Extreme Wheel Makeover - SONAX Wheel Cleaner PLUS

Mike Phillips · 07-09-2021, 03:14 PM

Extreme Wheel Makeover - SONAX Wheel Cleaner PLUS

BEFORE & AFTER

Extreme Wheel & Tire Makeover

This Ford F150 belongs to a buddy of mine and his truck was in dire need of a complete detail. I'm not sure, but these may be the most neglected wheels and tire's I've ever brought back from the dead.

Here's the truck...

Here's what the wheels and tires look like...

This is what is called,

Baked-on Brake Dust & Road Film

New formula SONAX Wheel Cleaner Plus

My friend Rob McCrary sent me the new formula to test out. At the time the new bottle wasn't available. The new bottle is a clear purple color.

Wheel and tire cleaning is called "Butt Time". Obviously because you have to sit on your butt to do the work.

Now look at the wheel!

While the SONAX wheel cleaner continues to do it's thing I machine scrub the tires.

Every time I share this in a class people dig it.

Here's the tire machine scrubbed and the wheel has been scrubbed using the Wheel Woolies Boar’s Hair Wheel Brush - my personal favorite wheel brush as well as interior and engine detailing brush.

Next, time to blast with some water to reveal the results...

HUGE FREAKING DIFFERENCE!

PBL Tire Clear Coat

Later, after washing the rest of the wheels and tires and then washing and drying the truck, it's time to do something with these tires.

Surgically clean

In these pictures I've applied the PBL Tire Clear Coat to the majority of the tire but left a section bare for dramatic effect.

The cool thing about tire coatings besides the look and how long they last...

They are dry to the touch! No greasy, slimy mess...

Here's the same truck after full paint correction plus finishing all the tires....

Now this is respectable...

Here's what I used....

SONAX Wheel Cleaner PLUS - New Formula - $24.00

FLEX PE-150 Cordless Rotary Polisher - $600.00 includes two 5amp batteries and the charger

Heavy-Duty DA Carpet Brush – Long Bristles - $18.00

TUF SHINE Tire Cleaner 24 oz - $13.00

Rotary 4 ¾ inch Flexible Backing Plate - $17.00

Pinnacle Black Label Tire Clear Coat - $35.00

Wheel Woolies Boar’s Hair Wheel Brush - $37.00

Mike Phillips · 07-09-2021, 03:22 PM

One more, just two pics pixel welded together....

**Bruno Soares** · 07-09-2021, 03:22 PM

Wow. That thing was completely purple from so much iron it had to break down. Nice save. I was thinking you cleaned and polished them because they came out so shiny.

**DUBL0WS6** · 07-09-2021, 03:24 PM

Impressive

**Thomkirby** · 07-09-2021, 05:03 PM

Faces look like new, but did you scrub the wheel barrels to match?

Last time I did a car like this I completely destroyed one GG Long Wheel Scrubber brush. It did all four wheel barrels but went into the trash afterwards.

**Coatingsarecrack** · 07-09-2021, 05:36 PM

Probably one of the worst wheels I have seen. I thought you were gonna have to scrub much harder
Than the wheel woolies brush would do.

That sonax must be good stuff

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**Me Time** · 07-09-2021, 11:52 PM

I bought some Sonax products at the end of last year. And have been really impressed with them. The PNS is great for the time it takes to apply. The wheel cleaner does an amazing job just like what you see in the picture.

Whenever I see tires and wheels like that on a car it just kills me. I know not everyone takes care of their cars the way we do, but..... My wife will ask why it bothers me and then calls me Anal!!!!

Mike Phillips · 07-10-2021, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by Thomkirby

Faces look like new, but did you scrub the wheel barrels to match?

I did not. The owner is a great guy but not much into detailing his own truck. The barrels were just as bad as the wheel face and there would be no real value in getting them clean.

I was testing the new formula for the SONAX Wheel Cleaner Plus and tackling the wheel faces was MORE than enough to get a feel for how well the wheel cleaner works.

After returning the truck to the owner I highly recommended to him to hand polish the wheels with any brand name metal polish to take the results I created to a higher level PLUS seal them to make future washing faster and easier but I'm pretty sure they're back to where you see them in the "before" picture.

It's all good. Some people view their cars as an extension of their personality while the masses simply look at their cars/trucks/suvs as transportation... a way to get from point a to point b.

Originally Posted by Thomkirby

Last time I did a car like this I completely destroyed one GG Long Wheel Scrubber brush. It did all four wheel barrels but went into the trash afterwards.

If I were to have cleaned the barrels I would have used this type of brush shown here,

Must Have Wheel Cleaning Brushes that make cleaning wheels fast and easy

**MisterSnoop** · 07-10-2021, 09:07 AM

is Plus stronger than Beast?

Mike Phillips · 07-10-2021, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Coatingsarecrack

Probably one of the worst wheels I have seen. I thought you were gonna have to scrub much harder
Than the wheel woolies brush would do.

That sonax must be good stuff

The old formula was very good. The new formula is even better. The key was letting the product to it's thing while I machine scrubbed the tire.

There's a balance between allowing a wheel cleaner to dwell and allowing a wheel cleaner to dry on the wheel.

I worked fast to work within this window of time by letting the wheel cleaner work while I machine scrubbed the tired.

Just look at the chemical reaction taking place...

While was working on the tire...

Rob McCrary told me the new formula was good.