Acid-free, yet effective, wheel cleaners...

S

stilez

New member
...ceteris paribus...





Are there any out there?





I'm looking to branch away from any sort of acid and go towards a safer alternative.





Any and all additions are greatly appreciated.
 
truzoom said:
All things held constant, eh?



Is this to deal with a certain level of brake dust/grime? Also, for the inside or outside of the wheel?
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Mainly for customer's vehicles which usually have moderate levels of dust...It would be for cleaning inside/outside.
 
Not completely acid free, but very mild and safe for all types of rims. HI-TEMP's 710 wheel cleaner. I have it in a stainless steel sprayer, and it has not corroded the steel at all.....yet.
 
You're just not going to get the effectiveness of an ABF wheel cleaner without it. Meg's Gold Class All-Wheel Cleaner uses citric acid (as in citrus) which is pretty safe, and pretty ineffective in my experience. Meguiar's doesn't have the MSDS's up for the new Hot Rims cleaners, but the old G95 Hot Rims was acetic acid (as in vinegar). If you use a detergent type (P21S, Griot's, Meg's #36), it's going to have to sit, and you're going to have to scrub. Nature of the beast--that's why they make HF-based wheel cleaners, they are the only thing that is going to just melt that brake dust away, because that brake dust is metal, and the acid simply dissolves it.
 
MrSelfDestruct, does that Car Brite stuff work good on tires as well. I've been using Purple Power, but it is pretty strong stuff. I need a good cleaner for the wheels, tires, and wheel wells.
 
Cam07 said:
MrSelfDestruct, does that Car Brite stuff work good on tires as well. I've been using Purple Power, but it is pretty strong stuff. I need a good cleaner for the wheels, tires, and wheel wells.
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Usually I just use CarBrite "PowerClean" for tires/wheel wells/rims. It's a great cleaner, simple as that. If the rims are chrome/aluminum then I'll use the mag cleaner, otherwise painted/hubcaps just get the powerclean. I also use this stuff for bugs, and for engine bays that aren't too greasy.



http://carbrite.com/servlet/net.ebiz.velocity.ShowPagePublic?pg=static/E043&lb=none



We don't dilute it either.. just have 2 spray bottles handy cause we use so much of the stuff. :)
 
Best I recall, the mayor recomends Sonus, P21s and AutoGlym products for detergent based gentle wheel cleaners.



Myself, I mix up an additional bucket with a strong mix of E1 Car Wash / Water. Then go at it with a wheel brush and a mf covered sponge from Patrick.



This past week, I have been investigating the products David recomended... I have also looked into the hi-temp product. I'm glad someone clarified that the Hi-Temp cleaner was somewhat acidic. It was ABOUT to win... It'll probably be P21s in my future.



Glad you brought this up Mr. Busch



Andy
 
Eagle One has a variety of Wheel Cleaners. This is what I know about them.



Mag Wheel Cleaner: Acidic, highly effective. Not for use on clear coated or aluminum wheels.

All Wheel & Tire Cleaner: Says non-acidic, says safe for aluminum. Moderately effective (pretty good for non-acid based). Requires agitation. I wonder about this one; it works as if it was lightly acidic.

Aluminum Wash & Cleaner: Says non-acidic, not very effective on anything but very light dust, requires a lot of agitation.

Chrome Wheel & Tire Cleaner: No idea on the acid, haven't used it. Says its for chrome only.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Picus, the EO AW&TC is a caustic (opposite of acidic).
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Ahh, gotchya - thanks for clearing that up for me. :bigups



Edit to add that I've used the P21S cleaner and it worked reasonably well for me. I use it or AW&TC on wheels with light to moderate dust, and of course Megs WB on the bad stuff.
 
Piccus, here is a tip from my carpet days.



Spray on citrus cleaner, and then spray on the aklaline cleaner.



Citrus products are great degreasers but lousy detergents, to remove them effectively you need a good detergent. By their nature citrus products are solvents. Solvents are not great cleaners. Alkaline detergents make great cleaners but have a hard time dealing with greases.



if you mix the citrus and dtergent beforehand the detergent will just attach its self to the citrus making the combo very ineffectual. However if you give the citrus a chance to break the brake dust free, and degrease it (persay) then the spray alkaline detergent will remove the citrus and brake dust as they cling together. This will take a bit of rubbing but not as much as each by themselves.



so here is what i would do.



lightly spray with the citrus cleaner.



let it soak for 2-3 min each wheel.



then spray on the alkaline cleaner, brush it on to work it in and around the places.



let sit the amount of time it takes you to do this to all 4 wheels



rinse off and wipe down.



an example of this is oil paints.



here is a test. Take some oil based paint and put it on your hands.



then try washing your hands with citrus solvents. Yes it makes the oilbased paints thinner but does not remove them. even when run under hot water it still is a poor detergent.



now while you have that citrus oil mix on your hands put a detergent into the mix, tide, dawn, bar soap what ever. rub liberally you'll begin to see the oil paint suspended in the solvent detergenst mix. Run your hands under the water till clean, rinse and repeat the citrus-detergent mix.



now try the oil paint with just detergent first. then add the solvent. since the process was inversed the solvent can't directly act with the paint nearly as well. Causing it to be a longer process.



with clean hands apply paint again. Mix the citrus solvent and detergent together. then try and clean your hands. It will work but it will take a while longer.
 
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