Sonax wheel cleaner - user error or product failure?

[SON1C]

Caked on baked on brake dust on this BMW
Used sonax as directed, tried a second application after first failure, what went wrong?

Before

Spray on

Agitated ..

Another

Second application

After both ..

Ignore the sponge lol - isn't used on wheels or paint

But yeah followed directions, wasn't easy, didn't work well, smelled terrible, over priced, what's to like? How are you having success with this?

 

[Nick McKees37]

What kind of wheel brush did you use?

 

[Webb]

I bought 2 bottles of this POS,smell horrible didn't worked as advertised,I sprayed on the tire then scrubbed and still some brown left.I will go back to Meguiars Hot Rims only $5.00 and does a better job.

BTW: Did you use a brush on that wheel ? Looks like you just sprayed Sonax then hosed down.

 

[TimmyG]

Your method looked fine to me. Honestly, I find that Sonax works well for wheels that aren't "trashed" like the ones of that bmw were. Those wheels were pretty bad and I would think about going with a stronger wheel cleaner.

I'm not a big sonax fan either, won't be buying it again.

 

[Vegas Transplant]

Looks like tuscarora dave's fainting goats got a hold of the rim
from about the 8:00 to 1:00 positions :laughing::laughing::laughing:.

 

[SON1C]

Iirc it's a boars hair wheel brush, also tried a mothers brush on it, the one that looks like a big tooth brush lol

 

[Buckskincolt]

I've never used Sonax but that brake dust looks like it been exposed to a lot of heat and etched into the paint. I'd try Iron-X. Those look really bad!
In general Sonax well cleaner gets great reviews.

I've got the Griots heavy duty wheel cleaner in my order that's on it's way, this will be my first try for it.

 

[onlycodered]

I use Sonax probably once a month on my Mustang and use it all the time on customers' vehicles and have never had any issues. It's a little pricey but I think it's great wheel cleaner. I have to say I've never tried it on wheels that looked that bad though.

 

[Bosco]

looks like the sonax actually did pretty well considering those wheels were trashed.

 

[TheCougarGuy]

Step up to IronX for those nasty wheels and use the Sonax for maintenance cleanups.

 

[Nick McKees37]

I would recommend Iron X Paste on the areas where the Sonax didn't touch the accumulated brake dust build up. No wheel cleaner is potent enough to tackle that unless you want to meticulously scrub for hours on end.

That's the beauty of product selection; there is always a product to tackle any job. :dblthumb2:

 

[TheCougarGuy]

Nick, the IronX paste looks more like a gel. I was thinking it would have been more like the consistency of DP wheel glaze or something thicker like that.

 

[Rsurfer]

Get Meg's Wheel Brightner, problem solved.

 

[Sunshyne]

I had the same issue on a 2 week old Aston Martin. Used Sonax, brushed it well, hosed it down and it left a lot behind. So far I am very unimpressed.

 

[bedut]

since lots of you mentioned IronX, video below might be useful... yet it needs more than 2x applications on that nasty rims

[video=youtube_share;iG0mYehE8pQ"]SMARTSERVICE - ironX autopesu - YouTube[/video]

 

[Buckskincolt]

since lots of you mentioned IronX, video below might be useful... yet it needs more than 2x applications on that nasty rims

SMARTSERVICE - ironX autopesu - YouTube

Nice video but I thought you are not supposed to spray Iron-X on brake calipers?

 

[oldcracker]

I would recommend Iron X Paste on the areas where the Sonax didn't touch the accumulated brake dust build up. No wheel cleaner is potent enough to tackle that unless you want to meticulously scrub for hours on end.

That's the beauty of product selection; there is always a product to tackle any job. :dblthumb2:

that's awesome Nick!
how about for barrels with baaaaaked on stuff, like the ones in your pics, even IronX couldn't touch?

 

[smokinfastlegend]

To whoever used sonax as a tire cleaner.....its not a tire cleaner, thats why you have an APC.

Sonax can get the job done, but on those wheels you need something to remove the embedded baked on dust. You arent going to be able to remove that with a wheel cleaner too easily. I remember some people mentioning a while ago they even tried masonry acid to try to remove it.

I have had some success with IRONX paste, but its still going to take a while to get those wheels perfect.

 

[Matt]

I'm going to be honest with you, those wheels don't look very well agitated.

I have a boars hair wheel brush and they certainly aren't up to the task of dealing with thick or stubborn brake dust. I generally do an initial scrub with the boars hair wheel brush then go over it again with a microfiber mitt.

I believe if you agitated it with a sponge or microfiber or even a stiffer bristled brush you'd have much better results.

In the below photo it doesn't look like the brush has even touched the lower part of the brake dust:

Using a better quality brush would definitely return better results

 

[rider9195]

Ironx Paste works great on those spots you can't remove with your regular wheel cleaner. It may take two applications in this place but its well worth it.