what product for cleaning alloy wheels-lots of caked on brake dust

[rossyl]

so i've cleaned the car (pics later) but the wheels were heavily caked with brake dust.

i tried turtle wax tyre cleaner, and Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner. Both shifted some dirt but required A LOT of scrubbing.

I've heard Wonder Wheels is good for this sort of stuff. But is it something i can apply, leave and then wash off?

Cheers

[ringway]

Originally Posted by rossyl

so i've cleaned the car (pics later) but the wheels were heavily caked with brake dust.

i tried turtle wax tyre cleaner, and Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner. Both shifted some dirt but required A LOT of scrubbing.

I've heard Wonder Wheels is good for this sort of stuff. But is it something i can apply, leave and then wash off?

Cheers

I've used Wonder Wheels twice on my Omega (11 years old) and it does work well. I'm not sure if it is suitable for all wheel finishes though.

[BTB 500]

I use Wonder Wheels on the Vito and the Audi, which is excellent. You just put it on with the supplied brush then hose off (use lots of water).

Alloy wheel cleaners | Products | Auto Express

[Supacool1]

Don't use in an inclosed environment as the fumes it gives off will get you all sorts of messed up! Once all cleaned up you can something like rim wax ( ooh Err! ) to stop the dirt build up.

[mbenz76]

Oven Cleaner! My God man that is the last thing I would put near my car. It's very corrosive.

[BTB 500]

Originally Posted by Supacool1

Once all cleaned up you can something like rim wax ( ooh Err! ) to stop the dirt build up.

Yup, very true. I still use Turtle Wax Extreme Nano-Tech Wax for Wheels, which was a past product test winner.

Wheel polish test | Products | Auto Express

Latest test here:

Wheel Polishes tested | Products | Auto Express

[Horrgakx]

I just ordered some of the Mer Wheel Wax (AutoExpress winner) from eBay for under £9 delivered. Thanks for the link mate.

[Lugy]

At the moment I'm using Autobrite Very Cherry non corrosive wheel cleaner, it works really well for me.

I'm also using Migliore wheel sealant too.

[kurtdaley]

I use the auto glym stuff myself, absolutely brilliant stuff.

[C43AMG]

Bilberry's.

[The Pan Man]

Always found Wonder Wheels too corrosive. Removes break dust very well but always seemed to dull the finish for me. NEVER use on polished alloys. Ihave had good reports about Bilberry's

[C240Sport97]

try baby wipes .. and use your nails to scrape .. works for me

[Will]

Use some detailing clay - save your old clay that has been used already on the body panels of the car for use on the wheels/lower bumper panels/sills etc.

Much easier and safer than harsh chemicals!

Will

[jonnyboy]

my mate, who's a valeter, reckons he uses brick acid !

[JohnDeere8530]

Originally Posted by jonnyboy

my mate, who's a valeter, reckons he uses brick acid !

I believe him after all it is the same stuff - Hydrochloric acid.

However with wonder wheels you apply it neat, with brick acid you would need to water it down 3 parts water to one part acid to get an identical concentration.

Brick acid is fine on wheels as long as you do not get it into your eyes (this is the only reason wonder wheels is weaker), it will not damage the alloy if left on for less than 20mins.

Buying brick acid is the most cost effective wheel cleaner by 10x. Wonder wheels being unique and the best is all advertising hype, we are all suckers to it, dont believe it for a second

Wonder wheels, however does contains Phosphoric acid as well (as found in coke + food agent E338 from memory) This is added in case of any iron oxide gets on the wheel (from metal rusting) as this is espcially good at removing it. However as most alloys arer well all alloy this is not an issue

Reason wonder wheels keeps winning Autoexpress best buy (when it is in fact no real different to most other wheel cleaners) is because they are the biggest advertisers with that magazine !!!!