Mini review of Mother's Wheel and Tire Cleaner

[irvsmith]

Mother's wheel and tire cleaner mini review.

http://www.autogeek.net/mo05924.html

So I decided to try a foaming cleaner on my neglected rims and tires. I grabbed Mother's Wheel and Tire cleaner since it was available and on sale at O'Reillys. My wheels were fairly cool to the touch and the weather was maybe 65-70F.

My wheel looked like this before:

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Here is the foaming action (on a different tire since I didn't take a picture of the first one until after)

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Here is the first wheel rinsed after the foam sat for the recommended 30 seconds.

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My initial reactions/thoughts:
1 - It foamed on contact.
2 - I was concerned since the stream out of the sprayer was fairly narrow that it might not cover the entire wheel/rims. While it covered fairly well on the rims (maybe because it spread and slid down as it foamed but the tire rubber seemed to react differently and resulted in some discoloration (see below)

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3 - The brake dust came off with the stream of water from the hose even in areas where it did not appear to have foam directly over it.
4 - The rim did clean pretty nicely without any additional agitation.
5 - The smell is definitely strong in chemical smell and no added fragrance to speak of that I could discern.
6 - My speculation is that the chemicals are not particularly environmentally friendly but that is purely conjecture.

Safety - While this is just good practice in general, be sure and wear gloves (I didn't and it felt as though my skin was not too happy about it.) I did note that the bottle said to flush an eye with water for 15 minutes in case of contact.

In conclusion I think it does what it claims and I might suggest some care when applying it to the tire. I wonder if I was to spread the foam manually on the tire with a tire brush it might have reduced the splotchy discoloration a bit.

A good value especially for those who don't want to get their hands into the nooks and crannies of the rim.

Hope this is useful.

[Hoytman]

Those Michelin's have a coating on them when they're new that doesn't clean off easily. That is likely where the spottiness is coming from...that coating coming off. It appears there were made the 20th week of 2015 (hence the "2015" number on the side that represents the week of the year they were produced and the year), so it's time for that slickness to start wearing off. I actually like them better when it's completely gone. I've had at least 6 sets of new Michelin's in the last 10 years on different auto's and they all had that slick coating on them. Keeps them looking nice for a good while, then it starts to where off. I have a set on right now where the coating is gone from the half the sidewall towards the tread and from the center of the sidewall to the rim the coating is still in tact. I call it a coating, but it's something from the factory and it's slick to the touch. As it wears the tires become much easier to clean in my opinion, but until it's all gone the tires won't look uniform when you get up close and personal.

It's not the cleaner, that's for certain because Mothers all wheel and tire cleaner is one of if not the best cleaners out there...and it's what I use. Clean them again, and until the suds remain white, then add a water-based dressing to them. They'll be fine and look awesome.

[irvsmith]

Thank you - wasn't aware of this 'coating'. Is this coating on mostly for aesthetic reasons - so no harm in using the foam to remove it more uniformly?

[Hoytman]

Honestly, I think it's some sort of release agent from the mold at the factory, but I can't say 100% for sure because I'm not a tire guru. When my tires are dirty enough to warrant a cleaner like the Mothers cleaner you used, I always clean once and rinse the brown dirty foam away, then I immediately re-clean them with the same process...a spray, some dwell time and a brush to clean. Sometimes, depending on how often I've cleaned the tires, or if I've been on a long road trip, it may take 1-3 cleanings for the foam to no longer appear dirty. That is, you're looking for white foam to remain white in color. When that happens your tires are about as clean as they'll ever be.

With Mothers All Wheel Cleaner it is rare that a 3rd cleaning is needed and really, a lot of times the 2nd cleaning yields clean white foam and that just shows you that the 1st cleaning was sufficient and that the 2nd cleaning wasn't needed either...but it was a visual "check" for you to know they're indeed clean. You'll remember this after a couple uses and know when two cleanings are needed. Most often only one will be needed if you maintain them on a regular basis.

[Hokie335i]

I use Mothers foaming wheel and tire cleaner all the time. It's my go to. Works great! I've never had issues with splotchy tires though. I had 3 sets of michelins on my BMW...I buy it by the gallon though and use my own standard spray bottle/nozzle. Not a foaming one.

[Hoytman]

I use Mothers foaming wheel and tire cleaner all the time. It's my go to. Works great! I've never had issues with splotchy tires though. I had 3 sets of michelins on my BMW...I buy it by the gallon though and use my own standard spray bottle/nozzle. Not a foaming one.

I've thought about buying the gallon as well and using one of the non-foaming sprayer bottles I have on hand. I don't really care for the foaming sprayer. It works decent, but I think it uses far too much product. I'd like to try some in a fine atomizing sprayer that would use less product while giving better coverage, then letting the brush foam things up.

Do you use less product than the foam nozzle bottles now that you're using your own sprayers?

[Hokie335i]

I've thought about buying the gallon as well and using one of the non-foaming sprayer bottles I have on hand. I don't really care for the foaming sprayer. It works decent, but I think it uses far too much product. I'd like to try some in a fine atomizing sprayer that would use less product while giving better coverage, then letting the brush foam things up.

Do you use less product than the foam nozzle bottles now that you're using your own sprayers?

I use a brush to foam it up. I think the foaming ones do use a lot of product since they don't spread as well. I use maybe 3-4 sprays in my normal spray bottles for a wheel/tire and it works well for me.

[Hoytman]

Hmmnnn...your saving quite a bit of product then. Thanks for the tip. You confirmed what I've considering doing for quite a while now. I'll be ordering a gallon then. Thank you.

[Desertnate]

I too love the stuff. The next time I make an order, I'm getting the gallon jug.

I've never noticed any uneven look to the tires, but I always agitate the wheel and tires first to make sure everything is clean. I always seem to overuse the product. I'll spray the wheel/tire to get good coverage and as soon as I hit the area with the brushes, there are suds everywhere!

[Setec Astronomy]

Thank you - wasn't aware of this 'coating'. Is this coating on mostly for aesthetic reasons - so no harm in using the foam to remove it more uniformly?

As Hoytman noted, it's mold release and part of the manufacturing process for the tires. As others have said, you'll get the best results from any wheel/tire cleaner if you agitate before rinsing. I think you'll be a lot happier if you use a soft to medium brush on your tires.

[jimd@mothers]

Test by re-cleaning only half of the tire by spraying liberally onto the tire, and then spreading/agitating with a brush. Rinse as directed. Let dry.

Some (very few, actually) compounds might not like this cleaner and that could be a cause of the "blooming" we are seeing here.

If you don't have satisfactory results again, shoot me an email -- jimd_at_mothers.com -- Thanks!

[irvsmith]

Test by re-cleaning only half of the tire by spraying liberally onto the tire, and then spreading/agitating with a brush. Rinse as directed. Let dry.

Some (very few, actually) compounds might not like this cleaner and that could be a cause of the "blooming" we are seeing here.

If you don't have satisfactory results again, shoot me an email -- jimd_at_mothers.com -- Thanks!

Thank you. I will do that and report back if it does not improve.

[Hoytman]

I've had at least 6 sets of new Michelin's in the last 10 years on different auto's and they all had that slick coating on them. Keeps them looking nice for a good while, then it starts to where off. I have a set on right now where the coating is gone from the half the sidewall towards the tread and from the center of the sidewall to the rim the coating is still in tact.
Turns out that not only is the coating coming off, but my tires have prematurely failed. The culprit? Tread separation of all 4 tires where the tread meets the sidewall. As it also turns out where the coating was partially gone the tire tech noticed premature cracking of the sidewall. Tires are 4 years old with only 2/32nds of total tread wear gone. Michelin is totally replacing all 4 tires because of the tread separation and the fact they were hardly used. Believe me, I am grateful. Didn't want to spend $1000 right now on tires.

[Don M]

I too love the stuff. The next time I make an order, I'm getting the gallon jug.

I've never noticed any uneven look to the tires, but I always agitate the wheel and tires first to make sure everything is clean. I always seem to overuse the product. I'll spray the wheel/tire to get good coverage and as soon as I hit the area with the brushes, there are suds everywhere!

What I do is spray the tire with the hose, soak the brush bristles with water and THEN spray the tire with the cleaner. I use less cleaner that way and with all the excess water, it foams up and cleans exceptionally well. I rarely need a second spray of cleaner or round of scrubbing to get the tires completely clean.

[ge0rge]

I use this on my tires before applying a coating to them, works great. It also helps that I picked up two bottles on the clearance shelf for $3 a bottle.