Cleaning wheels

bcgreen

New member
I wrote this down a while back figuring the next time I clean my wheels I wanted to see how this would work.
I don`t know where I saw this but the ingredients I wrote down (incorrectly) were: 1/2 C Soda, 2 C warm water and 1 T dawn.
The 1/2 C soda doesn`t seems right.
 
That`s sounds like something from the 70`s to clean rusting Crome steel wheels. Hopefully your not doing the crumpled aluminum foil to scrub That went along with that kind of solution.
 
bcgreen- I`m not a Dawn-hater, but what about Dawn would make it suitable for wheels? Adding "soda" to make it more aggressive? And what kind of soda? Blasting Soda? Baking Soda? Washing Soda? (Those are three possible Sodas that come immediately to mind..)

Most wheels are powdercoated these days, and powdercoating is generally pretty tough stuff, so I doubt such a mix would do real damage, but I don`t get this one. Hey, if it`s just Intellectual Curiosity, then OK, cool! Far be it from me to be a wet blanket and stifle scientific inquiry! But unless wheels are LSPed in some way (in which case Carwash Shampoo is sufficient IME) I`d expect them to need a genuine Wheel Cleaner for good results (which is why I don`t reach for Degreasers to clean wheels either).
 
Agree with the others, that recipe doesn`t sound like a good idea. If for no other reason, I never found Dawn to rinse off very well.

A mild wheel cleaner will probably break down the brake dust and grime much better. There are plenty of mild ones available which won`t hurt your wheels and they are actually pretty economical when purchased by the gallon.
 
Was that club soda? I don`t think dawn would hurt. If you have clearcoated wheels maybe try a Mr Clean Magic Eraser instead of a regular sponge.
 
Eh, other than the Tahoe`s winter wheels, I just clean `em up properly once, LSP/Coat them, and then wash with shampoo mix.

But I got the feeling bcgreen might`ve been thinking "very low-cost solution" and carwash shampoo does cost a bit compared to, say...Dawn.
 
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