richy
New member
- Mar 27, 2007
- 5,158
- 0
I had contacted PWC to ask some questions about their new wheel cleaner. In our discussion, he offered to send me 2 bottles in return for a review. I agreed. That is my disclosure. However, anyone who reads my posts and knows me, knows that I don't blow smoke up anyone's arse and will always give an honest evaluation of a product. That is why perhaps that I have beta tested for Duragloss for so long.
Anyway, my bottles arrived this week and I was in need of a test subject. Enter the 2015 Lincoln MKZ that I was fixing a key scratch on the hood. The wheels weren't terrible like on some German cars, but they weren't clean either. I believe this car would represent a fair test case for this product.
Here is the PWC product:
My goal for the product was to try it 2 ways:
First, how they advise to use which is spray on and rinse off and then
Secondly, spray on, agitate and then rinse off.
I have found that most wheel cleaners usually work better with some agitation and I wanted to see if this was the case here too.
The left front wheel was going to be the spray-only method. Here it is:
I liberally sprayed the barrel first and then the face. The instructions say to allow 3-5 minutes of dwell time.
My first impressions of spraying the product were twofold. First, like any product that seems to change colour to purple when dissolving contamination, there is always a smell. IronX was the first and you could always tell that product blindfolded by the smell. Pleasantly, the odour was quite mild. It was still there, but call it a very watered down version of the IronX odour if you will. The best I can describe it is that it is there, but it is not bothersome.
My second impression was of the thin viscosity. I was spraying it liberally, partly because being the first time using it, I wasn't sure how much it was going to take to "do the job", but also because it does have a thin viscosity and would run off the surface fairly quickly. I wondered if that would affect its performance. Well, let's see, shall we?
Here is the LF wheel after dwelling for approx 4 minutes:
Here is that wheel after being power washed off with my 1900 psi Karcher:
In this next picture as well as the following one, note the beading of the water on the surface, almost like it's got some modicum of protection:
Also note that the dirt and contamination that was on the face of the wheel has been completely removed.
Next up, please direct your attention to the barrel. Barrels are the most difficult to clean well and usually are the most time consuming part of the job. As a reminder, no agitation was done to the barrel whatsoever...only spray and rinse. Note again the beads on the surface of both the barrel and face:
So, my impression after the first wheel? A+ performance on a mid-grade dirty wheel.
Now, part 2 was to add agitation to the mix. I sprayed it on the barrel first followed by the face and allowed it to dwell again, but this time for only 2 minutes.
Here it is working similarly to the other wheel at the same stage:
I then sprayed a bit more on the EZ Detail brush and cleaned the barrels. The brush was coming out quite dirty and I was turning it often. That was followed by a soft brush on the face and around the lug nuts.
Here is the pre-condition of the RF wheel:
Note the condition of the barrel:
Here are the results of spray, agitation and rinse:
Please note the barrel:
As I mentioned above, I always struggle with how much product to use when I have a new product. One needs to learn its "sweet spot". I believe I probably used too much for these 2 wheels based on the quantity used from the bottle.
The first shot is looking down into the bottle from above:
The second shot has my finger (in my black glove) indicating the level of the bottle at the side:
Now contrast that with the full bottle:
So, for 2 wheels, including barrels, I used about an inch of product out of the bottle. Probably too much but any new product needs a period that you play with it to see how little is too little and how much is too much. I wasn't planning on nailing that the first time I used it! Would I have used more of this than IronX? Honestly, no.
So, how did it come out after the agitation followed by the same rinsing with my Karcher power washer? Let's see:
Barrel close up: A+
This area had more aggressive contamination and/or staining on the painted wheels. All gone now! Observe the substantial decrease in beads on the surface. I found that strange and can't explain it.
So, which barrel was cleaner? Without pulling the wheels to see close up, I would call it a draw. This product was powerful enough to remove the moderate level of grime from the barrel even without agitation. That's a good accomplishment.
For presentation, each wheel was blown off with the Master blaster and the tires were dressed. I did not touch a micro fiber to either wheel.
LF (no agitation side) all dried with dressed tire:
Note the reflection from the barrel:
Now, for the finished product on the RF wheel (using agitation):
Check out the barrel here too:
Now for the cost-benefit analysis. You get a 750 ml bottle for $24.99. That equates to $0.03332 per ml with PWC.
Compare Sonax Full Effect with a 500 ml bottle for $19.99. That equates to $0.03998 per ml for Sonax.
As both are offered in smaller containers, the cost is statistically very close. Price is not a factor in making the decision. However, if PWC produces a gallon sized bottle, that should significantly reduce the cost.
Bottom Line: Is the product worth it? Yes, but will be even more so it sold in larger, more economical sizes.
Anyway, my bottles arrived this week and I was in need of a test subject. Enter the 2015 Lincoln MKZ that I was fixing a key scratch on the hood. The wheels weren't terrible like on some German cars, but they weren't clean either. I believe this car would represent a fair test case for this product.
Here is the PWC product:
My goal for the product was to try it 2 ways:
First, how they advise to use which is spray on and rinse off and then
Secondly, spray on, agitate and then rinse off.
I have found that most wheel cleaners usually work better with some agitation and I wanted to see if this was the case here too.
The left front wheel was going to be the spray-only method. Here it is:
I liberally sprayed the barrel first and then the face. The instructions say to allow 3-5 minutes of dwell time.
My first impressions of spraying the product were twofold. First, like any product that seems to change colour to purple when dissolving contamination, there is always a smell. IronX was the first and you could always tell that product blindfolded by the smell. Pleasantly, the odour was quite mild. It was still there, but call it a very watered down version of the IronX odour if you will. The best I can describe it is that it is there, but it is not bothersome.
My second impression was of the thin viscosity. I was spraying it liberally, partly because being the first time using it, I wasn't sure how much it was going to take to "do the job", but also because it does have a thin viscosity and would run off the surface fairly quickly. I wondered if that would affect its performance. Well, let's see, shall we?
Here is the LF wheel after dwelling for approx 4 minutes:
Here is that wheel after being power washed off with my 1900 psi Karcher:
In this next picture as well as the following one, note the beading of the water on the surface, almost like it's got some modicum of protection:
Also note that the dirt and contamination that was on the face of the wheel has been completely removed.
Next up, please direct your attention to the barrel. Barrels are the most difficult to clean well and usually are the most time consuming part of the job. As a reminder, no agitation was done to the barrel whatsoever...only spray and rinse. Note again the beads on the surface of both the barrel and face:
So, my impression after the first wheel? A+ performance on a mid-grade dirty wheel.
Now, part 2 was to add agitation to the mix. I sprayed it on the barrel first followed by the face and allowed it to dwell again, but this time for only 2 minutes.
Here it is working similarly to the other wheel at the same stage:
I then sprayed a bit more on the EZ Detail brush and cleaned the barrels. The brush was coming out quite dirty and I was turning it often. That was followed by a soft brush on the face and around the lug nuts.
Here is the pre-condition of the RF wheel:
Note the condition of the barrel:
Here are the results of spray, agitation and rinse:
Please note the barrel:
As I mentioned above, I always struggle with how much product to use when I have a new product. One needs to learn its "sweet spot". I believe I probably used too much for these 2 wheels based on the quantity used from the bottle.
The first shot is looking down into the bottle from above:
The second shot has my finger (in my black glove) indicating the level of the bottle at the side:
Now contrast that with the full bottle:
So, for 2 wheels, including barrels, I used about an inch of product out of the bottle. Probably too much but any new product needs a period that you play with it to see how little is too little and how much is too much. I wasn't planning on nailing that the first time I used it! Would I have used more of this than IronX? Honestly, no.
So, how did it come out after the agitation followed by the same rinsing with my Karcher power washer? Let's see:
Barrel close up: A+
This area had more aggressive contamination and/or staining on the painted wheels. All gone now! Observe the substantial decrease in beads on the surface. I found that strange and can't explain it.
So, which barrel was cleaner? Without pulling the wheels to see close up, I would call it a draw. This product was powerful enough to remove the moderate level of grime from the barrel even without agitation. That's a good accomplishment.
For presentation, each wheel was blown off with the Master blaster and the tires were dressed. I did not touch a micro fiber to either wheel.
LF (no agitation side) all dried with dressed tire:
Note the reflection from the barrel:
Now, for the finished product on the RF wheel (using agitation):
Check out the barrel here too:
Now for the cost-benefit analysis. You get a 750 ml bottle for $24.99. That equates to $0.03332 per ml with PWC.
Compare Sonax Full Effect with a 500 ml bottle for $19.99. That equates to $0.03998 per ml for Sonax.
As both are offered in smaller containers, the cost is statistically very close. Price is not a factor in making the decision. However, if PWC produces a gallon sized bottle, that should significantly reduce the cost.
Bottom Line: Is the product worth it? Yes, but will be even more so it sold in larger, more economical sizes.
