SONAX Wheel Cleaner Plus vs Cragar SST Chrome Wheels

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

SONAX Wheel Cleaner Plus vs Cragar SS Chrome Wheels



My brother-in-law recently purchased this very rare 1970 Ford Torino GT Convertible and we spent some time detailing it inside and out for a new series of car detailing articles.

For this article we'll address the wheels and tires.


Tool Showcase
Most guys know me as a machine guy, that is if I can do it by machine then that's the the way I do it. When it comes to cleaning tires I prefer to machine scrub the tires clean instead of hand scrubbing but you have to use some COMMON SENSE so you don't get hurt. After machine scrubbing the tires remove the tool and the power cord from the area before rinsing. Simple and safe.

Note: Whenever I do any type of wet work with a DA Polisher, for example machine scrubbing or machine wet sanding, I always choose the Porter Cable because it's double insulated for safety. I also ALWAYS plug into a GFI power outlet which we have here at the Autogeek Show Car Garage. If you don't have GFI power outlets at your shop or house then you can use a portable GFI plug-in. See my article here,


Safety First - Always plug-in to a GFI or Ground Fault Interrupter



Product Showcase
For machine scrubbing I'm using the Porter Cable 7424XP and a Cyclo Gray Ultra Soft Upholstery Brush. The bristles on this brush are flagged so they won't scratch smooth sidewall tires but they still do a great job of cleaning off all tire dressings as wells as tire blooming and rubber oxidation. They also restore a clean bright white appearance to the lettering.

For a tire cleaner I'm using SONAX Multi Star All Purpose Cleaner and for a wheel cleaner I'm using SONAX Wheel Cleaner PLUS.

Dirty, grungy tires. I don't know what type of dressing was used on these tires in the past but it's about to be removed.

First I spray on the Multi Star APC

Here you can see the flagging of the bristle which makes them safe enough to machine scrub vinyl and leather seats.

Machine scrubbing tires...

Time to clean the classic Cragar chrome wheels. First I spray on the SONAX Wheel Cleaner PLUS. As it comes into contact with brake dust it will dissolve it and you'll see this as a red bleeding effect on the wheel.

Wheel Woolies Wheel Brush
My favorite brush for cleaning wheels.

Then blast with water....

Next up.... dressing the tires...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued...


Now that the tires and wheels are spotlessly clean it's time to restore a deep, dark shine to the tires. For this my brother-in-law PJ is going to apply the SONAX Tire Gloss Gel.

Technique tip

Apply some gel right to the edge of the Tire Swipe so you can apply gel to the edge of the tire next to the lip of the rim.

Then apply some tire gel to the middle of the Tire Swipe so you can apply gel to the sidewall of the tire.

Technique Tip
To remove any excess and to create a more matte finish PJ uses a black wheel and tire microfiber towel on the tires. If you prefer a wetter, shinier look then skip this step and in fact you can apply a second or third application of the SONAX Tire Gloss Gel. It will dry to the touch so it won't sling off.

Finished!
These wheels and tires now look beautiful and really set-off the rest of this rare and beautiful 1970 Ford Torino GT Convertible.

There you go... wheels shine like they should and the tires look marvelous!



On Autogeek.com

Porter Cable 7424XP

Cyclo Gray Ultra Soft Upholstery Brush

SONAX Multi Star All Purpose Cleaner

SONAX Wheel Cleaner PLUS

SONAX Tire Gloss Gel

Black Wheel and Tire Microfiber Towels

Foam Tire Swipes

 

[Craig Parker]

Cool Mike, beautiful car, and thanks for sharing. How do you like the performance of the Sonax Multi star, and Gloss Gel?

 

[Mike Honcho]

Cragar SS wheels!!! Reminds me of my high school days!!! Great job!

 

[FUNX650]

Cragars...just like the car they adorn:
Classic; Iconic; Timeless.

@Mike...Thanks for the memories!


Bob

 

[Klasse Act]

In an effort to only educate the younger forum members, this is a Cragar SST wheel:

The wheels on the rare Torino are the Cragar S/Srops:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Cool Mike, beautiful car, and thanks for sharing.

My pleasure, cool car, around 500 built with power top and air conditioning.

How do you like the performance of the Sonax Multi star, and Gloss Gel?

Both products are top notch. More write-ups to come from this car including machine scrubbing the top with MultiStar APC.

:dblthumb2:

 

[axel06]

oooooo la laa !!!

 

[FocusSTguy]

Cragar SS wheels!!! Reminds me of my high school days!!! Great job!

Haha, same here. Seemed like everyone was running either Crager SSs or Keystone Classics.


Great job as always Mike!

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Nice thorough wheel/tire cleanup. They look great!

I like the dispenser tip on the tire gel.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

In an effort to only educate the younger forum members, this is a Cragar SST wheel:

The wheels on the rare Torino are the Cragar S/S

Good catch.... I now the difference but was typing faster than I was thinking.

Personal preference.... I never liked the SST style.

 

[Klasse Act]

I agree Mike, not a big fan of the SST's either

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

 

[DaveT435]

In an effort to only educate the younger forum members, this is a Cragar SST wheel:

The wheels on the rare Torino are the Cragar S/Srops:

I see I wasn't the only one that caught that in the title.

 

[DaveT435]

Cool Mike, beautiful car, and thanks for sharing.

My pleasure, cool car, around 500 built with power top and air conditioning.




Both products are top notch. More write-ups to come from this car including machine scrubbing the top with MultiStar APC.

:dblthumb2:

Hey Mike,
I can't get a real good look at he lugs. It looks like those have the wrong washers on them. The 5-4.5 lug pattern should have the washers with the offset hole. Vari-fit wheels I would want to make sure everything is right...

 

[Klasse Act]

Vari-fit wheels ????....wobble bolts but 30 years earlier?

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

 

[Caleb@ImpeccableImage]

Very nice. I love the dispenser tip on the tire gell and also the look it gave those tires.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

:updated:

Shared here,

Getting Tuffshine off tires

 

[SWETM]

I saw we in Sweden has got a new recipe on Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus version here. So may be even more effective hopefully. I have stocked up to much so have not bought the new version yet. Would think that you get it in the US soon too. I think that one part of the new recipe is a stronger iron remover dilution in it.