What order do you prefer with wheel cleaners?

Bill1234

Bill1234

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I always like to give my wheels an "extraction" with some iron remove stuff. However, I was thinking some iron particles would be removed even with a non iron remover wheel cleaner.

There are multiple questions here but
1. Do you use both together or just one in your opinion?
2. If you use both, what is your personal preference? I would personally clean then decontaminate but that is just me
 
I decontaminate first with DUB or 3D BDX wheel cleaner. For me, usually no need to clean any further. Cleaning the wheels will still yield some embedded iron particles stuck to the wheel
 
If I use a wheel cleaner(mainly on customer cars, don't need it usually on my car)I used regular cleaner under most circumstances. I use a ferrous remover if I am going to need to decontaminate the wheels i.e. for coating. I see no need to use both products, because if there really is a benefit of using a regular cleaner before a ferrous remover it would be so minimal that I wouldn't see any real benefit. That is just my opinion however, I'm sure someone more experienced will chime in
 
Iron remover first usually but you are making me reconsider lol.
 
Bill...

-Which step comes first whenever you're
going to be decontaminating the vehicle's
painted panels with an IronX type of product:

•Washing/(cleaning) the panel surfaces first...
and then "IronX-ing" the panels;
OR:
•"IronX-ing" the panel surfaces first...and
then washing the panels?


-If it's washing, then, "IronX-ing":
Then why would you want to deviate
from this process, when it comes to
the vehicle's wheels?


IMHO:
Stay with your current system:

Bill1234 said:
2. I would personally clean
then decontaminate...
Click to expand...


Bob
 
I think the color changing wheel cleaners are more market hype than anything. And here's why I say that... I had a Focus ST, which is notorious for putting out massive amounts of brake dust very quickly. The face and barrels of the wheel would be black after a week of driving. If you would spray any of the color changing wheel cleaners (dub,bdx,ironx) on a dirty wheel it would bleed out a lot. Then I decided to try the poorboys wheel cleaner cause I was tired of scrubbing the wheels, and that did a better job of just spraying it on and pressure washing it off. So one day after using the PB stuff I went back and hit the wheels with iron x and guess what, I got no reaction. So that leads me to believe that these cleaners are just reacting to the brake dust that's on the wheel, once you clean that off there is no more brake dust for it to react with so it doesn't change color. I have since got rid of the Focus and got a Colorado and the truck puts out zero brake dust, so now I just clean the wheels last with the left over car wash soap in the bucket once I finish washing the truck.

So I guess to answer your question...use one or the other but not both.
 
sixsix said:
I think the color changing wheel cleaners are more market hype than anything. And here's why I say that... I had a Focus ST, which is notorious for putting out massive amounts of brake dust very quickly. The face and barrels of the wheel would be black after a week of driving. If you would spray any of the color changing wheel cleaners (dub,bdx,ironx) on a dirty wheel it would bleed out a lot. Then I decided to try the poorboys wheel cleaner cause I was tired of scrubbing the wheels, and that did a better job of just spraying it on and pressure washing it off. So one day after using the PB stuff I went back and hit the wheels with iron x and guess what, I got no reaction. So that leads me to believe that these cleaners are just reacting to the brake dust that's on the wheel, once you clean that off there is no more brake dust for it to react with so it doesn't change color. I have since got rid of the Focus and got a Colorado and the truck puts out zero brake dust, so now I just clean the wheels last with the left over car wash soap in the bucket once I finish washing the truck.

So I guess to answer your question...use one or the other but not both.
Click to expand...

While I won't go as far as saying the color changing wheel cleaners are nothing but hype, I too sort of found similar results. I'll go outside and do a test right now using DUB Wheel Cleaner.. [since I was planning on cleaning the wheels on the Kia anyways]
 
Depends on the level of contamination;

Very heavy will be a wash (whatever car wash solution I am using), then I'll go with a wheel cleaner (Megs wheel brightener) then after rinsing then hit with Iron-X or Red 7 (same thing)

Then wash again with shampoo and repeat if necessary....

There is no benefit applying expensive iron-x to a caked and filthy wheel as your only removing the iron off the top of the dirt.. not the rim underneath...

With my own car is only gets shampoo and wheel woolies weekly as that's all that's needed to clean the sealed rims.... perhaps monthly I'll hit them with iron-x... to maintain...
 
sixsix said:
I think the color changing wheel cleaners
are more market hype than anything.

And here's why I say that...
I had a Focus ST, which is notorious for
putting out massive amounts of brake dust
very quickly. The face and barrels of the
wheel would be black after a week of driving.

If you would spray any of the color changing
wheel cleaners (dub,bdx,ironx) on a dirty
wheel it would bleed out a lot.

Then I decided to try the poorboys
wheel cleaner cause I was tired of
scrubbing the wheels, and that did
a better job of just spraying it on
and pressure washing it off.

So one day after using the PB stuff
I went back and hit the wheels with
iron x and guess what, I got no reaction.

So that leads me to believe that these
cleaners are just reacting to the brake
dust that's on the wheel, once you clean
that off there is no more brake dust for it
to react with so it doesn't change color.
Click to expand...
Whoa!!
Not so fast on your rush to judgement:

•Poorboy's Spray & Rinse is a professional
strength, acid-based (pH 3.0) wheel cleaner.


•So I'll ask you:
-Can acids dissolve ferrous materials
such as brake/rail dust?


Bob
 
You can clean them with just plain car wash soap and get the same results. I just used the poorboy's as an example of one that I used. I don't use any wheel cleaners anymore since getting rid of the focus, as my truck and my wife's car does not put out much brake dust.
 
sixsix said:
I think the color changing wheel cleaners are more market hype than anything. And here's why I say that... I had a Focus ST, which is notorious for putting out massive amounts of brake dust very quickly. The face and barrels of the wheel would be black after a week of driving. If you would spray any of the color changing wheel cleaners (dub,bdx,ironx) on a dirty wheel it would bleed out a lot. Then I decided to try the poorboys wheel cleaner cause I was tired of scrubbing the wheels, and that did a better job of just spraying it on and pressure washing it off. So one day after using the PB stuff I went back and hit the wheels with iron x and guess what, I got no reaction. So that leads me to believe that these cleaners are just reacting to the brake dust that's on the wheel, once you clean that off there is no more brake dust for it to react with so it doesn't change color. I have since got rid of the Focus and got a Colorado and the truck puts out zero brake dust, so now I just clean the wheels last with the left over car wash soap in the bucket once I finish washing the truck.

So I guess to answer your question...use one or the other but not both.
Click to expand...

Wheel cleaners that turn red do in fact do something, they only turn red becuase its a chemical reaction that is removing iron embedded in the wheel. Wheel cleaners without the iron remover are there to make it easier to break down the break dust
 
shadwell said:
Depends on the level of contamination;

Very heavy will be a wash (whatever car wash solution I am using), then I'll go with a wheel cleaner (Megs wheel brightener) then after rinsing then hit with Iron-X or Red 7 (same thing)

Then wash again with shampoo and repeat if necessary....

There is no benefit applying expensive iron-x to a caked and filthy wheel as your only removing the iron off the top of the dirt.. not the rim underneath...

With my own car is only gets shampoo and wheel woolies weekly as that's all that's needed to clean the sealed rims.... perhaps monthly I'll hit them with iron-x... to maintain...
Click to expand...



I agree to this. I am a bit different. I would clean with wheel brightener, then rinse, then decontaminate them. During a wash Ill foam gun the rims to "neutralize" the acid technically
 
Bill1234 said:
I agree to this. I am a bit different. I would clean with wheel brightener, then rinse, then decontaminate them. During a wash Ill foam gun the rims to "neutralize" the acid technically
Click to expand...

Do you neutralize alkaline cleaners as well?
 
The whole point of the color changing cleaners IS to react with any iron it comes in contact with. Why would you say its HYPE? Its doing exactly what its supposed to do. Thats not hype in my book. If someone uses it just to see the color change effect then that is their own fault. What they do is prove that the wheel does or does not have any iron particles on it (From brake dust IE rotor material or semi-metallic pad material)
 
I wash first, then decontaminate. I want Iron-X to work on embedded iron particles, not waste it on iron particles that are on the surface and can be washed away with soap and water. BTW, pH 3.0 is not very acidic. Lime juice and lemon juice have lower pH. In addition, when you spray on a wheel cleaner, you simply are not adding much acid to the wheel, the volume of hydrogen ions is not there. No need to do anything special, just rinsing with wheel with water will effectively neutralize it.
 
Bill1234 said:
Wheel cleaners that turn red do in fact do something, they only turn red becuase its a chemical reaction that is removing iron embedded in the wheel. Wheel cleaners without the iron remover are there to make it easier to break down the break dust
Click to expand...

dcjredline said:
The whole point of the color changing cleaners IS to react with any iron it comes in contact with. Why would you say its HYPE? Its doing exactly what its supposed to do. Thats not hype in my book. If someone uses it just to see the color change effect then that is their own fault. What they do is prove that the wheel does or does not have any iron particles on it (From brake dust IE rotor material or semi-metallic pad material)
Click to expand...


Yall both must not have read past my first sentence.

Spray a dirty front wheel with bdx/ironx/dub and it will color change. Does that mean it is cleaning the wheel any better, or just reacting with the brake dust on the wheel?

Now wash the other front wheel with regular ole car wash soap, once you get it clean spray it with bdx/ironx/dub and see what happens....no color change. And why is that? Cause there is no more brake dust on the wheel for it to react with. So what does that tell you? Do you really need the reaction to get clean wheels?

At the end of the day do what you want. I've tested it many times and those were my results.
 
sixsix said:
Yall both must not have read past my first sentence.

Spray a dirty front wheel with bdx/ironx/dub and it will color change. Does that mean it is cleaning the wheel any better, or just reacting with the brake dust on the wheel?

Now wash the other front wheel with regular ole car wash soap, once you get it clean spray it with bdx/ironx/dub and see what happens....no color change. And why is that? Cause there is no more brake dust on the wheel for it to react with. So what does that tell you? Do you really need the reaction to get clean wheels?

At the end of the day do what you want. I've tested it many times and those were my results.
Click to expand...

Color change is from removing iron particles-not removing brake dust
 
This is how I do it. It is for customer cars but I do the same for my own vehicles...

1. Pressure rinse
2. Spray with my wheel mix (Meguiars APC 4:1 with added Dawn soap at 1 ounce per quart) I add the dawn soap to have foam on the wheel. You could use car soap or anything you want but Dawn is a degreaser as well so I think it's a better fit.
3. Scrub with wheel woollies.
4. Pressure rinse

At that point I decide if the wheel need more. If there is a lot of brake dust or embedded dirt, I break out Meguiars Wheel Brightener 4:1 and spray the whole rim barrel and all. Wait 30 seconds then scrub with wheel woollies. Then pressure rinse.

If there was only a little dirt left on spots I might have missed, I spray those with my wheel mixture and scrub those then pressure rinse.

If the wheel was perfectly clean after first wash, the of course I do nothing else ;)

For the tires I use my wheel mix as well, rarely have to do a second scrubbing unless the wheel was filthy.

I never use Iron-X on wheels. I only use it on paint if I see Iron contamination. I think the color changing aspect of that product make people think it is more effective than it is. Most wheel cleaners will do a much better job at cleaning wheels than Iron-X, and they don't cost 150$ per gallon to do it.
 
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