to use Meguiar's Wheel Brightener, or not?

[Matt@Revive]

i have been using various wheel cleaners over the last year, but i have beed avoiding acid bassed cleaner. now that i am getting busy i am looking to speed up the wheel cleaning process. i am looking to use Wheel Brightener on my newer cars with factory wheels.

are there any horror storied with this product? anything that needs to be avoided? what product should i use to neutralize the acid once the wheels are clean?

 

[The Guz]

If you seal or coat your wheels, all you really need is soap and water for the most part. You could then deep clean a few times a year.

Unless you are working on vehicles on the side.

 

[FUNX650]

now that i am getting busy i am looking
to speed up the wheel cleaning process.

i am looking to use Wheel Brightener

Are you talking about Meguiar's D140?
If so, then:

Bob

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I vote for not.

 

[Eldorado2k]

are there any horror storied with this product? anything that needs to be avoided? what product should i use to neutralize the acid once the wheels are clean?

I've never experienced a horror story..
You should avoid the same exact kind of wheels you would when using Megs D143 Acid Free Wheel & Tire Cleaner [bare aluminum wheels] as they'll both mess up the same kind of wheels.
Both are meant to be used on factory clearcoated wheels. D140 is stronger, so you might be able to get away with spray on spray off [especially if you use a power washer] Make sure the wheels are cool before using.
Invest in some disposable masks if you're going to be cleaning wheels & tires in high volume.
As long as you're responsible to those few details, there's no reason to not use D140 Wheel Brightener. It'll speed your process up when you run into dirty wheels.

 

[FUNX650]

@OP:

The dangers (to humans), that's associated
with Ammonium Biflouride...is not worth the
risk of ever using D140!!

Sure...
You may wish to speed-up the
wheel-cleaning process(es);
but, there's an old saying with
which I'll take poetic liberty:

"Sometimes...
a SPEED product could actually KILL"



Bob

 

[uhohitsstevo]

What other wheel cleaners have that?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

What other wheel cleaners have that?

There are a number; there even used to be OTC ones. One time many years ago I was in Target looking at some wheel cleaners, and they had a carpet runner in front of the shelf of auto supplies, which they didn't have anywhere else, and I'm standing on it, and there's like a 2-year old kid toddling along behind me running ahead of her parents, and I'm reading the contents on the bottle of wheel cleaner and it says "ammonium bifluoride"...and I put this all together in my head. I'm standing on a runner that's there in case customers drop a bottle of tire shine...or wheel cleaner, so who knows what I'm standing in, could be ammonium bifluoride wheel cleaner, and here's a little kid running around behind me. It was a bad scene, and I really wondered why Target was selling a wheel cleaner like that, I mean at least at Autozone there usually aren't 2 yo's running up and down the aisles.

Anyway.

 

[FUNX650]

What other wheel cleaners have that?

Quite a few; but not as many
as there used to be.

Here's a similar one, though:

Bob

 

[Eldorado2k]

Quite a few; but not as many
as there used to be.

Here's a similar one, though:

Bob

Which 1 is that? Eagle 1 Spoke & Wire Cleaner? I used to love that stuff way back when I bought my 1st car It's similar to Meguiars Hot Wheels Chrome & Wire Cleaner, which is in turn very similar to Wheel Brightener.

Btw, how "safe" is D143 Non Acid Wheel & Tire Cleaner in comparison? Because they Both register a "3" level health hazard on the label.. D143 also gets level 1 flammable whereas Wheel Brightener is not flammable level 0.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Btw, how "safe" is D143 Non Acid Wheel & Tire Cleaner in comparison? Because they Both register a "3" level health hazard on the label.. D143 also gets level 1 flammable whereas Wheel Brightener is not flammable level 0.

HF and ABF carry specific hazards that are not comparable to other acidic or caustic wheel cleaners. Caveat emptor.

 

[FUNX650]

Which 1 is that? Eagle 1 Spoke & Wire Cleaner?

No.

I used to love that stuff way back when I bought my 1st car

It wasn't available when I bought my 1st car.

It's similar to Meguiars Hot Wheels Chrome & Wire Cleaner,
which is in turn very similar to Wheel Brightener.

I also do not use Eagle 1 Spoke & Wire Cleaner:
it contains Hydrofouoric Acid; or, Meguiar's
Hot Wheels C&W Cleaner: It, too, contains
Ammonium Biflouride.



Bob

 

[Eldorado2k]

No.


It wasn't available when I bought my 1st car.


I also do not use Eagle 1 Spoke & Wire Cleaner:
it contains Hydrofouoric Acid; or, Meguiar's
Hot Wheels C&W Cleaner: It, too, contains
Ammonium Biflouride.



Bob

I knew it. It works just like Wheel Brightener. They Both do.. Btw I never ruined any wheels in all my time during my younger years using that stuff.

And as far as Wheel Brightener, along with the rest of Meguiars professional line products, it states on every label "for professional use only" Detailers who buy and those products grow familiar with how to use them with responsibility and care. Care with their surroundings, the vehicles they're using them on, and their own health. Meguiars wouldn't sell D140 Wheel Brightener if it was likely to kill you or even harm you, as long as you follow the directions and take normal safety precautions, it's a great product. Use as directed.

 

[FUNX650]

When it comes to HF/ABF...
It takes a lot more than the "normal" safety
precautions in order to protect ones health!

How many people actually know what
that protocol is whenever they use
HF/ABF at the job site?


Bob

 

[Eldorado2k]

When it comes to HF/ABF...
It takes a lot more than the "normal" safety
precautions in order to protect ones health!

How many people actually know what
that protocol is whenever they use
HF/ABF at the job site?


Bob

The bottle of Wheel Brightener says [safety glasses, gloves, apron]

How many average Joes get around to buying a gallon of Wheel Brightener? It's not exactly the type of stuff you just stumble upon and decide to bring home by accident.. You should have more than a clue about taking the proper precautions by that time.. It's a far leap between the consumer label stuff. But the fact that the consumer bottled stuff [Megs Hot Wheels Chrome Wheel Cleaner] is basically a mix of the same thing goes to show people use it everyday without a problem.

It wouldn't be on the shelves if people were suffering health problems by using as directed.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

When it comes to HF/ABF...
It takes a lot more than the "normal" safety
precautions in order to protect ones health!

How many people actually know what
that protocol is whenever they use
HF/ABF at the job site?

And if people knew what the spill control procedure was, they also would feel pretty funny washing it down the driveway. It's really not something that should be used outside of a controlled environment.

How many average Joes get around to buying a gallon of Wheel Brightener?

With the internet? A lot.

But the fact that the consumer bottled stuff [Megs Hot Wheels Chrome Wheel Cleaner] is basically a mix of the same thing goes to show people use it everyday without a problem. It wouldn't be on the shelves if people were suffering health problems by using as directed.

Your opinion. As Bob and I are trying to explain, HF/ABF carries specific hazards and requires specific spill control and neutralization procedures. It also has peculiar characteristics when it makes skin contact which are the opposite of what you might imagine. What if we told you that you might not feel an HF burn on your hand until the next day, and that even if you did, that running water over it for 15 minutes would do nothing to neutralize it? And sometimes exposure to chemicals, etc., doesn't produce "health problems" for many years after exposure.

Sure, you can buy drain cleaner in the supermarket and it's dangerous stuff, but in the end you're washing that down the drain, not down the driveway onto the sidewalk where your kid is riding her tricycle.

Anyway, at this point I feel like I'm beating a dead horse. There is nothing like an HF/ABF wheel cleaner for cleaning wheels, there's also nothing like it from a hazard standpoint.