The Tire Cleaning Comparison Thread

[PA DETAILER]

I tried the TW product....smell did not bother me, and it did a very good job on tires. A while ago, I decided to simplify things and cut down on specialty products. My tire and wheel cleaner of choice is Bilt Hamber Surfex HD, mixed at 10:1 in an IK foamer. So far, it has not met a tire it could not clean. If I'm prepping a tire for a coating, I will do a final wipe down with mineral spirits to make certain I have a completely clean tire.

One the best wheel/tire cleaners I have used. TW

[Gridlink]

Thanks again for another great comparison.

I've never bought a dedicated tire cleaner but I have found Carpro Multi X at 5:1 to be excellent and Optimum Power Clean used neat (never tried it diluted) is extremely good (foams up really well too). I do have Brake Buster but stopped using it after I coated my wheels and my normal shampoo Reset to be more than enough. I should give it another try at some point.

Earlier this week I was cleaning my Dad's car after it hadn't been washed other than touchless drive throughs in a couple of years. Even after 4-5 applications of Power Clean and scrubbing his Continental tires were still turning the foam brown almost instantly. Multi X at 5:1 was not turning brown though. I'm not sure if Power Clean was just that much better or if the tires are still just that dirty. I had to give up after a 4-5 applications because I had 3 more tires to do and only a couple of ounces left of Power Clean. Using Power Clean on Michelin and Vredestein tires it will stay white once the tires are truly clean. Maybe they are just that dirty or the composition of the rubber compounds will always turn the foam brown.

[Setec Astronomy]

Optimum Power Clean used neat (never tried it diluted) is extremely good (foams up really well too).

Although I have used OPC neat, it's been a long time, I always use it diluted, usually 3:1 which is their general recommendation. Tuf Shine seems to work the best for me, getting the browning out fastest, but a gallon of OPC is about the same price (slightly less) as a gallon of the Tuf Shine cleaner (unless you get the Tuf Shine concentrate, which is cheaper than the OPC per gallon). I dunno. I have several tire cleaners I'm trying to use up.

[Don M]

Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Hyper Foam Wheel Cleaner & Tire Prep – yet another ridiculously named product from Turtle Wax. They must be smoking crack when they have the naming strategy sessions in the boardroom over there. It’s been said that this is a company that has absolutely no idea about detailing, a confusing line of products sold by people who have no passion for what they are selling other than it making them money.

Harsh words aside, this is actually a very good tire cleaner. Like Carpro ReTyre, this is a foaming product that goes on thickly and agitates up to strip tires bare. Unlike ReTyre, this product can also be used on wheels. I wouldn’t. However, this is probably one of the most aggressive tire cleaners I have tried.

I’m not being a brand snob here, but I just can’t use this product. While none of these tire cleaners have a scent, or are what I would call pleasing, but this Turtle Wax product reeks. Certainly not like the Sulphur-like odor of an iron remover, but not far behind. I will say, I'm pretty sensitive to scents and odors, so you may not find it as egregious, but this is not a product I will be buying again for the aroma alone.

Tire Cleaner – Yes
Wheel Cleaner – Yes
Dilution – Not recommended
Scent - Vile
Cleaning Ability – 10/10
DFB Score – 6/10

Interesting comparison. Like Briarpatch and PA Detailer, I have found the long-named Turtle Wax to be the best tire cleaner I have ever used, in your picture of it sprayed on the tire, I noticed that (like every other picture/video where I have seen it used), IMO far too much product is being used. As noted, this is a very potent cleaner and as such, not that much is needed to perfectly clean even the worst tires I have come across.

After pre-rinsing, I use 3 - 4 sprays PER tire and 2 sprays (in an "X" pattern) on the rims and have found that this is more than enough to deeply clean the rubber and rims. I use a stiff bristled brush for the tires and a softer brush (often labeled as a "body and fender" brush) for the rims, which is stiff enough to clean, yet soft enough not to damage the rims (my wife's car has painted/clearcoated rims).

As for the smell, I find it very LIGHT and if anything (maybe because I use so little product), it reminds me of a hair-permanent solution, like at a hair salon or a home-permanent, and not ENTIRELY offensive.

I did a count with a bottle of the cleaner, and I was able to clean 24 rims and tires with that single bottle (using it as sparingly as I do), plus on a well-maintained car, it does NOT need to be used every time. Weekly washes only requires that I use a spray bottle with a splash of Meguiar's Hyper-Wash and 31.5 ounces of water to clean the wheels (this is on a wheel/tire that has the TW Graphene/Acrylic Tire Shine on the rubber, and their Ceramic Spray Coating - or Flex Wax on the rims) using only the body/fender brush with medium/soft bristles for both the tire and rim.

[Don M]

For those that DON'T know, I started a YouTube Channel. Here are two videos covering the Turtle Wax (long named) Tire Cleaner, and the TW Tire Shine. (Please forgive me for the videos not being too well done, they were two of my first, and BEFORE I had a tripod).

And yes, I should have put two applications of tire dressing on the tires - they were THAT dry and neglected.

[noorth]

Great Write up!

I will read over it more closely after work but i'm surprised you didn't find Adam’s Wheel & Tire Cleaner effective. I recently cleaned my summer tires for the first time in about 2 years (10-12k kilometers) and about 3-4 passes with it diluted 1:1 and the browning was gone.

I don't suppose it's the fact i DEEP cleaned them 2 years ago had something to do with it.... I went over the tires about 30x with a drill brush and purple power over a 2-3 day span lol

[bill walsh]

Don nice job with video and cleaning of tires and hub cap too

[Prange]

Great comparison test. Thanks.

[DFB]

Interesting comparison. Like Briarpatch and PA Detailer, I have found the long-named Turtle Wax to be the best tire cleaner I have ever used, in your picture of it sprayed on the tire, I noticed that (like every other picture/video where I have seen it used), IMO far too much product is being used. As noted, this is a very potent cleaner and as such, not that much is needed to perfectly clean even the worst tires I have come across.

As for the smell, I find it very LIGHT and if anything (maybe because I use so little product), it reminds me of a hair-permanent solution, like at a hair salon or a home-permanent, and not ENTIRELY offensive.

I will admit to overapplying the TW product, mainly so that it shows up well on camera. The product performs extremely well, as evidenced by my cleaning ability score.

The overall DFB score reflected my dislike of the aroma, which to me smelt revolting, like hair removal cream. But then, I'm extremely sensitive to scents and odors.

Overall though, well done Turtle Wax, because it really is an exceptional performer.

[PouncingPanzer]

Tuf Shine tire brush and foaming cleaning are my go-to, have been since my first dive into the rabbit hole of DIY detailing. Since my vehicle is washed often and I keep up with dressings, however, I find using the dedicated cleaner not necessary for each wash, maybe every half dozen or so. In between dedicated tire scrubbings OPC at 1:3 seems to do well enough.

Recently I bought the concentrate from Tuf Shine but have not used that yet, says dilutes 1:3 I believe so should be more cost effective than the stuff that is ready to rock.