Best wheel cleaner?

I've been using Chemical Guys Diablo wheel cleaner, works great.

I think the best wheel cleaner is Sonax Full Effect. I think a lot will agree with this sentiment.

If it's filled with brake dust you may want to treat it with All Purpose cleaner first!

Not what you asked about, but I have used several brands of caliper paint now and can tell you that VHT's is my favorite so far, though they don't offer as many colors as others. The VHT paint is super durable (once cured) and more temperature resistant than most. It has such good adhesion I've been painting polished stainless exhausts with it without issue!

Did the Duplicolor number on mine and it didn't hold worth a darn. I removed them and went with powdercoat and have had no regrets since.

What's the best way to clean the calipers before painting so the paint gets a good grip.

"You can help create your own luck, you can make things happen through hard work and intelligence."- Donald J. Trump

ExoticAutoDetai said:

What's the best way to clean the calipers before painting so the paint gets a good grip.

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Brake cleaner

Btw: I used the G2 2 part epoxy for my calipers. Heres a link to the process shown through pictures for the most part http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/32340-painted-calipers-rotor-hats.html

Of course if you can remove the calipers thats even better.

I scrubbed mine with brake clean and used a high temp engine paint and has lasted over two years now...

S2K said:

Thank you for the advice, I was looking at the DupliColor kit (a lot of people on a S2K forum use it) but I'm always looking for better advice. Have you ever put decals on calipers?

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Nope, never even noticed decals before. Interesting.

If you want to do a nice job, you really need to remove the calipers from the car. It's an opportunity to do brake work (install some HP pads) and refresh the fluid which should be changed every 2-3 years on sports car. Brake fittings and linings are usually quite friendly to work with unless the car has 150k on it. Remove the pads, use degreaser and brake parts cleaner to remove all deposits from the metal. Go across every inch with a wire brush. Take the caliper carrier (caliper bracket) off as well and paint it separately if you want (could even be painted black to highlight a brightly painted caliper). Use 2 very light coats of paint followed by a medium wet coat. The VHT paint flows fast from the can so you will get runs if you overdo it. The paint cures on the car at 200 deg f, until then it is very easily chipped so handle with care. Once cured it is very tough. Lubricate anything that was previously greased and put it back together. Oh and don't forget to thoroughly bleed your brakes!

Or, you can just spray them from the well....

Another tip, never upgrade pads for performance on just one axle, it upsets your break bias and will actually lengthen your stopping times. People do it all the time, lots of friction in front, nothing in the back because it make their car feel like it's stopping easier but at the limit it will actually take longer to stop. The only exception to this if you track your car and want to make the bias more aggressive (but less safe for everyday use). ALL cars, even high performance cars, come factory tuned so that the front brakes always exceed traction before the rear on at the limit. Braking distances can be substantially shortened if you alter your brake bias via tuned friction (always use friction rated pads by the same manufacturer, never mix and match), but the best way is always to change calipers to achieve the desired proportioning and bias. I've dialed my e36 (bmw) back from 69% front to 64.6% front and still have a safety factor for street use through changing caliper piston bore diameter and the improvement is substantial.

Now that I have Opti-Coat on my wheels...soap and water.

I really like Brown Royal. Great on wheels & tires. ARO is great too!

Optimum Power Clean. Non acidic (AFAIK), nice smell, plus it can be used in other areas of the car. I don't think Sonax Full Effect is recommended as a leather cleaner. Just sayin.

I just bought some Autoglym CWC wheel cleaner. Its all wheel safe and you dilute it 1:1 so it is very economical.It gets outstanding reviews and I am looking forward to testing it out.