Poorboy's Wheel/Tire Cleaners Review according to Nick

Nickc0844

Nickc0844

Owner and Tech. Rep
This will have several postings with pictures. Please do not post until the review is finished. I appreciate that, and as always, feel free to ask me any questions you might have.

Poorboy’s Wheel and Tire Scrub/Agitate Version

This is the version which requires agitation, or the Green version from which I’ve heard earlier this week. I tested this on the passenger side of a 2001 VW Beetle who’s wheels had not been cleaned in over 2 months. The brake dust accumulated on this car is simply atrocious. There was some “baking” in the corners.
 
Approximately 6 months ago, I applied an aerosol clear coat to the rims to aid in the cleaning of them. Since then, cleaning has been much easier. I typically use an agitation-type wheel cleaner for my client’s cars. The only exception to this is Meg’s Wire/chrome wheel acid. Poorboy’s isn’t dealing with an acid, and now-a-days, he really doesn’t need to. I’m pleased to find my results of this wheel cleaner as Positive.
 
I noticed a definitive difference when I applied this product to a WET vs. DRY wheel. The car had been sitting for the day, so one would assume they were “cool” to work with. I sprayed the first wheel while it was dry, and then waiting for 60 seconds.

I took a small bucket with plain hose water and found that dipping the tool to the extreme left worked better as opposed to dry. This product also worked excellent against the dirty tires, as I could see the grime oozing from them. I simply dipped it into the bucket, and then went to town. This is a good thing, as it could eliminate using an additional degreaser. I did not notice that I had to put any more work into cleaning the tires with this product, HOWEVER, I did notice that it took LESS work to agitate the brake dust into oblivion.

One of my pet peeves, especially with this car, are the small holes to battle with. This is where the tooth brush comes into play. Overall, I can honestly say that it took me less time by using this product.

With my test of the WET wheel (spray off first, then apply product and wait 60 seconds), I was not as impressed. It took noticeably more time to agitate the brake dust. My conclusion is that if you have only a cool or warm wheel, apply this to a dry wheel and tire, then wet afterwards with your brushes.
 
I have not used a wheel cleaner yet, even the Meg’s Acid, that will remove this type of extreme caking. It definitely needs some abrasion then polishing to remove this. However, the wheel is now in my opinion 99% clean and it took ½ the effort. In conclusion, I would say this product rates Excellent. I would be inclined to purchase this one simply based on the results and ease of use.
 
Poorboy’s Spray on/Hose off Wheel and Tire Cleaner

The second version of the wheel cleaner I was apt to test was the no agitation or Spray on, wait, hose off type. I used this on the driver side of a 2001 VW Beetle in which the wheels and tires had not been cleaned in over 2 months. The brake dust is simply brutal on this German vehicle. Like the other review, these had been sprayed with an aerosol clear coat approximately 6 months ago. Since then, cleaning has been easier. HOWEVER, I have not effectively used a spray on/hose off type wheel and tire cleaner before in the past. I have always had to do some sort of agitation to get them to the level I desire. These wheels would definitely be a test for this new product.
 
I did not have any sort of time frame or directions of use, so I just used it as I saw fit. Using the JET on my hose, I briefly sprayed the wheel and saw very little come off. NONE of the baking brake dust was removed. I then sprayed the new wheel and tire cleaner all along the wheel and the tire, and let sit for a period of 60 seconds.

This picture is approximately 30-40 seconds after spraying it.
 
It was fun to see this new product literally eat up the brake dust and cake from this wheel. Also take notice to the holes of this wheel. They cleaned up very quickly without any agitation what so ever.

One of my concerns was the tires getting clean without agitation. I simply have not seen and used a product that can effectively clean tires without agitation and/or damage. This seemed to do the trick though, and effectively it did. They came out black when fully dried, not the normal tinge-brown I’ve seen in the past.

This picture is the final product WITHOUT any agitation!
 
On one occasion, I did notice that the testing product did not eat at this one spot. This was in the upper right hand corner of the wheel. I believe most of this is due to user error, as you cannot see this without ducking below it’s level and looking up. The camera angle does not show how difficult it was. I reapplied the product, waited 60 seconds, and there was a marketable difference. In my opinion, these wheels cannot be 100% clean without agitation, but I sure as anything will take 98% for a fraction of the time spent. After some “slight” agitation, the caking was totally eliminated (no picture though, sorry).
 
This is the same spot, but I applied a 2nd application, waited 30 seconds, and then jetted off. There was no agitation to this either. The cake size definitely is smaller, and the minor stuff around it has been eliminated. Like I said, I then took a small brush and removed the rest of it.
 
This is my choice as a wheel and tire cleaner. It literally took a fraction of the time to use and get superior results. The holes were not touched what so ever, and that is a major time saver. The caking was greatly eliminated also without using a single brush.
 
I would definitely rank the Spray on/Hose off product above the Agitation type product I tested before. By the picture, you can see that the trade off of a no agitation is that one must use more of it. I used ¼ of the agitation bottle for 2 wheels as opposed to 2/3 for 2 wheels on the non-agitation type. While these wheels were a “goodâ€� test for the products, I could see the Spray On/Hose Off product working better for a “decentlyâ€� maintained vehicle. These wheels do not belong in that category. I suggested to Poorboy to use this product with the following statement, "Severely neglected wheels might require some slight agitation to work fully." This should cover any arguments.

Steve has said that both of these are of a near neutral Ph, so they are safe. I did not try them on my Raw Polished Aluminum rims since I just polish and protected them a couple weeks ago, but it would be even better IF I knew they worked effectively on that type of metal without spotting. Saying that, Poorboy said that this can be used on a wheel that has had an EX-P treatment without removing it. That is a definite plus!!

Here is the kicker. Wheel and tire cleaners are among the most widely used product in my detailing arsenal. I go through A LOT of degreaser and wheel cleaners to get the job done, and I’m assuming most of us do. For this product to be a knockout, it would have to be priced competitively against the competition. If it were significantly more expensive than what I am currently using (not that Poorboy’s would), I could see handling some extra work to save the money. With that being said, it would need to be sold in a bigger quantity. I think 16oz would only handle a few cars at most, 32oz wouldn’t be bad start, but at a gallon size, that would be best.


Thanks for taking the time to read over this review. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have, and if others have demo'ed these products, please chime in too
 
Sick!! Those are clean as hell. I think either versions will be good. Now I have to use up my 4 Star Gel!
 
Nick,

Great review, and the wheels looks "super"!

Sounds like you prefer the Spray & Rinse product better................. correct?
 
Absolutely, my choice is the Spray and Rinse Product! :bigups

Steve played around with it on an engine also and really liked the results as well.
 
Yep, I'm really impressed with the way that wheel came out with the S & R!

P.S........... You are starting to scare me too! :lmfao
 
Nick

Nickc0844 said:
I would definitely rank the Spray on/Hose off product above the Agitation type product I tested before. By the picture, you can see that the trade off of a no agitation is that one must use more of it. I used ¼ of the agitation bottle for 2 wheels as opposed to 2/3 for 2 wheels on the non-agitation type. While these wheels were a “goodâ€� test for the products, I could see the Spray On/Hose Off product working better for a “decentlyâ€� maintained vehicle. These wheels do not belong in that category. I suggested to Poorboy to use this product with the following statement, "Severely neglected wheels might require some slight agitation to work fully." This should cover any arguments.

Steve has said that both of these are of a near neutral Ph, so they are safe. I did not try them on my Raw Polished Aluminum rims since I just polish and protected them a couple weeks ago, but it would be even better IF I knew they worked effectively on that type of metal without spotting. Saying that, Poorboy said that this can be used on a wheel that has had an EX-P treatment without removing it. That is a definite plus!!

Here is the kicker. Wheel and tire cleaners are among the most widely used product in my detailing arsenal. I go through A LOT of degreaser and wheel cleaners to get the job done, and I’m assuming most of us do. For this product to be a knockout, it would have to be priced competitively against the competition. If it were significantly more expensive than what I am currently using (not that Poorboy’s would), I could see handling some extra work to save the money. With that being said, it would need to be sold in a bigger quantity. I think 16oz would only handle a few cars at most, 32oz wouldn’t be bad start, but at a gallon size, that would be best.


Thanks for taking the time to read over this review. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have, and if others have demo'ed these products, please chime in too
Click to expand...

Nick....First of all that was damn nice of you to go to all the effort of posting that review (with pictures).

I'm waiting for a couple of Gallons of Steve's Spray On cleaner to be dropped shipped here, and after reading your review I'm pretty excited.

I've been using the "spray on pressure wash off" method for years and it really is the best way to do it. The downside for me is that I've always used either HF or HC Acids to do this work, and as is well known those chemicals can be invasive.

I plan on testing Steve's new Cleaner by mixing it 50-50 with water in a Spray bottle, get the surface to be cleaned wet, apply chemical, pressure wash off. That's the way I've always done it, and I'll be very pleased if this stuff works as well as you've reported.

I will also be using it on highly polished aluminum on a daily basis, and will let you know about that. No cameras allowed where I'm working so you'll have to take my word.

I've never ever seen any of these wheel cleaners work fast and effectively unless they had some kind of acid in them, so this one has me particularly interested.

Great work Nick.....I hope Steve keeps the price down.

:lmfao :lmfao :lmfao
 
Nice review as always Nick. :bigups Your reveiws are very thorough and to the point. So is it safe to say you like this better then TOL's Wheel wash & Tire Cleaner ? Price will be the make it or break it for me .
 
Great review

My question
Did you use different power on your hose for each product, if I read this right you used a "Using the JET on my hose" and on another you just use'd regualar hose spay...????
jeff
 
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