# Best wheel cleaners



## Merc5152 (Jul 16, 2017)

Any thoughts out there on the best wheel cleaners. Have been using AF Imperial. Seems ok....

Welcome thoughts


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## Tombo (Sep 1, 2017)

BiltHamber Auto Wheel everytime.


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## chrissymk3 (Jul 6, 2015)

Tombo said:


> BiltHamber Auto Wheel everytime.


:thumb:


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## dannygdesigns (Mar 16, 2015)

another one here for BH Auto wheel, nothing I've tried comes close and I have tried a lot of different wheel cleaners.


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

A bit like saying what is the best wax?

What wheels are you cleaning and what state?

Strong acids and alkalis have their place, as do bleeding fallout removers as does shampoo for protected wheels


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## paulb1976 (Nov 2, 2012)

fatdazza said:


> A bit like saying what is the best wax?
> 
> What wheels are you cleaning and what state?
> 
> Strong acids and alkalis have their place, as do bleeding fallout removers as does shampoo for protected wheels


+1 as above , nothing wrong witth soapy water if they aint that bad . auto wheels is a cracking cleaner though


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Autosmart Smartwheels :thumb:


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

For general use a concentrated alkaline one like Auto Alkalloy is quite handy, you can vary the strength of the solution to suit the job at hand. But the ideal in my view is having your wheels protected so you don't need fierce chemicals every time.


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## JayMac (Sep 4, 2016)

I have my wheels sealed with C5 so soapy water and my wash mitt does me. BH Auto-Wheel is brilliant though, I’ve also tried Infinity Wax incinerate, which works well, but it was so strong it burned though the bottle I decanted it into lol


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Nothing beats Autosmart Smart wheels at the right dilution - not even BH auto-wheel


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Rayaan said:


> Nothing beats Autosmart Smart wheels at the right dilution - not even BH auto-wheel


Except if you want to remove embedded iron from the wheels. 

As i said earlier, there is no one best wheel cleaner. It depends end what job you want to do.


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## sean ryan (May 10, 2015)

Rayaan said:


> Nothing beats Autosmart Smart wheels at the right dilution - not even BH auto-wheel


Iv'e heard people say that smart wheels is bad is this true?


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

bh auto wheel or car chem revolt then seal your wheels and use odk rotate at 20-1 for maintanence washes, then when your sealant wears off use bh auto wheel or car chem revolt again


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

sean ryan said:


> Iv'e heard people say that smart wheels is bad is this true?


No it is not bad, it is a very capable wheel cleaner if you want an alkaline wheel cleaner.


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## Negaultra7 (Mar 8, 2016)

Tombo said:


> BiltHamber Auto Wheel everytime.


:thumb:


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## Peter77 (May 29, 2016)

I've been really impressed with autoglanz alkalloy, has really good dilution rates. Also TDG blueberry wheels, again great dilution and really good cleaning ability. Would happily buy either again. 


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## MarkP80 (Jun 28, 2011)

Nobody's recommending my VP Bilberry cleaner then. I've been happy with this but haven't really compared it to others. Am I behind the curve again?

The BH Auto Wheel looks quite expensive in comparison to my eyes, with it being used neat from the 1L spray. The Autosmart Smart Wheels looks like a more reasonable price in comparison, and comparable to Bilberry in price.

Thanks,
MarkP


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

PowerMaxed wheel cleaner works for me. It's concentrated, so great value for money.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

*Depends*

I like VP billery on dirty wheels you can vary the dillution so for really bad wheels a stronger dilution like 1:3 would be recommended, I tend to go for 1:7 very few months.

As I seal my wheels I can get away with 50 ml of AF revolution in a bucket or CG diablo diluted 1:3 in a spray bottle and agitate with brushes and a microfiber MIT.

I have Y spoke wheels and their are 20 spokes on each wheel but these combinations keep them clean and shinny

And a fall out remover twice a year


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

Sonax is performing well for me, although Smartwheel with a toothbrush on 15 year black wheels along with Tardis worked so well.


John Tht.


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## spyder (Jun 15, 2010)

As above, BH auto wheel is excellent. Sonax full effect plus is similar, quality products.


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

MarkP80 said:


> Nobody's recommending my VP Bilberry cleaner then. I've been happy with this but haven't really compared it to others. Am I behind the curve again?
> 
> The BH Auto Wheel looks quite expensive in comparison to my eyes, with it being used neat from the 1L spray. The Autosmart Smart Wheels looks like a more reasonable price in comparison, and comparable to Bilberry in price.
> 
> ...


bilberry isnt a fallout remover and auto wheel is, i have also read that bilberry can stain polished and diamond cut rims so ive never used it


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## euge07 (Jan 15, 2011)

are we discussing general wheel cleaners or fallout remover for wheels though...


smart wheels works really well for your weekly clean, dilutes fantastic and works! It works really well on tyres, it just pulls the dirt right out!


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## MarkP80 (Jun 28, 2011)

OvEr_KiLL said:


> bilberry isnt a fallout remover and auto wheel is, i have also read that bilberry can stain polished and diamond cut rims so ive never used it


 - agreed, not a fallout remover, but then I use diluted bilberry every week as part of my normal wash routine. I personally use a separate, dedicated, fallout/iron remover periodically if I feel the wheels need it, but wouldn't want to use one regularly, and I'm not sure I'd want it as part of a combined wheel product. Maybe that's what makes the BH stuff expensive, I don't know. But I guess for what I want it for (regular frequent use) the BH stuff is the wrong product for me.
I might give the smart wheels a try though as it looks good value at £20 for 5L before dilution.

Cheers,
MarkP


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## derbigofast (Dec 6, 2011)

autosmart red 7 best ive ever found


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## 66Rob (Sep 25, 2007)

Don't dismiss Meguiars Wheel & Tyre Cleaner, great stuff and good value at the moment in Halfords. I started using it as its good for removing old tyre dressings too.

They seem to have changed the foaming trigger to more of a normal spray type which actually improves application. Used at the weekend on my wheels after a few hundred miles followed by Gyeon Iron and no bleeding at all with the Gyeon as Meg's had done such a good job.


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

I do not use my AutoSmart at every wash only to aid that initial cleaning process. Quality shampoo is sufficient to keep the clean once protected, or a shampoo mix in a spray bottle.

John Tht.


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## heavyd (Jun 11, 2006)

I prefer Autosmart Smart wheels out of all the ones I have tried in the past.


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Ben Gum said:


> For clarity, BH Auto wheels, bilberry and others discussed are also alkaline. Exactly what gives them the alkalinity, I don't know but we know that smart wheels is strongly caustic (i.e. it is the sledgehammer approach).


As I understand it bh autowheels is not alkaline but a ph neutral (I.e ph adjusted) wheel cleaner.

The caustic ingredient in smart wheels is sodium hydroxide I think as is the case with most alkaline wheel cleaners (or potassium hydroxide)


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## NateQ (May 3, 2015)

Bilt Hamber Auto Wheels


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## dchapman88 (Mar 17, 2016)

I use CarSpünk wheel cleaner on my waxed wheels 
Spray on a 5:1 dilution, leave for a few mins, PW off and their clean! Simple! 

I use BH for my deep cleans though


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## wysol2 (Jan 19, 2016)

Bilt hamber auto wheels for me 

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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

I use Bilberry diluted as a wash medium but if i need anything stronger then it's a fall out remover


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## LewisChadwick7 (Aug 22, 2014)

KKD brakeaway for me, I've not used anything else since I bought this


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Another one for BH Auto Wheels


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## notfub (May 9, 2007)

I'm still using Espuma Revolution which certainly does the job and lasts ages if you go for 5L.
Had this a while so have other products moved on and perform better?


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## luke w (Dec 11, 2012)

VP Bilberry does the job for me. Smells nice too which is a consideration for me, couldn't stand the smell of Smart Wheels!


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## weemaco (Jul 16, 2012)

BH auto wheel fantastic cleaner and even better it has the iron effect


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## Autoglanz.UK (Sep 16, 2017)

AutoGlanz Hoops or Dooka Wheels.


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## ChrisJM (May 3, 2017)

Autoglanz hoops for me, blood tonic 3:1 on clean wheels ever few weeks. Wheels are sealed


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## Soapybubbles (Feb 10, 2014)

ChrisJM said:


> Autoglanz hoops for me, blood tonic 3:1 on clean wheels ever few weeks. Wheels are sealed


My wheels are sealed with C5 and I need nothing other than regular shampoo to clean them.


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## ChrisJM (May 3, 2017)

Soapybubbles said:


> My wheels are sealed with C5 and I need nothing other than regular shampoo to clean them.


Autoglanz hoops is a Ph neutral wheel shampoo... exactly the same principle, it works out cheaper than the shampoo I currently use.

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## satankim (Dec 11, 2015)

I am using Meguiar's Wheel Brightener (1: 4).
After viewing


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## chrissymk3 (Jul 6, 2015)

satankim said:


> I am using Meguiar's Wheel Brightener (1: 4).
> After viewing


Acid based though so be careful what you use it on.


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2017)

chrissymk3 said:


> Acid based though so be careful what you use it on.


Yes, Hydrofluoric acid IIRC.

However, to my non-chemist mind strong alkalies, like Sodium Hydroxide, appear equally as harmful.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

NaOH is going to give you worse burns initially, but it is not actively *toxic*. From Wikipedia:


> Aqueous hydrofluoric acid is a contact-poison with the potential for deep, initially painless burns and ensuing tissue death.


The point being, you get just a little caustic on you, it will hurt like hell and you'll do something about it. With hydrofluoric acid, it can get into your flesh, and dissolve your bones from the inside. I  you not.

This is why I won't go near anything with HF in it - it's just horrible, horrible stuff. That said, caustic solutions are still not things to be trifled with, they can blind or maim if mishandled.

Edit: All of which is an excellent reason to seal your wheels and wash them with shampoo and water, not chemicals that could be considered toxic industrial waste :doublesho


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## robinh112 (Sep 2, 2014)

BH auto wheel or if really bad then have to crack out the wonder wheels acidic wheel cleaner


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