Wheel cleaners and sealants?

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Is there any wheel cleaners available that have a tame enough pH to not strip off wheel wax or sealants?

[DonMTV]

I would think that if you have a wax or sealant on your wheels that just soap and water would be sufficient enough to clean your wheels? Am I wrong?

[dublifecrisis]

good question! My thought around this, and I'm certainly not experienced with all the different wheel sealants is that IF the sealant on the wheel is in fact still 'going strong' then a regular car shampoo and soft brush/MF towel should clean the wheels up just as effectively as if you sprayed it down with a wheel cleaner. I've been using DP Wheel Glaze once a month and been trying to just use a shampoo. At times when the car isn't super dirty and I'm doing an ONR wash, I'll use the ONR solution at the end of the wash to clean the wheels.

I don't know of a product that is actually labeled 'wheel cleaner' that won't strip off a sealant coating.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I agree with both of you. It's just I see a lot of wheel maintenance recommendations to clean wheel with a wheel cleaner, then seal or wax. Well, it defeats the purpose to seal or wax if you're going strip it off the next time you apply wheel cleaner. Unless, you clean you don't clean your wheels very often with wheel cleaner.

If you use a wheel sealant or wax, just use soap and water to clean. If you repeatedly cleaning your wheels with a wheel cleaner, then don't seal/wax them, or just use a spray wax. I think this would make the most sense. :xyxthumbs:

[ScottB]

I use a wheel cleaner monthly at best on the Vette ... then use a wheel sealant and soap/water to wash for several weeks. It will IMO remove the sealant. If you plan on using a wheel cleaner weekly with wash session, might be cheaper and easier to move to a spray product like FK425 to keep wheels protected and brake dust from adhering.

[richy]

Once you have got your wheels clean, unless you're driving a German car or something that generates an obscene amount of brake dust, washing your wheels with a different wash mitt and car wash soap will be sufficient. Plus, like Killer says, too strong of a soap will remove your protection.

[christian900se]

I personally have not used a dedicated wheel cleaner in a long time because there is rarely anything some car wash and agitation won't fix. If you are asking about your 'Vette, the wheels will be well protected so you would never have to worry about bonded brake dust and the like so I personally wouldn't worry about it.

It you are intent on using a dedicated wheel cleaner, the best you can do is dilute it to a weak solution so it is more gentle.

[Matt]

:iagree:

I always use a cheap paint shampoo with some wheel brushes to clean my wheels.

I've never so far found any need for the use of a wheel cleaner. If you're dealing with neglected wheels then you may have a need for it, but sealed wheels should not need it if cleaned often enough (even a month between washing, shampoo and a lil agitation should do the trick).

The only thing I do differently is to use a much stronger dilution of shampoo, I usually just pour a few glugs into the bucket and fill with warm water. I use Collinite Insulator wax #845 on my wheels and it's still going strong 3 months later, only being washed with cheap supermarket car shampoo (AA New Car Gel shampoo). If you had a German car then maybe the Megiuar's NXT shampoo would do the trick since it's stronger than most other shampoos.

[Kurt_s]

I drive one of those German cars that generates obscene brake dust. I read every wheel cleaner post in hope of finding the holy grail... My penance for driving a BMW.

I used Megs Hot Rims for years because car wash alone didn't do a great job. Hot Rims quickly stripped Megs Gold Class, Megs #26, and OG Blitz from the wheels. I recently tried a high surfactant, pH neutral wheel cleaner and a wheel sealant combo to see if it would make my wheel cleaning ritual easier. The wheels looked great after using the sealant once in January and have cleaned up nicely since.

This past weekend, I only used car wash, brushes and a mitt instead of the wheel cleaner up front. I don't believe this particular car wash plus agitation removes brake dust as effectively as the wheel cleaner plus agitation. I noticed some darkened staining and residual brake dust when drying one of the front rims, and some of the sealant shine seems to be gone. However I haven't applied wheel sealant since mid-January and had been using the diluted, pH neutral wheel cleaner every wash.

I think that Killrwheels' habit of using the wheel cleaner only once a month and resealing may have some merits. I plan to reseal the wheels next wash (please don't rain again this weekend) and try using only car wash for a few washes to see how they hold up.

Is there a durable spray wax, sealant or protectant detailer that performs well with higher wheel temperatures? I don't have FK425, but I do have OPT ID&GE and a CG pink synthetic detailer if either would be similar. Otherwise, the wheel sealant is easy to apply once the wheels are dry and wipes off easily after 20-30 minutes to haze, but it adds an hour to the car wash process.

[Lasthope05]

Collinite's waxes, FK1000p, DG 105, Klasse SG or any durable sealant will work very well on wheels.

If you feel the need to use a wheel cleaner every time you wash your car, a quick solution is to use DG aquawax afterwards as you dry the car and wheels.

[MobolWerks]

Some pH-Neutral cleaners from Auto Geek are as follows:

303 Fabric and Vinyl Cleaner (Use Undilluted)
DP Auto Wash
P21S Bodyworks Shampoo
Wolfgang Auto Bathe

These should not strip wax or sealant

As towards sealants go:

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 is awesome!!
Klasse Sealant Glaze lasts a reallllly long time
Poorboys EX-P is used by a lot of guys on this forum

Wax is ok, but lasts about 1/4 -1/2 the time on wheels as it does paint

Hope that helps

[zinc02gt]

I use P21S gel for wheel cleaning then I dress them with Wheel Wax. Works just fine for me. As for regular cleaning, I just use Meguiar's Gold Class with a wheel dedicated Chenille mitt with various brushes for tight areas.

[dood786]

Sonax extreme rim cleaner - full effect is ph neutral

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f149/pyiu/work/SonaxWheelCleaneratdetailersdomain.jpg

Im not sure if you guys get it there but detailers domain now stocks them

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Sonax extreme rim cleaner - full effect is ph neutral

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f149/pyiu/work/SonaxWheelCleaneratdetailersdomain.jpg

Im not sure if you guys get it there but detailers domain now stocks them
This stuff is supposed to be the BOMB, and VERY safe!!!!

[ScottB]

Why not simply use carwash and soap after using a wheel sealant ??? If its anything harsher it likely removes the sealant, and anything less is likely wasted $$$