Best wheel tire/cleaner for volume

Here's my update on the Royal Brown wheel cleaner. I've had approximately 4 applications on both our cars and I'm trying to figure out if this stuff starts to dull the wheel with extended use.



I’ll start off by saying this stuff has tremendous cleaning power, probably comparable to a wheel acid but without the associated health effects. I’ve been using it on the wheels and exhausts tips of both our cars and it truly is an effective cleaner. You barely touch the surface and any brake dust and road grime is wiped away with almost no effort.



The only place where it falls down, in comparison to the premium wheel cleaners (Griot’s, P21S, Autoglym, Sonax and the like), is that it doesn’t leave a glossy finish, which I demand. For a less discerning user, or where it won’t be used on a weekly basis, this stuff is excellent. I can see it being used in a production environment where big cleaning power is often needed. I’m going to place the finished appearance right between a premium wheel cleaner and one of the many APC-style wheel cleaners.



I can see today that my wheels are losing their bright lustre following another cleaning with the Royal Brown. They're not dull, but they don't have the gloss left by one of my other products.



So, if you are satisfied with clean wheels, this works well and is a great value considering the suggested 1:3 dilution ratio. If you demand not only clean wheels, but a big, bright glossy appearance, you should look to one of the products I mention above.
 
tom p. said:
You barely touch the surface and any brake dust and road grime is wiped away with almost no effort.
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On well-maintained wheels, I'd agree that it's almost effortless cleaning. On neglected wheels, and I mean never cleaned since the car was bought, it still falls short of an acid. I keep it mixed at 1:1 for most wheels, but wouldn't suggest that for weekly cleaning.
 
No problem.



I know when I use my Griot's next week I'm gonna see that big difference in gloss that's been slipping away over the past weeks while using the Brown. This is just one of those instances where you've got to say "what the hay!" ;)



I'll find some good uses for the Brown. I'll use it on winter wheels and other less-critical clean-ups. I just hate to see the gloss fade away on my new car's wheels.



(Parallel: I've been using DPs Foam Gun Soap over the past couple months instead of my go-to Optimum car wash. I switched back to the Optimum last week and was just blown away by how much better the final gloss is compared to the DP soap.)
 
mikenap said:
On neglected wheels, and I mean never cleaned since the car was bought, it still falls short of an acid. I keep it mixed at 1:1 for most wheels, but wouldn't suggest that for weekly cleaning.
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Good to know, Mike. Thanks.



I've been using the Brown at 1:2 and 1:3 and was surprised how much cleaning power it has...nothing to sneeze at!



Cheers!
 
tom p. said:
Good to know, Mike. Thanks.



I've been using the Brown at 1:2 and 1:3 and was surprised how much cleaning power it has...nothing to sneeze at!



Cheers!
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:) No problem.





It's pretty tough to beat for the price. One thing I found that helped was putting it in a bottle with a foaming sprayer, since it's a bit runny on its own. I had a BEAT 5-series last weekend, and decided to try my own Sonax vs. BR test. No contest, Sonax did its bleeding thing and BR did its cleaning thing.



One thing to add, apparently it will eat through some plastic containers. I gave some BR to a friend to try and before he had a chance to use it, he said it caused his container to leak. He put some ARO in the same type of container at the same time with the same result! Both cleaners ended up all over his garage floor. :rofl
 
mikenap said:
:)



No contest, Sonax did its bleeding thing and BR did its cleaning thing.
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Interesting. I've yet to use the current version of Sonax wheel cleaner. It didn't perform (well) compared to the Brown??



I haven't had any issues with leaks, but the plastic spray bottle that my Brown is in is certified as "BEST" by Ron K :)
 
tom p. said:
Interesting. I've yet to use the current version of Sonax wheel cleaner. It didn't perform (well) compared to the Brown??



I haven't had any issues with leaks, but the plastic spray bottle that my Brown is in is certified as "BEST" by Ron K :)
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The Brown Royal cleaned better in my eyes. Less agitation, less crud left behind. Sonax would have needed another application to get the same result.



This is the jug he has his liquids stored in, made of that brittle sort of plastic.



Walmart.com: Arrow H2O Junior 1L Sport Bottle, Blue: Kitchen & Dining



I keep mine in the gallon jug it came in, and the mixed stuff is in an old E1 A2Z sprayer with the foaming head. I never had any leaks either, so it must be that style of plastic.
 
mikenap said:
The Brown Royal cleaned better in my eyes. Less agitation, less crud left behind. Sonax would have needed another application to get the same result.
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I'm surprised to hear that. I thought the Sonax was a complete powerhouse in terms of cleaning. Good to know, thanks.
 
tom p. said:
Good to know, Mike. Thanks.



I've been using the Brown at 1:2 and 1:3 and was surprised how much cleaning power it has...nothing to sneeze at!



Cheers!
Click to expand...



I too use Brown Royal too for bulk. They are nice people and they don't try to just re-package and sell you a dozen different things. They tell you flat out you can dilute to different ratios to use it to clean various things (carpets, engine, etc). Its good stuff, but I have used it at a 1:5 or 1:6 on wheels and to pull out a few oil stains on my drive way. They recommend a 1:8 for light regular cleaning. I mentioned r3vlimited forums and got a 10% discount.
 
Received my Brown Royal from Flash on Friday and I will say that I'm impressed with it, but not blown away. My first impression is that it works a bit better than EO A2Z, plus it's cheaper, so I think that it's something that will remain in my arsenal. It's not a miracle product that will work without a little agitation, but what is? That said, I tried it last night on the dirty wheels on my wife's BMW which had been Opti-Coated. It immediately turned from brown to black. Sprayed it with the water hose 30 seconds later and the brake dust was completely gone. I've never seen this happen before. Since the Opti-Coat was applied the wheels have only been cleaned with ONR and a sponge which worked surprisingly well. Now I see why!
 
David Fermani said:
Pretty much any good (strong) HF wheel acid.
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Your saying acidic cleaners require less agitation? I know the BR advertises non-acid, but I'm sure its probably some kind of alkaline or something.
 
BR is alkaline, and no, you still need to scrub most acidic cleaners.



That said, many times(probably due to amount of exposure) I have little luck with HF cleaners.
 
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