Making your own wheel cleaner?

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CopperMtnGuy

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Anyone make their own wheel cleaner? Currently I just mix some Meg's DC wash or something of that level with some water in a spray bottle. Anyone use anything better? I'd like something a bit more aggressive but not aggressive enough to do any damage.
 
You can make it with Meguiar's apc or apc+, it will work, and it's the most cost effective. Meg's apc's can be mixed however you like or used full strength. They will work well, and the apc's can be used to clean other things on your auto's too, so one product fits several niches. However, a dedicated product is sometimes very useful, and sometimes needed.

I use Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner. It not only cleans wheels as good and better than most things I've used, but it is tops for cleaning the nastiest of nasty tires.

Hope that helps.
 
Dedicated wheel cleaners are garbage. At least all that i have tried which are very many. (this excludes iron removers but even that only needs to be used only once in a while for the purpose removing bedded brake dust)
 
anonymoususer said:
Dedicated wheel cleaners are garbage. At least all that i have tried which are very many. (this excludes iron removers but even that only needs to be used only once in a while for the purpose removing bedded brake dust)
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Click on the red box in the quote below to go to the thread.



Hoytman said:
I used Westley's Bleche-White for close to 30 years because it's the only product that I'd found (at the time) over-the-counter that would clean tough browning from tires. It would clean tires where others would not...and it still works well. I didn't have access to the information then that I have today though. The down side to that product was it wasn't for the wheels...or certain wheels...but you can't help but get residue on the wheels.

When I first bought Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner it was sold as Mothers Foaming All Wheel Cleaner...for all wheels. Not sure why they dropped that, but I can tell you that I very seldom buy the Bleche-White because one product, Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner, does the job of cleaning both my tires and my wheels...something the Bleche-White couldn't do. Why buy two products? Doesn't make sense to me.

Since then, I've tried Meguiar's APC+ mixed at different dilutions and they to serve a purpose from time to time. However, when I need to clean extremely brown and dirty tires...and clean the wheels at the same time...APC+ can't touch Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner. So, I reach for Mothers or Bleche-White (for the tires) depending on which one I'm out of at the time.

I've heard lots of good comments about Brown Royal...but no comments here because I've never tried it.

Not too long ago I did an experiment on my car comparing Iron-X and Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner. One wheel was cleaned with Iron-X and the other Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner.

Iron-X certainly works, but so does the Mothers. Each tire recieved only one cleaning.

Here again, Iron-X also serves two purposes. It can clean wheels as well as paint, so there is still a reason to keep it around in my opinion. I'll just be using less of it wheels as it's fairly expensive.

After cleaning the wheel with Mothers I then used Iron-X on the same wheel (a wheel that hadn't been cleaned in months). I am happy to report that in this one instance there was no change of color when using the Iron-X. This meant that the Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner had cleaned the wheel (removed the iron particles) as well as the Iron-X. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

Not that I would never use Iron-X again, but here again we're faced with buying one product that can clean both wheels and the nastiest of the nasty tires.

Mothers Foaming Wheel Cleaner is your ticket...to cleaner tires/wheels and a fatter wallet.
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APC for me. Meg's APC is the most cost effective. If you don't want to damage paint or sealant, use OptiClean and mix accordingly.
 
Non-acid wheel cleaners will generally be rather similar to APC. Contrary to the common belief, the wheel cleaners will tend to be stronger. For instance, our triple strength APC can be diluted to 250:1 for regular cleaning duties. Our foaming wheel cleaner uses a similar base with some stronger additives. It is often used neat on wheels.

If your non-acid wheel cleaner is weaker than your APC then you are being had.
 
I have made my own wheel cleaner using 1oz of CGs Citrus Red soap in 32oz of DI water. It works very well and is all you need on decently maintained wheels.
 
•What type of wheels to be cleaned, is one of the "determinates" for wheel-cleaner selection---homemade, or not.

•Just the other day there was a thread where an Ohio-based company's specifically formulated to be a non-acid wheel cleaner (that contained sodium hydroxide) was being used.

-One of the results of doing so, was that the end-user of this product received several painful chemical burns.

•Now even though they are not specifically formulated to do so...I will say that the same result can be obtained when using most NaOH-based drain cleaners, as homemade wheel-cleaners. :eek:

Bob
 
FUNX725 said:
•What type of wheels to be cleaned, is one of the "determinates" for wheel-cleaner selection---homemade, or not.

•Just the other day there was a thread where an Ohio-based company's specifically formulated to be a non-acid wheel cleaner (that contained sodium hydroxide) was being used.

-One of the results of doing so, was that the end-user of this product received several painful chemical burns.

•Now even though they are not specifically formulated to do so...I will say that the same result can be obtained when using most NaOH-based drain cleaners, as homemade wheel-cleaners. :eek:

Bob
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Sodium Hydroxide is more and more common in detailing circles. It is extremely effective and is basically the cheapest way available to give degreasing power. Unfortunately it is too reactive for sensitive applications. The biggest issue is with sensitive trims or unusual wheel finishes (for instance, chrome) which will be quickly and permanently damaged by high caustic levels - the discolour/cloud. For this reason, I think that detailers should be using non-caustic products. There is no problem in doing this but it does require a better formulated product which costs more. Further unfortunate realities are that, as detailing becomes mainstream, the message is diluted. It is often not about doing the job to the highest standard, it is about getting the results as fast as possible. It often does not matter that people are using highly aggressive products when they do not need to, it just matters that they got the job done fast.

Caustic products are safe enough, if used correctly, but most users and many of the suppliers are insufficiently knowledgable to avoid using where they are not ideal.

FYI, there is at least one big brand which has now made it to your shores which is selling a strongly caustic product for wheel cleaning. Everytime people find out what it is, it surprises someone. Which only goes to highlight the problem I am describing.
 
PiPUK said:
Sodium Hydroxide is more and more common in detailing circles
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That...and other "hydroxides": Regrettably so!

Note:
My earlier post was a rather weak "tongue-in-cheek" parody about: Don't Mix Your Own...To Detail.
Rather, it's best to:
Leave the detail products formulating to the Chemists.

PiPUK said:
FYI, there is at least one big brand which has now made it to your shores which is selling a strongly caustic product for wheel cleaning. Everytime people find out what it is, it surprises someone. Which only goes to highlight the problem I am describing.
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Hope it's not P21S, or Sonax.

Bob
 
PiPUK said:
Sodium Hydroxide is more and more common in detailing circles. It is extremely effective and is basically the cheapest way available to give degreasing power. Unfortunately it is too reactive for sensitive applications. The biggest issue is with sensitive trims or unusual wheel finishes (for instance, chrome) which will be quickly and permanently damaged by high caustic levels - the discolour/cloud. For this reason, I think that detailers should be using non-caustic products. There is no problem in doing this but it does require a better formulated product which costs more. Further unfortunate realities are that, as detailing becomes mainstream, the message is diluted. It is often not about doing the job to the highest standard, it is about getting the results as fast as possible. It often does not matter that people are using highly aggressive products when they do not need to, it just matters that they got the job done fast.



Caustic products are safe enough, if used correctly, but most users and many of the suppliers are insufficiently knowledgable to avoid using where they are not ideal.



FYI, there is at least one big brand which has now made it to your shores which is selling a strongly caustic product for wheel cleaning. Everytime people find out what it is, it surprises someone. Which only goes to highlight the problem I am describing.
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I'd like to know who the morons are who design wheels that are easily damaged by mildly aggressive wheel cleaners???

One would think (expect) that these high dollar wheels are going to be used on high dollar cars - that probably have aggressive brakes.

One would expect that if your dropping mega dollars for wheels or mega dollars for a car equipped with mega dollar wheels - that the finish would be rather durable and not be sensitive to common wheel cleaners. Most people aren't detailers and assume a wheel cleaner would be safe to clean a wheel (accept for acid).

This is not difficult or impossible. I was not happy with the poor factory finish that came on my BMW M wheels. The clear coat was degrading from using general wheel cleaners.

So, a few years ago I paid a grand to have them powder coated by a top place. I'm still using "regular" wheel cleaners - yet the finish remains perfect.

Dunno why this is so hard to do from the factory.
 
swanicyouth said:
I'd like to know who the morons are who design wheels that are easily damaged by mildly aggressive wheel cleaners???

One would think (expect) that these high dollar wheels are going to be used on high dollar cars - that probably have aggressive brakes.

One would expect that if your dropping mega dollars for wheels or mega dollars for a car equipped with mega dollar wheels - that the finish would be rather durable and not be sensitive to common wheel cleaners. Most people aren't detailers and assume a wheel cleaner would be safe to clean a wheel (accept for acid).

This is not difficult or impossible. I was not happy with the poor factory finish that came on my BMW M wheels. The clear coat was degrading from using general wheel cleaners.

So, a few years ago I paid a grand to have them powder coated by a top place. I'm still using "regular" wheel cleaners - yet the finish remains perfect.

Dunno why this is so hard to do from the factory.
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The answer is not simple and there is something of a round about. In truth, many wheel cleaners out there are not 'mildly' aggressive, they are massively aggressive. You say that people assume that, as long as it isn't acid, it is OK. Unfortunately that is wrong. Hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid - nasty stuff and you need to be very careful. Hydroxides at high levels can be every bit as nasty yet people jump at such products because they are non-acid. Some of the most popular products in the UK are not far remover from drain removers and oven cleaners. Get them on your skin and they will burn fast. These products are going to be miles more aggressive and dangerous than many acid products - phosphoric acid and citric acid are two good examples. These acids will give great wheel cleaning power yet will remain safe on the majority of finishes. They will typically be SAFER than a caustic based 'non-acid wheel cleaner'.

With regards to products, you have to realise that many detailing products are closer to the trade sledgehammer approach than consumer grade.

The finishes themselves - it is generally things like chromes, bare metal and similar, the exotic type finishes.
 
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