# Best wheel cleaner for regular use...



## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

About three months ago I sealed the powdercoated alloy wheels on my mum's MINI Cooper with Klasse HGSG (X2) and AIO, following a thorough decontamination procedure. This took me all day, but they looked quite nice when I was done. Ever since I've been maintaining the wheels with either pH neutral shampoo (BTBM), or ONR on nearly a weekly basis, and I've been kind of disappointed with the results. Yes, 99% of the brake dust comes off for just pennies a go; however the wheels neither _look_, nor _feel_ as clean as they did before I sealed them when I was just using a mild APC or wheel cleaner solution every time (I can only put this down to BMW's accursedly soft brake pads.) . I thought that it might just be this particular sealant that was the issue, and that another product might work better (The curse of detailing.), but after thinking about the nature of brake dust I realized that this probably wouldn't help. I decided to re-think the whole wheel cleaning side of detailing...

Right now I'm considering using a mild wheel cleaner during each wash in fare weather, followed by a quick top-up with Dodo-Juice Red Mist (A product which never ceases to impress me with it's protection, ease of use, appearance, water repellancy, or economic coverage.). In the winter time I am without a hosepipe, so I'll have to resort to using ONR again and just accept the slight (But still nagging.) reduction in finish quality. I have not use RM yet in cold weather, so I will have to see if I can just keep topping it up after each ONR wash, or if I will have to use a longer lasting sealant before winter. My question for you now, however, is what wheel cleaner should I regularly use when I have access to a hosepipe?

I've been using a combination of Megs D140 Wheel Brightener (Scary strong, and now starting to eat into the black-oxide finished wheel nuts. I didn't know better when I started detailing, and just wanted something cheap that would get the wheels really clean. :wall, P21S Wheel Cleaner Gel (Sporadically due to the high cost per application.), and Bilt-Hamber Surfex HD (Quite lovely at a 10% dilution, but UK shipping gets a bit high for such a regularly consumed item. Otherwise I might've just stuck with this. ). Currently I am considering trying one of the following for weekly, or bi-weekly usage:

(A) - P21S Wheel Cleaner, Regular: $1.45 per wash when bought in bulk, but something like $2.66 per wash if purchase in smaller quantities.
(B) - Dodo-Juice Supernatural Wheel Cleaner: $1.62 per wash. 
(C) - Dodo-Juice Mellow Yellow Concentrate: Roughly 1-Dollar per wash if diluted 2:1 (Dodo-Juice suggests this ratio for regular cleaning.).
(D) - Chemical Guy's Diablo Wheel Gel: A bit less than 1-Dollar per wash if diluted 3:1 (Plus it can be diluted as far down as 6:1, and regularly goes on sale in this country, making it VERY economical indeed.).

P21S is a reliable, high quality product (At least from my experience with the gel.), but very expensive. Dodo-Juice hasn't let me down yet, and their wheel cleaners are supposed to go farther than most, so I would be interested in trying them. While many people vaunt Chemical Guy's products, I have been patently unimpressed with the few of their products that I have tried (Speed Wipe, Maxi-Suds II, & Microfiber Detergent Cleaner.); however on paper the Diablo looks like the best bang for the buck.

I would greatly appreciate the input of those who have used the wheel cleaners I listed, as well as those who might want to comment on my proposed plan for future wheel maintenance. Thank you for your time...

Steampunk


----------



## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

From your list i would use only the P21 gel,thats not cheap,
but its the only one that will work properly.
I love Dodos products,but the their wheel cleaner is not that good..


----------



## ITHAQVA (Feb 20, 2011)

Once my wheel rims where dcontaminated & sealed with Wolfs Rim shield i find washing them with Nano Bath & a large EZ wheel brush does the job :thumb:


----------



## Emile (Sep 23, 2009)

Diablo is a very gentle wheel cleaner, and diluting it any more than 4:1 makes it perform like car wash soap so there is no real gain using that. P21S Wheel Cleaner is very expensive so that makes it kind of uncomfortable to use regularly.

Have you considered something like the CG Sticky Gel wheel cleaner? Reasonably priced when diluted 3:1, and it's an alkaline cleaner (pH of 11.4) which offers good cleaning power provided you don't mind some brushing. Then just follow up with a spray wax during the drying process.

If you want to seal the wheels, you need a dedicated wheel sealant that provides good protection. I suggest the GTechniq Wheel Armor or the Wolf's Rim Shield and then just using shampoo to clean up the wheels.


----------

