Pinnacle Clear Coat Safe Wheel Cleaner

I received this product for free with one of my orders and it appears that it is not available from AG anymore, but is available from their Amazon store, so the product is still for sale.

I tested this on both a 2012 KIA Optima and a 2011 Volkswagen Routan. Both cars had not been cleaned in over a month and the KIA's wheels had Adam's Quick Sealant applied to it 11 months ago and the VW's wheels had Permanon Platinum applied nearly 5 months ago. I can't say if either are still present on the wheels but am mentioning that they were applied.

Here is Pinnacle's description of the product: "Pinnacle Clear Coat Safe Wheel Cleaner utilizes the latest cleaning technology to penetrate stubborn dirt and grime on contact! Pinnacle Clear Coat Safe Wheel Cleaner is created to target contaminants specific to the wheel area-brake dust, tar, road grime, and oil. Use Pinnacle Clear Coat Safe Wheel Cleaner to effectively clean all types of wheels, including factory clear coated wheels! Pinnacle Clear Coat Safe Wheel Cleaner's advanced technology has not only allowed for an innocuous, non-irritating formula, but it has raised the bar for tire and wheel cleaners. Pinnacle Clear Coat Safe Wheel Cleaner is at the top of its class - a two-in-one cleaner, non-abrasive, gentle yet powerful, and water based."

Here is the bottle:
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http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psb3ae2c19.jpg

Size: 16oz

Price: $12.99

Color: I don't know because it was in a black bottle, but it appeared to be a light pink when sprayed.

Smell: A little fruity yet has a chemical smell.

Consistency: Liquid, yet thick enough that it clings like a gel.

Sprayer: The sprayer has 2 off positions, a stream position, and a spray position. It is very similar to Adam's sprayers. The spray pattern isn't very wide, but is wide enough that you don't feel it is inefficient at distributing product.

Tool's used: Chemical Guy's goat brush, EZ Detail mini (same as a Daytona Speed Master JR.), and Adam's medium wheel woolie which differs slightly from the normal wheel woolies.

Here are before pictures of the KIA's front driver's side wheel. Note the "swipe" at the top right.

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psb48c8977.jpg

Note the stain at the back of the wheel and the tar deposits.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psd703bf5f.jpg

Rinsed with water like the directions state. There is some beading so perhaps some protection is still on the wheel.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps37ad96b5.jpg

Here is the cleaner dwelling 20-30 seconds like the directions state. Note that it clings well and the color of the cleaner in the lug nut holes.

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psc728178c.jpg

Here it is agitated. It foams very well which is nice as it likely provides a safer cleaning for scratch sensitive wheels.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d48a6bb.jpg

Here it is rinsed off. It appears to have done a good job.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psd362693e.jpg

Upon closer inspection, it made no work of the tar or grime deposits which Pinnacle's description mentions it was made to attack.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0354f0a4.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps51286ea8.jpg

Overall, pretty clean, even in the lug nut area.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psa4931959.jpg

Let's see how it would do on German brake dust. This is the driver's side rear wheel. The rear wheels produce significantly more dust than the front on this vehicle.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4ffa8d88.jpg
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...psc283577b.jpg

Here it is rinsed with water. It appears the Permanon Platinum is no longer on the wheels.

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7c4bf6b.jpg

Dwelling for 20-30 seconds.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps81f1ca97.jpg

Agitated.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps93e6cfeb.jpg

Again, it appears to have done a good job.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2a203828.jpg

Let's take a closer look. Again it had trouble with the tar and grease in the barrel. Also, note the embedded iron particles on the face.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2cd6726.jpg

It also had a lot of trouble in the lug nut area.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...pscafb5897.jpg

Back to those embedded particles. I sprayed them with Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner to see what the Pinnacle cleaner could not remove. Note the color change.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps224977ce.jpg

After agitation and rinsing, the embedded iron particles were significantly reduced.
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3866a056.jpg

Did the product meet its claims?: No. It made no difference in regard to tar, oil, and road grime.

Is the product worth buying? As a maintenance wheel cleaner, yes. The best way I could describe this is as a stronger Chemical Guys Diablo. It is also worth noting that it must be agitated; every single part of the wheel. If you miss a spot, the cleaner will not remove it. That is not a con as the directions require agitation. It is just a note that it must be done.

Overall, it is an impressive cleaner if you are just dealing with heavy brake dust; if you are dealing with embedded iron particles, an iron removing product would be a better choice; if you are dealing with tar and oil, an APC or tar remover would be a good supplement to this product.

I am only disappointed that the product did not meet its claims. If it was advertised only as a brake dust remover, the overall tone of this review would have been praising the product because it worked very well on brake dust that was not embedded which is expected from a cleaner not designed to remove embedded contaminates.

However, now knowing what it is capable of, it is a product worth buying if you are looking for an effective maintenance cleaner.

Very nice review you did also it is nice to have wheel cleaners of all different strengths cause they may benefit a certain other type of wheel than the one you tested it with....just my eight cent

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamesboyy

Very nice review you did also it is nice to have wheel cleaners of all different strengths cause they may benefit a certain other type of wheel than the one you tested it with....just my eight cent

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Thank you and I agree it's nice to have options. I really liked the cleaner, I was just disappointed by what the claims were.