richy
New member
- Mar 27, 2007
- 5,158
- 0
After receiving several recommendations after trying to clean some particularly nasty wheels lately, I went ahead and ordered in 2 gallons of Malco Brake Off. This product is easy to use. Spray it on the dry wheel, let dwell (it clings very well even out of a regular spray bottle- I used the gray Sprayway one from HD) and agitation is optional and then rinse.
So my test case was a 2009 X3. I don't think the barrels had ever been cleaned since brand new. My old go-to for nasty wheels was Megs WB at 4:1 or CarBrite Wheel acid at 2:1. Those had not performed for me as well as I needed them to lately. Here are some shots of the test wheel:
You can see how black and nasty the barrels truly are. So I sprayed the Malco Brake Off (MBO) on the wheel and let it sit. It did not help without agitation on this wheel. The face was improving, but the etched in staining from years of neglect weren't easily letting go. So I started to agitate it.
That's when it started to get interesting.
For 2 reasons.
The first, was, yeah, it was working. Hence "The Good" in the title.
However, while using the Daytona brush and another brush, I was getting some splatter on my arms and legs. I was wearing shorts and a T shirt. I have had splatter with the acid based products before, and, like this time, I just washed it off my skin with the wash mitt from my wash bucket and kept going. For the acid based products, that would neutralize it. Not so for the MBO. It started to really burn. I washed it down well but it did not seem to want to neutralize as easily as the acid based products did. The inability to neutralize it easily earns "The Bad" in my title.
And "The Ugly"??
Well, my arms and legs got chemical burns from the spots that had splattered on them. Here is a shot of my arm:
So, if you consider using this product, please heed my warning. I wished someone had warned me when others were raving about its cleaning ability. This stuff burns. Literally. Will I continue to use it? Yes, but, only when wearing a protective suit that covers my arms and legs. (And wearing gloves of course which I was at the time).
Is it worth the hassle? I think so in some cases where other means fail. Here are the finished shots of the wheel both after only cleaning and then after being coated with Americoat:
After Cleaning:
After Americoat:
In all honesty I think this is one of the most dangerous products I've dealt with in regards to your skin. It is very strong (obviously) and will do a great job but needs, no, demands, respect.
Hope this helps.
So my test case was a 2009 X3. I don't think the barrels had ever been cleaned since brand new. My old go-to for nasty wheels was Megs WB at 4:1 or CarBrite Wheel acid at 2:1. Those had not performed for me as well as I needed them to lately. Here are some shots of the test wheel:
You can see how black and nasty the barrels truly are. So I sprayed the Malco Brake Off (MBO) on the wheel and let it sit. It did not help without agitation on this wheel. The face was improving, but the etched in staining from years of neglect weren't easily letting go. So I started to agitate it.
That's when it started to get interesting.
For 2 reasons.
The first, was, yeah, it was working. Hence "The Good" in the title.
However, while using the Daytona brush and another brush, I was getting some splatter on my arms and legs. I was wearing shorts and a T shirt. I have had splatter with the acid based products before, and, like this time, I just washed it off my skin with the wash mitt from my wash bucket and kept going. For the acid based products, that would neutralize it. Not so for the MBO. It started to really burn. I washed it down well but it did not seem to want to neutralize as easily as the acid based products did. The inability to neutralize it easily earns "The Bad" in my title.
And "The Ugly"??
Well, my arms and legs got chemical burns from the spots that had splattered on them. Here is a shot of my arm:
So, if you consider using this product, please heed my warning. I wished someone had warned me when others were raving about its cleaning ability. This stuff burns. Literally. Will I continue to use it? Yes, but, only when wearing a protective suit that covers my arms and legs. (And wearing gloves of course which I was at the time).
Is it worth the hassle? I think so in some cases where other means fail. Here are the finished shots of the wheel both after only cleaning and then after being coated with Americoat:
After Cleaning:
After Americoat:
In all honesty I think this is one of the most dangerous products I've dealt with in regards to your skin. It is very strong (obviously) and will do a great job but needs, no, demands, respect.
Hope this helps.
