Rim and tire Cleaner

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Dynoguy

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What is the best Rim and Tire Cleaner that you guys use ? I have been using Meguiars..
 
To do this really right, it’s two different products; a rim cleaner and a tire cleaner… for the rim I like sonax products, and for the tire I like stoners Tarminator
 
I also prefer to use two different products when the wheels and tires are extremely dirty. A Tire & Wheel cleaner works great on well maintained vehicles.

Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner Concentrate diluted 1:1
tuf shine tire cleaner concentrate
TUF SHINE Tire Brush

Sonax "The Beast" Wheel Cleaner
SONAX The Beast? Wheel Cleaner
Speed Master 3 Piece Wheel Detail Kit

BLACKFIRE Tire & Wheel Cleaner , BLACKFIRE Total Eclipse Tire & Wheel Cleaner
https://www.autogeek.net/wg4600.html
https://www.autogeek.net/dp-tire-and-wheel-cleaner.html
https://www.autogeek.net/ps-brake-wheel-cleaner.html
 
Dynoguy said:
What is the best Rim and Tire Cleaner that you guys use ? I have been using Meguiars..
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There is no such thing as "best" when it comes to auto detailing products.

Meguiar's has a few different wheel and tire cleaners - which one are you using? I assume you are using the consumer grade Hot Rims Wheel and Tire Cleaner?


If you maintain your vehicle on a regular basis (weekly or bi-weekly) then most ANY wheel and tire cleaner will do the job. That's because there generally won't be a huge amount of dirt/grime accumulation to merit a heavy strong cleaner. In fact you can use regular car shampoo to wash wheels and save the cleaner for the tires only (saves you money).

If you DON'T maintain your vehicle regularly (monthly or bi-monthly) then I would still say most ANY wheel and tire cleaner will do the job except for wheels as you may want to switch to a cleaner with a iron remover component to help break up bonded contaminants from the brake dust. Or if you have heavy dusting brakes where they may cake on the wheels then an acid wheel cleaner will help make cleaning easier.


Personally, for tires only I've been using Turtle Wax Hyper Foam Wheel Cleaner and Tire Prep. I've tried many many tire cleaners over the years and I'm enjoying this one so far. Its economical and effective which is a combo I look for in most detailing products.

For wheels only, I've been using Meguiar's Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner. I like it because of its iron removing capabilities, high foaming and it clings (gel-like consistency) for decent dwell time. Again this is extremely economical. I buy 5 bottles locally and put them in a gallon container. Sometimes they are on sale for $8.99 a bottle so its the cheapest iron removing wheel cleaner of anything else available on the market that come in gallon sizes.

I just ran out of the Meguiar's so I picked up a gallon of the Turtle Wax All Wheel Cleaner + Iron Remover. Its a few dollars more expensive over the Meg's but I wanted to give this a shot to see how I liked it.


There are many other popular favorites out there that will do an equal job as the products I listed above but they cost more. And in my opinion its not worth it to spend more money to get equal results or even results that are a smidge better. Especially for wheel and tire cleaners because these are chemicals that we use the most of at every wash.
 
evo77 said:
There is no such thing as "best" when it comes to auto detailing products.
Click to expand...

So very true. Condition of the wheels, type of wheel material/finish, etc, make a big difference.

For moderate/mildly dirty wheels, which is what I normally face, my weapon of choice is Griots wheel cleaner; the green "normal" one. For being the "mild" cleaner it has a surprising amount of cleaning ability.

Now that I no longer have a German car with performance pads in the garage, I'm finding I use wheel cleaner far less these days. For my maintenance washes I'm able to mix up my normal wash solution and it does just fine.
 
There really isn't a "best" cleaner in my opinion. Many of the major companies out there make quality products. Personally I would not use a tire and wheel cleaner as these should really be two separate products. You want a degreaser for your tires and an iron spray for your wheels. I predominantly use Gtechniq W6 on my wheels for a few different reasons. First it is safe to use on a wide variety of wheel types, coating safe and it can be used on your body work as well for coated/uncoated vehicles as part of a decontamination wash. I use tuf n shine tire cleaner for my tires with a tuf n shine low profile tire brush. This combination will do a far better job than any tire and wheel cleaner combo ever will. Combo type products could be useful if you always clean your car on a bi-weekly basis max but many people slip up on time frames so it is better to just have the dedicated products imo.
 
Desertnate said:
For my maintenance washes I'm able to mix up my normal wash solution and it does just fine.
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Yeah, so many people sleep on the idea of just using regular car wash shampoo to clean wheels. I've been doing that for years because it does the job and its CHEAP! Again this is for regularly maintained wheels.

I've only recently started using a dedicated iron removing wheel cleaner because one of our vehicles has gloss black wheels with a really soft sensitive finish. And I like the idea of dissolving brake dust first before agitating to reduce the risk of further marring. If these wheels were silver I'd be using car soap. :D
 
evo77 said:
Yeah, so many people sleep on the idea of just using regular car wash shampoo to clean wheels. I've been doing that for years because it does the job and its CHEAP! Again this is for regularly maintained wheels.
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I will freely admit to being new to the practice. I've known about it for some time, but found normal car wash soap wasn't very effective in removing the heavy, sticky, black brake dust produced by the performance-grade pads on my GTI and BMW. With my current Japanese car, it's a totally different story. The wheels are really easy to clean. Will this continue when I mount upgraded aftermarket pads in the future? Not sure, but for now I'm happy using car wash soap.
 
If you are a geek at heart and keep wheels maintained, P&S Brake buster at full strength. At worse 2 part BB 1 part water.

Cleans wheels hood and gets tire pretty clean. If your using regular tire products then good for tires too.

If I were coating tire I would use a stronger cleaner like TufShine or 303 T&R


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
evo77 said:
Yeah, so many people sleep on the idea of just using regular car wash shampoo to clean wheels. I've been doing that for years because it does the job and its CHEAP! Again this is for regularly maintained wheels.

I've only recently started using a dedicated iron removing wheel cleaner because one of our vehicles has gloss black wheels with a really soft sensitive finish. And I like the idea of dissolving brake dust first before agitating to reduce the risk of further marring. If these wheels were silver I'd be using car soap. :D
Click to expand...

I have been a big advocate for cleaning well maintained wheels with soap for a long time now. For my own cars, I apply soap to the wheel and wheel arch from my foam cannon. If I feel the need to scrub the tires, I will have a something appropriate hooked on the side of my bucket. I find soap more than adequate in such situations and limits exposure to harsh chemicals, a benefit to myself and the car.





For excessively dirty wheels and tires, I will use undiluted Brake Buster and/or NV Purge.



 
Brake buster in Australia was $35 for 1 US gallon now it's $45 and that's without
Postage. So sometimes i do dabble with BO wax wash and find it does just fine and
adds a layer of wax to the wheels. Im the MAN
 
I use two separate products about half the time, the other half of the time my rims aren't that dirty and the pre-wash and OPC take care of both. But for the other cases...

A Sonax wheel cleaner, all are good, currently rocking The Beast. What a great cleaner that is.

For the tires I use the Tuf Shine tire cleaner. Currently buy the ready-to-go spray bottle of it, but next restock will be the gallon of concentrate that dilutes 1:3.

Equally important are the tools, too. Dedicated wheel brushes of all shapes and sizes. For the wheel spokes, barrels, lug nuts, brake calipers, tires, etc.
 
glen e said:
To do this really right, it’s two different products; a rim cleaner and a tire cleaner… for the rim I like sonax products, and for the tire I like stoners Tarminator
Click to expand...

I never thought to use Tarminator on the tires...may try that. Love that product.
 
I used to use super clean diluted on both the rims and tires. For the last year or so, I switched to Adams Wheel and Tire cleaner and absolutely love it. It suds up really well and provides a lot of lubrication.

From my experience, almost any product you use will work well, to get tires and rims clean, it's more about the effort you put into cleaning them vs. the products you use.

With that being said, Adams Wheel and Tire cleaner is the product I use, diluted 2:1. I'm very very happy with this product and will not use anything else. For the fender wells, I still use super clean.
 
PouncingPanzer said:
I never thought to use Tarminator on the tires...may try that. Love that product.
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A great product for extremely deep cleaning. I would only use it occasionally though and be careful when using it by applying to the towel and not the tire itself.



 
PouncingPanzer said:
I use two separate products about half the time, the other half of the time my rims aren't that dirty and the pre-wash and OPC take care of both. But for the other cases...

A Sonax wheel cleaner, all are good, currently rocking The Beast. What a great cleaner that is.

For the tires I use the Tuf Shine tire cleaner. Currently buy the ready-to-go spray bottle of it, but next restock will be the gallon of concentrate that dilutes 1:3.

Equally important are the tools, too. Dedicated wheel brushes of all shapes and sizes. For the wheel spokes, barrels, lug nuts, brake calipers, tires, etc.
Click to expand...

I would have to use all of these to deal with these Performance Pack wheels.............:rolleyes:



They would be stunning though after all that work, not for long though. :(



Only one thing worse than cleaning those wheels, polishing them!



 
DFB said:
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I just got new tires on my Acura TL sedan two days ago. Replaced the Continental DWS06+, which aren’t available anywhere in the size I need, with the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4. I haven’t pushed them hard yet or driven in the rain but seem a little more composed than the DWS06+. I’ll be giving them a couple deep cleanings soon with a round of Tarminator followed by several rounds of Tuf Shine cleaner since I still have so much of it (gallon I bought and a gallon my dad no longer uses). Hopefully they’ll look as nice as your tires.

And I may need to order me one of those wheel stands with a 20% off coupon. Yeah, need. :)
 
+1 for Brakebuster at full strength. After tires are coated I just use the car shampoo and a softer brush for maintenance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
DFB said:
I would have to use all of these to deal with these Performance Pack wheels.............:rolleyes:



They would be stunning though after all that work, not for long though. :(



Only one thing worse than cleaning those wheels, polishing them!



Click to expand...

Those are some busy wheels! But look how all that effort pays off, they look marvelous.
 
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