# Spray On but DONT Agitate



## MarkSmith (Dec 17, 2010)

All the wheel cleaners I have seen say the same - spray onto wheel, agitate with a brush, rinse off. ( I am currently using AG Acid Free Wheel Cleaner )

Is there any good wheel cleaners that you can just spray on, leave and power wash off, without the need to agitate it first, and that will work on even the dirtiest of brake dusted wheels ?


----------



## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

MarkSmith said:


> All the wheel cleaners I have seen say the same - spray onto wheel, agitate with a brush, rinse off. ( I am currently using AG Acid Free Wheel Cleaner )
> 
> Is there any good wheel cleaners that you can just spray on, leave and power wash off, without the need to agitate it first, and that will work on even the dirtiest of brake dusted wheels ?


Bilberry, used it for 1st time last week and did a superb job, i just sprayed it on and jet washed off. Untreated wheels as well and i'm doing 3k miles a month so some serious muck on there.


----------



## MarkSmith (Dec 17, 2010)

Thanks mate, where can I get Bilberry from, I have never heard of it ?


----------



## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

Darlofan said:


> Bilberry, used it for 1st time last week and did a superb job, i just sprayed it on and jet washed off. Untreated wheels as well and i'm doing 3k miles a month so some serious muck on there.


might help other people too.

Was this diluted at all, or just neat? :thumb:


----------



## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Megs Wheel Brightener and ValetPro Blue Gel will do it, however they are potent products so a definite no-no on damaged or sensitive rims (polished for example).
The easiest way for you in the future is to spend some time to get the wheels REALLY clean and decontaminated and then apply either a sealant, wax or a nano tech product, to minimise the work needed to clean them from then on. Well sealed wheels can then be cleaned with very little effort as long as the products you use don't adversely affect whichever sealant you go for.


----------



## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Bilberry is good but no cheap if you're using it neat. Wolfs brake duster is good stuff too.


----------



## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

Bilberry sucks, so does AG non acid wheel cleaner. 
If you want true effort free wheel cleaning, go acidic - try Megs Hot Rims- you wont have to do anything other than squirt then PW off.

I drive an E46 and they're known for serious brake dust pollution. Bilberry doesnt touch it - even WITH aggitation. I find even Simoniz wheel cleaner gel works bette for £4 a bottle!

www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/..._productId_199237_langId_-1_categoryId_255235

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=234668

Both do a very very good job of cleaning with no effort required.


----------



## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Got mine from elite on here, but sure lots of the guys on here supply it.

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=bilberry&osCsid=4b94c24fedd86fce6f5f60ffb7a4a2cc&x=0&y=0

Hope that link works.

I diluted mine 3-1 but you can dilute as much as you like depending on level of crap to shift:thumb:


----------



## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

I reckon those that praise Bilberry must have almost zero dust from their brakes or never use them. 

Even neat it wont touch the grime on my wheels and I wash it every week AND they're sealed AND I use a brush.


----------



## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Matt_Nic said:


> I reckon those that praise Bilberry must have almost zero dust from their brakes or never use them.
> 
> Even neat it wont touch the grime on my wheels and I wash it every week AND they're sealed AND I use a brush.


3k miles a month, maybe i'm not using brakes enough:driver:


----------



## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Matt_Nic said:


> I reckon those that praise Bilberry must have almost zero dust from their brakes or never use them.
> 
> Even neat it wont touch the grime on my wheels and I wash it every week AND they're sealed AND I use a brush.


Errr. not quite..

I use Bilberry all the time, and diluted 4-1 it has no issues with my brake dust (very large 6 pots brakes, on a very used heavy car)...

Even this one, a daily user that had not been cleaned for a long time...I only used Bilberry:



















:thumb:


----------



## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Got to agree with some of the others here too, Bilberry is hugely over-rated on here, in my opinion.

I don't doubt for a second that a big number of people like it and find it does all they need, and fair play to you, you found it, use and like it. No gripe there whatsoever.

In addition to me not liking it's cleaning power (on moderate dust upwards), it's billed as 'safe', yet isn't, it's very alkaline and will cause damage to your wheels if used on damaged or delicate wheels. I don't see how it can be 'safe on all finishes'...


----------



## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

I challenge any one to use Bilberry on my wheels after a week or 2 use (I dont do loads of miles) and get the clean. 

Certain pads generate a lot of dust, it's nothing to do with the size or the number of pistons or the weight of the car. 

I might as well be spraying water on my wheels when using Bilberry. 
I remember buying the stuff, I was all excited as so many people recommended it to me. 
"It's so good at cleaning"
"it smells so nice"

You can imagine my disappointment when I rinsed off the pink muck from my wheels to see they were still black/brown and the fact it smells like caustic soda.


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I use my Bilberry 10-1.
Granted my wheels are never allowed to get filthy 10-1 worked on them after Id picked it up for the the first time.Although I did have to aggitate it.
After it had been owned 4 years by a "normal person"
I think aggitating uses less product as you kind of spray on and work it round.


----------



## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Matt_Nic said:


> Certain pads generate a lot of dust, it's nothing to do with the size or the number of pistons or the weight of the car.


yeah it does actually have to do with the car and the brakes, not just the pads...but...whatever....it doesn't work for you, your style of driving and your brakes...each to their own....but your 1st comment of "Bilberry sucks" is waay off the mark...

:thumb:


----------



## geoff.mac (Oct 13, 2010)

Have to agree with cuey, Bilberry does work, maybe not on all wheels and in all situations but it does definately work, I use it sometimes on very dirty wheels and its always come up trumps for me. My wheels are sealed so don't need anything other than a mild shampoo mix to keep them clean but still like to have bilberry in my arsenal for when needed. :thumb:


----------



## Ad.sk (Sep 17, 2010)

Wolf's Deironizer is the right kind of product -> spray on leave there, power wash away.


----------



## MarkSmith (Dec 17, 2010)

Has anyone tried the Poorboys Spray & Rinse Wheel Cleaner ?


----------



## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

The Cueball said:


> yeah it does actually have to do with the car and the brakes, not just the pads...but...whatever....it doesn't work for you, your style of driving and your brakes...each to their own....but your 1st comment of "Bilberry sucks" is waay off the mark...
> 
> :thumb:


I'd rather have a wheel cleaner that works on everything than only some times.

One that only works on some things sucks quite frankly.
Something that works on everything however is fantastic.


----------



## rtjc (Apr 19, 2009)

Bilberry is an excellent product. Been using it for ages and not once has it failed to work for me, and this includes some really bad filthy wheels. As for the weight of a car & it's brakes not making a difference to dust generated.... of course it does, it's not just dusty pads! Physics FTW!


----------



## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

espuma revoultion for me, will try AS smartwheels next. bilberry is ok imo but very expensive for 5 litres


----------



## maestegman (Mar 3, 2011)

A long time user of Bilberry here and I think it's a great product.

I recently switched to Espuma Revolution and, although it's OK, I'll be heading back to ValetPro for my next order.


----------



## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

Autosmart Active xl works a treat on rims and tyres without agitation


----------



## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

Not a fan of billberry (using my bottle up then no more)

Like the acid free AG stuff going to invest in a 5ltr bottle of it in the spring


----------



## dcj (Apr 17, 2009)

On my regular valets I spray apc onto the wheels first and then spray non acidic wheel cleaner on after(it hasnt got a "special" name so thet saves me £10. I allow that to dwell while I pre spray the rest of the car and by the time I start to rinse off it fetches dirt and grime off straight away. Obviously you need to check each wheel after though to make sure you havent missed anything but I find this method saves me a lot of time.:thumb:


----------



## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

Autosmart Smart wheels works for me without a brush diluted 1:4. Thats washing every week though so not much build up. It will work on baked on crud well if diluted 1:1, might take a couple of hits though.

Autosmart Ali will remove everything easily, but its an acidic wheel cleaner so needs to be used with caution.


----------



## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Matt_Nic said:


> I'd rather have a wheel cleaner that works on everything than only some times.
> 
> One that only works on some things sucks quite frankly.
> Something that works on everything however is fantastic.


:wall::wall::wall::wall::wall:


----------



## Mr_Scisco (Oct 22, 2009)

Espuma revolution for me too. Even a 1:10 dilution gets rid of most crud. Good value too.


----------



## Short1e (Apr 5, 2009)

AutoBrite Very Cherry, BriteGel or Purplerain...


----------



## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

I've yet to find a touchless cleaner (granted, I've not tried them all)

Bilberry (1:10, or 1:5), does indeed work, but yes, IMO, will require proper agitation with a brush.

Here is an after on the first time my wheels were cleaned with such a product (having owned the car for 6 months)










I have also tried (and got through a lot of due to it's neat application) Wolf's deironizer gel. Whilst it's good at helping get your wheels clean, I don't think it's the magic bullet you'd be after. However, sometimes this will just go with snow foam, since it is other dirt, not brake dust contamination (I'd probably wasted £10 of stuff by the time I worked this out :wall.

I'd be intersted to try another, like purple rain or imperial. Otherwise I wonder if good ol' Iron X would truly be the most touchless. But in terms of economics - are you better just to use something like bilberry, very cherry, or whatever, and get stuck in with a brush? :thumb:

Wolfs in action:




























Often something left; 2nd hit:










Another example of what wolf's left on an Astra, after agitation (this took 3 hits!).


----------



## Johnboy82 (Nov 12, 2010)

I have Wonder wheel, Bilberry & Diablo. If its caked on then the Wonder wheel comes out. If not then its the Bilberry or Diablo. Bought the Diablo to try it and I've got loads left. Not as strong as the other 2 but works none the less. Wonder Wheels is very acidic but does work. Also, one of the Polished Bliss guys posted up not that long ago about how wheel cleaners actually work. Seem to remember its not all to do with Acid/Alkaline content.


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

tbh i so rarely actually use any wheel cleaners on sealed wheels i use wheel cleaner on mine maybe twice to three times a year at most...so having to agitate with bilberry, then use wolfs and spending a few hours doing them is no heart ache.. the sealing is the important bit....

rest of the time shampoo, bucket and my brushes do the job absolutely fine. 

The problem you have is that if you use a strong wheel cleaner to often you will ruin them anyway and IMO any non agitation wheel cleaner is going to have to be on the level of strong to get anywhere i dont see the point of why some people find agitation to hard now :lol:


----------



## Ebbe J (Jun 18, 2008)

MarkSmith said:


> Is there any good wheel cleaners that you can just spray on, leave and power wash off, without the need to agitate it first, and that will work on even the dirtiest of brake dusted wheels ?


Get yourself some P21S Power Gel. They recently updated the smell, so nothing to complain about now. It's acid free and pH-balanced. IMO the best wheel cleaner on the market today.

Bilberry is o.k. but not that efficient. I think it's a bit hyped on here. It needs thorough agitation and it's not suited for heavily contaminated wheels. Which is fine, if it's for maintenance, but for details I prefer something with better cleaning properties.

A product like Iron X is also great to have in your wheel cleaning arsenal.

Kind regards,

Ebbe


----------



## Ebbe J (Jun 18, 2008)

And.. got to agree with Ninja59. Get the wheels sealed, and you wont need anything more than a bit of shampoo to clean them.

Kind regards,

Ebbe


----------



## jubileebug (Jan 25, 2008)

Bilberry for me, never had a problem with it


----------



## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

i'ev not found one product that does everything and use a combination most of the time. I have used Bilberry and found it to be good but it's not in my kit. The following were cleaned with Wolfs Deironizer and Simoniz Active Gel as the inners were baked.



















sorry closest after wheel shot i could find


----------



## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

Short1e said:


> AutoBrite Very Cherry, BriteGel or Purplerain...


+2, Very Cherry, awesome stuff..


----------

