# Sonax vs Bilthamber wheel cleaner



## Suba (Feb 2, 2013)

I'm currently using Bilthamber Autowheel on my alloys and rate it very highly. But I'm interested in how the Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner compares (seems quite a similar product) mainly as CYC stock it. Costs for 5L of both products are around £54 each. 

Has anyone used both and if so can share thoughts on which they prefer and why?

Thanks for your help.


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## 636 (Oct 23, 2012)

Anyone? As I would like an answer to this too


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## downhuman (Mar 25, 2007)

I've had both and the sonax is better IMHO. Not remarkably so, very similar... But the sonax is the only product I've used which is near touchless on unprotected wheels... I found in smaller sizes that the Bilt Hamber is better value but I do alternate depending on special offers etc


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

Haven't used the bh but used a few others and the songs is what I will go for every time I need some more wheel cleaner


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## 636 (Oct 23, 2012)

So does the bilt hamber stuff work in the same principle as the sonax? Spray on dry wheels then rinse to reveal clean wheels?


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## Zolasbackheel (Feb 11, 2013)

I have used both and prefer full effect. As stated above this is the closest I have come to touchless cleaning. Saying that Autowheels is also very good and you cant go wrong with either.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

I haven't use BH (not sold here) but Sonax is the best safe wheel cleaner I have used for non protected wheels.


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

Used both,the truth is that both of them are very good.
so where ever you get a better deal,take it.


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## Bilt-Hamber Lab (Apr 11, 2008)

Suba said:


> I'm currently using Bilthamber Autowheel on my alloys and rate it very highly. But I'm interested in how the Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner compares (seems quite a similar product) mainly as CYC stock it. Costs for 5L of both products are around £54 each.
> 
> Has anyone used both and if so can share thoughts on which they prefer and why?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


You would need to use them side-by-side same rim, same temperature, same rinse proceedure to see a difference


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## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

So it seems as things are that close a call, it would rest on price and availability


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## 636 (Oct 23, 2012)

Prices are very similar from what I can see. They both look very good. I guess what would sway me is to buy British :thumb: ( plus the fact I highly rate my other bilt hamber products


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## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

636 said:


> Prices are very similar from what I can see. They both look very good. I guess what would sway me is to buy British :thumb: ( plus the fact I highly rate my other bilt hamber products


I concur, everything I've got from BH has been top notch and certainly does what it says on the containers, :thumb:their "metal" bottles look cool as well!!


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## F10N47 (Apr 2, 2013)

At the moment my wheels are protected with FK1000 but that doesn't last forever and I don't want to redo them until after the winter. Will either of these cleaners remove the FK1000?


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## Suba (Feb 2, 2013)

Bilt-Hamber Lab said:


> You would need to use them side-by-side same rim, same temperature, same rinse proceedure to see a difference


Sounds like a challenge! I already have auto-wheel so will get some Sonax full-effect and sort a comparison. My suspicion is that they will be very similar - but whatever the outcome I am still in awe of auto-wheel as a cleaner!


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## F10N47 (Apr 2, 2013)

I've only ever used Bilberry so I bought some Sonax from Amazon for £11 and tried it today.

It's far from being touchless (I don't use a pressure washer) but it sure does shift the cr*p and saves having to use Iron-X as well.

I'm not sure it's any better than bilberry but it definitely smells worse.


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## DJBAILEY (May 7, 2011)

The 1Z Colour-Tec wheel cleaner is very similar to the Sonax FE. I think it cleans better and there is more bleeding from the iron removal. Suprised that it has not caught on yet.


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## Suba (Feb 2, 2013)

Sonax wheel cleaner on order from CYC - hoping to test this weekend!


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

DJBAILEY said:


> The 1Z Colour-Tec wheel cleaner is very similar to the Sonax FE. I think it cleans better and there is more bleeding from the iron removal. Suprised that it has not caught on yet.


It's selling out from the suppliers in Canada.


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## ken46 (Apr 20, 2010)

F10N47 said:


> At the moment my wheels are protected with FK1000 but that doesn't last forever and I don't want to redo them until after the winter. Will either of these cleaners remove the FK1000?


Would like to know this as well.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

ken46 said:


> Would like to know this as well.


Yes. If you have any sealant/coating/wax on a wheel, you should just use soapy water (wax safe type) to clean the wheels after.


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## Suba (Feb 2, 2013)

Ok - Sonax now arrived but so has more rain. Looking hopeful for this Saturday morning.

Will do two wheels - 50/50 each product, the first with no additional agitation; then the next with brushes (separate ones). Both rims rinsed with hose (high water pressure here!)

Should take account of Bilt Hamber Lab's testing criteria


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## pawlik (May 16, 2011)

Both are very good but BH is no available in LT, so my vote for Sonax.


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## Suba (Feb 2, 2013)

Finally conducted this test at the weekend! I have to admit I was surprised by the result.

Will post the test and pictures in the next day or so...


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## Suba (Feb 2, 2013)

*Bilt-Hamber autowheel vs. Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner*

I have a number of Bilt-Hamber products but a real stand-out for me is 'auto-wheel'. This is a strong yet gentle wheel cleaner, combined with an iron fallout removing capability, and it claims to enable touchless cleaning in the majority of cases. I have been using auto-wheel for some time now alongside a set of Wheel Woolies and a Swissvax Wheel Brush.

Recently I have also been using a number of Sonax products, based on excellent experience with their summer and winter windscreen washer fluids. A product that has been getting some good reviews (other than BSD) is their Full Effect Wheel Cleaner. Similar to Bilt-Hamber's auto-wheel, it also has iron fallout capability built in.

As I was coming to the end of a bottle of auto-wheel I decided to give Full Effect a try, and moreover to compare both products together.

*The test*

I wanted to conduct a side-by-side comparison so decided to treat the same wheel with each product, split into a left and right side. This would show each product under the same conditions and allow a fair test (the minor amount of product mixing down the middle of the wheel not being consequential.) There was no direct sun on the wheel for the entire duration of the test, hence no uneven temperatures on the wheel. The car had not been driven that day, other than to move from the drive.

The car had travelled about 700-800 miles since the last wheel clean (about 3-4 weeks). The wheels had not been pre-rinsed, there was no rain present, hence all wheels were dry for the test.









The wheel under test









The left side of the uncleaned wheel









The right side of the uncleaned wheel

*Applying both products*

Both products were applied liberally with the same amount of coverage (hard to show in the photos), with auto-wheel on the left and Full Effect to the right. Note that I did not mean to spray the tyres as well but forgot for the auto-wheel side.

Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel clinged to the wheel more than the Sonax Full Effect, with the latter running off a little quicker as a result.









Both products applied evenly...

…and were left to work their magic…








This is after about 90 seconds. auto-wheel is 'colouring' more, though Full Effect still showing a change.









This is at about 180 seconds (3 minute mark) - auto-wheel is much stronger in colour, though this is no solid indication of actual cleaning.









Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel









Sonax Full Effect

These close-up photos were taken at around 4 minutes. It is worth noting again that both sides were sprayed with approximately the same amount of product.

*Results after rinsing*

Normally I would brush the wheels before rinsing. However, for this test I wanted to see how each wheel cleaner had fared without any additional agitation. Using just a hose fed from an outside tap (albeit with good water pressure) I rinsed the wheel fully, showing the following results:

*Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel*


















*Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner*


















*Conclusion*

I think the photos of the wheel after rinsing show the results!

Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel clearly has a strong lead over Sonax Full Effect under these test conditions. While auto-wheel did not manage to clear all of the dirt, it did clean significantly more than the Sonax wheel cleaner.

I did go on to clean another full wheel with auto-wheel and again the results were great (though this time I used my wheel brushes). I did the same with Full Effect but it wasn't as effective, having to spend a lot more time 'working' the product.

I have to admit to being disappointed with the results, both in that I was expecting a lot more performance from the Sonax wheel cleaner, and moreover that I had used the last of my auto-wheel in the test and just have the Sonax Full Effect product for the next few weeks (it is by no means a bad product, just for me is not as good as Bilt-Hamber's auto-wheel).

In terms of cost, you can get 1 litre of Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel for roughly the same price as 500ml of Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner (though the price is very similar for the 5 litre volumes.)

Both products are available from *Clean Your Car*:

Bilt-Hamber auto-wheel

Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner

Any comments or questions then please let me know.


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## FatTony (Feb 21, 2014)

Very interesting test and very fair to be honest.
As a newcomer to detailing Im glade I bought the BH stuff as It looks a very good product.


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## Neno330 (Dec 19, 2013)

very good review, I need to order BH autowheel ASAP


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## Juancho (Sep 27, 2013)

I like both, but I prefer the V60 Sport, for one reason, because
in addition to cleaning without rubbing, no smells ... because these are very unpleasant odors ...


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

Very Interesting, I'm running out of Sonax and was about to order some more.... Until I saw this! It would be interesting to see the same test using a PW though as my unprotected wheels come up spotless using Sonax and a PW. :thumb:


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

I wonder how they would both stand out using a foaming nozzle. I find the products cling to surface longer when coming out looking like foam than straight product.


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## Bilt-Hamber Lab (Apr 11, 2008)

Focusaddict said:


> I wonder how they would both stand out using a foaming nozzle. I find the products cling to surface longer when coming out looking like foam than straight product.


Clinging longer doesn't equate to better cleaning when foam is involved as actually the air containing bubbles just keep the actives away from the soiled surface. Well conducted test - not guess work or popularity contest. :thumb:


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## organisys (Jan 3, 2012)

One thing has made me very happy in this test, the UK companies' product performed the best.

I don't buy UK just for the sake of it mind you, I buy based on performance.


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## veeduby (Feb 1, 2006)

Great test, will get some BH ordered.


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