in a spray bottle, spray on, leave a few mins, agitate if needed, jet wash off...clean wheels!


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## HemmiHonda (Apr 10, 2010)

thank you very much  think it was the Bilberry I was thinking about :d


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## kmmfc1 (Jan 26, 2010)

Very cherry wheel cleaner from Autobrite is very good also


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## angelw (Nov 25, 2009)

Bilberry,with Angelwax wheel wax


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## knightstemplar (Jun 18, 2010)

+1 very cherry:thumb:


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

very cherry / bilberry = same product


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

AS smartwheels is good as is Bilberry.


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

AS Smart Wheels - have moved to this after previously using Bilberry, and reckon it's a lot better than Bilberry


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## angelw (Nov 25, 2009)

how do you know that very cherry is the same as Bilberry


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

angelw said:


> how do you know that very cherry is the same as Bilberry


i'll rephrase that then - they look very similar in use. would'nt be suprised if they come from the same manufacturer
how do you know its 'the best' when there is no 'best' of anything?


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

sonax extreme rim cleaner is the one that 'turns red' on application, bilberry is the one everyone talks about and is a red liquid. Persoanally i prefer espuma revolution:thumb:


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

stangalang said:


> sonax extreme rim cleaner is the one that 'turns red' on application, bilberry is the one everyone talks about and is a red liquid. Persoanally i prefer espuma revolution:thumb:


agree with you there - autobrite brite gel is good too imo


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## angelw (Nov 25, 2009)

Bilberry is still the best!


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## grant_evans (Mar 2, 2008)

angelw said:


> Bilberry is still the best!


matter of opinion surely? i really dont think its that great, smartwheels is a far superior product imo.


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## angelw (Nov 25, 2009)

Fair point ,after all it is all just opinions!


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

grant_evans said:


> matter of opinion surely? i really dont think its that great, smartwheels is a far superior product imo.


+1 I admit that to an extent it's perhaps my technique improving as time goes on, but I find that Smartwheels shifts stuff a lot easier than Bilberry


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## johnnyc (Nov 18, 2008)

very cherry is red 

but aquarts iron cut turns red on contact


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## banksy (Jun 13, 2009)

I got some Bmw wheel cleaner - I think it's the sonax stuff: turns red, works brilliantly and is only £10.99 i think. Really impressed. Won't last long though.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

HemmiHonda said:


> Hi
> 
> I am looking for a good wheel cleaner
> 
> ...


IIRC a Turtlewax one does that


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

HemmiHonda said:


> Hi
> 
> I am looking for a good wheel cleaner
> 
> ...


The wheel cleaner that turns Red in contact with brake dust is Sonax Xtreme Full Effect - it's a Gel that you can use very sparingly - I use about 60ml on four wheels. If you're using more, you're wasting it (and it's not cheap). Performance Motorcare stock it. I use it once a month (every 4 washes).

The other one you may be thinking of is Iron Cut, which does the same job, but is safe on paint as well for removing fallout. Iron cut only attacks metal (brake dust) so you'll need to clean the wheels first with your standard cheapie cleaner, and then use Iron Cut on the bits that are left behind. Lots of traders on here stock it (i4d, CYC, others).

T


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## big ben (Aug 25, 2009)

johnnyc said:


> but aquarts iron cut turns red on contact


i would of thought you were thinking of this...

and cant understand why everone thinks bilberry is that much better than other wheel cleaners, there is so many as good as it and some which are better :wave:


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## SootyNicko (Nov 11, 2006)

big ben said:


> cant understand why everone thinks bilberry is that much better than other wheel cleaners, there is so many as good as it and some which are better :wave:


I'd be interested to hear which wheel cleaners you think are as good as / better than bilberry.

I haven't tried bilberry, but was going to after reading several glowing reviews of it on here.


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

True, Iron Cut does turn purple on contact with Iron (i.e. brake dust pitting), but isn't marketed just for wheel cleaning, but for paint also. I though the OP was asking about wheel cleaners specifically...

If you smell the two products, they are similar, and I believe they both have the same active component, and is why they both turn purple on contact with brake dust. If you want something just for wheels - try the Sonax - if you want to use it on pain also, get Iron Cut. But you'll use a lot more iron cut on the wheels that Sonax (if you see what I mean).

T


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## d.g (Jul 13, 2010)

I have found bilberry needs to be used more concentrated than diluted. My wheels are very well looked after but at a light concentrate it is hardly touching them.

I'm not so blown away by it as I thought I would be.

I do recall R222 Gel being very good.


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

d.g said:


> I have found bilberry needs to be used more concentrated than diluted. My wheels are very well looked after but at a light concentrate it is hardly touching them.
> 
> I'm not so blown away by it as I thought I would be.
> 
> I do recall R222 Gel being very good.


get some protection (sealant or wax) onto the wheels and you'll not need a dedicated wheel cleaner


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## Waka (Jun 9, 2010)

d.g said:


> I have found bilberry needs to be used more concentrated than diluted. My wheels are very well looked after but at a light concentrate it is hardly touching them.
> 
> I'm not so blown away by it as I thought I would be.
> 
> I do recall R222 Gel being very good.


I dilute my bilberry about 1:10 (10 being the water ) or even 1:20 and it's great stuff. I use it every time I wash though, which is about every 2 or 4 weeks.

I guess it's useful for lightly soiled wheels, I've never used it on severely crudded ones.


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## d.g (Jul 13, 2010)

-Kev- said:


> get some protection (sealant or wax) onto the wheels and you'll not need a dedicated wheel cleaner


I meant by "very well looked after" that I use a sealant on a regular basis, had them refurbed 3 years ago and they still look as good. I rarely use wheel cleaner on my own wheels, just wanted to see what Bilberry was like as I had read all the hype, what I wrote was just my own experience with using it on lightly soiled wheels that are well protected underneath.

I found while it looked good, it left behind most of what was there in the first place, possibly because the wheel surface was quite slick, I dont know.

Just my findings!


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## adam1942 (Jun 3, 2008)

no one seems to have mentioned restore wheel cleaner.

tried it last year and although if you breath it in you nearly die it works!

http://spautopia.co.uk/Restore.aspx


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## Jeffers01 (Aug 12, 2010)

Thanks for all the comments guys. Have just bought some Bilberry on fleabay on this recommendation :thumb:


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