Wheel cleaner pH's?

maesal

maesal

New member
Hi people,

I'm researching about the wheel cleaner apropriate pH. Does anybody have pH values of wheel cleaners?. :think:

Thanks in advance.
 
White95Max said:
Yeah, P21s cleaners are pH-neutral and are safe for ALL wheels. That's why I use them exclusively.
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The Menzerna wheel cleaner is pH neutral as well. pH neutral wheel cleaners are definitely the safest, but certainly not the strongest cleaners. If your wheels are in good shape and are sealed then you shouldn't need anything other than car wash soap to care for them.
 
I'm not really sure what your question is, but "neutral" wheel cleaners are going to be around 7 on the pH scale (which goes from 0-14). Acid wheel cleaners will come in at 2 or below, while alkaline (or caustic) cleaners like Eagle One A2Z (now called All Wheel and Tire Cleaner) will come in at 12 or above.
 
Well, I gave him one :p...I measured the A2Z...I actually think it was more like 14, but who's counting. There was a thread maybe a year ago where we were talking about this...I (think I) remember RedondoV6 (where has HE been?) measured some Pb's S&R and it was about 2. Since your normal kind of household acid/alkaline cleaners will be in the 4-10 range, it's been my experience that wheel cleaners and that kind of thing are out at the 2 and below and 12 and above area.
 
White95Max said:
He's asking for actual pH values of specific wheel cleaners.



Product X has a pH of ...

Product Y has a pH of ...
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Yes, something like that. I'm using a pH = 12.44 wheel cleaner for 1 year with good results, but I obtained the pH in my lab and now I'm thinking about this value, maybe is not safe for a weekly use... So, maybe is a good idea to compare the value with others.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Well, I gave him one :p...I measured the A2Z...I actually think it was more like 14, but who's counting. There was a thread maybe a year ago where we were talking about this...I (think I) remember RedondoV6 (where has HE been?) measured some Pb's S&R and it was about 2. Since your normal kind of household acid/alkaline cleaners will be in the 4-10 range, it's been my experience that wheel cleaners and that kind of thing are out at the 2 and below and 12 and above area.
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Yes, but this alkaline or acid values are good for disk brakes, clear coat...? This is the problem that I want solve.
 
Well, since I was just touching up a set of ebay wheels that looked like they had the paint burned off in certain spots by an acid wheel cleaner, and the matter of my RSX wheels which everybody tells me are clearcoated, but they are dull and the first time I polished them I got silver paint transfer (and the car was a leftover that the dealer had for 16 months, and had shuttled it back and forth between their two locations EDIT: meaning that they likely cleaned/prepped it several times trying to sell it) I would say yes, acid wheel cleaners will damage your wheels (hold back the flames till I'm done!!) IF you don't rinse them off thoroughly and promptly.



I'm not sure that alkaline cleaners like you mention will damage the paint in the same way as the acid ones, but even the neutral cleaners cause flash rusting to the rotors, etc. Obviously the safest approach is the most neutral. The more extreme cleaners would likely have more chance of attacking brake parts, finishes, and seals.
 
Then, is a good idea to combine an good acid house cleaner with my alkaline wheel cleaner to obtain a new neutral wheel cleaner.

Thanks, I'll post the results.
 
There may be unsafe chemicals in the household cleaners. I wouldn't go mixing various chemicals and assume that it's safe for every purpose once you obtain a neutral pH.
 
White95Max said:
There may be unsafe chemicals in the household cleaners. I wouldn't go mixing various chemicals and assume that it's safe for every purpose once you obtain a neutral pH.
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Yes, I thought that also, but I know a lot of people that used that house cleaner in their wheels with good results for a long time with no problems.
 
I don't see the point in mixing up a neutral wheel cleaner by combining some unknown acidic cleaner with an alkaline cleaner. :soscared:



I'd seriously recommend using a dedicated wheel cleaner that is formulated specifically for the job. You are just asking for trouble if you believe that miscellaneous household cleaners are OK for routine wheel cleaning. I'm sure many household cleaners are not considered paint safe so why take the chance.



Once the wheels are clean, use a sealant to protect them and then maintaining them with only normal car wash soap would be the least aggressive way to protect brake parts, etc.
 
maesal said:
Yes, I thought that also, but I know a lot of people that used that house cleaner in their wheels with good results for a long time with no problems.
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Yeah, and I know many people that use household products on their cars.

My uncle cleaned his wheels with straight ammonia.

My dad washes his van with a sponge from the basement sink, and some water mixed with Purex laundry detergent.
 
HenrikP said:
Eagle One All Wheel and Tire Cleaner must contain Ammonia Bi-Flouride then if it is a base
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ABF is a powerful acid. If the Eagle One contained ABF it would not have a high Ph. TOL's Wheel Wash is ph 5.3. Not too bad for a cleaner that works extremely well. Most soiling on wheels is of a high (alkaline) ph, that is why an effective wheel cleaner should be of a lower (acidic) ph. I agree that extreme ph values on either end of the scale should be avoided.
 
Guru Reports from 2004 tested 30+ wheel cleaners. They listed some ph numbers.



From my personal experiences Menzerna Gel 7.5 is ph neutral. P21S regular and gel is fairly neutral and mild.



I would do what several others are recommending. Wash once with a cleaner, seal it with a longer lasting sealant (or Collinite) and maintain with a combination auto shampoo, QD and spray sealeant. Then throw away all those harsh wheel cleaners.
 
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