Is PB Spray & Rinse Wheel Cleaner as good as they claim

K

Kai

New member
You bet your jerk it is!! :bow

Just for the sake of testing...I tried Four Star Ultimate Wheel Cleaner Gel and Spray & Rinse Wheel Cleaner on the two front wheels of our Sequoia which recently have attacked by dusty TRD pads. I know this probably won't be the fairest comparison since 4 Star's gel requires you to use sponge or whatever to wipe down the wheel during the process, so I gave PB slight handicap by not spraying cold water onto the wheels before applying PB's S&R.

Here you can see how bad both wheels were..
As you can see both wheels were at the same level of "dirtiness"
Right front before 4 Star
Rwo4star-vi.jpg

Left front before PB
LwoPB-vi.jpg


First 30 second after 4 star
Rw4star-vi.jpg

First 30 second after PB
LwPB-vi.jpg


Light rinse after 4 star
4star30s-vi.jpg

Light rinse after PB
PB30s-vi.jpg


4 Star Final rinse
4starfinalrinse-vi.jpg

PB Final rinse
PBfinalrinse-vi.jpg


4 Star is still one of my favorite wheel cleaner, and since I did not do any wipe down during the process as instructed, I did not expect it to do as well as PB's S&R. Plus, PB's S&R is advertised only need to "Spray AND Rinse" I'm very impressed with the PB S&R, it took out just about 95% of the dust and curd on that wheel...while without wiping the wheel 4 Star took about 80% of the junk off the other wheel. But with my passed experience I know 4 Star should do just as well with some wiping...

I can't wait to get the PB's S&W. :D Pretty excited about their products. Maybe sometime this week I will try out their new car wash I bought. I chose that over the Meguiar's Shampoo Plus from their Detailer's line. http://www.properautocare.com/meshpl1ga.html
It's almost 4 times more expensive, but I think it should perform just as well as other PB products.
 
Nice review! :bigups

I agree, the PB's S & R is the best spray and rinse wheel cleaner I've used. As you said, the 4* gel is not a spray and rise product, and really can't be compared. However, when used as instructed, the 4* gel work very nice, and leaves a nice shine.

Both great products!
 
I tested PB's SNR over the weekend. It IS very good and works just as described.

Tested with litmus paper, came out reading about PH4. If anyone has a PH meter that can give an accurate reading I'd be interested to hear it. Pics etc of my test over at Autopia.
 
i think litmus paper is an accurate meter of pH, thats what we used in chem anyways. i guess that means that PB Spray nad rinse is slightly acidic.
 
zesty-man said:
i think litmus paper is an accurate meter of pH, thats what we used in chem anyways. i guess that means that PB Spray nad rinse is slightly acidic.
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Yep Zesty! PH4 would be slightly acidic. For reference, the PH of some common substances are listed below:

Lemon Juice 2.5
Vinegar 2.5-3.5
Grapes 3.5-4.5
Acid Rain around 5.2

If anyone is wondering why the PH value is important, it is because there have been reports of some strong wheel cleaners etching the finish on some wheels. Often it is because the cleaner was used on a hot wheel, left to soak for too long or even dry on the wheel, but the danger is still there.

For myself, I'll be washing my wheels with milder wash shampoo most weekends and saving the stronger wheel cleaners for occasional use. When I do reach for a wheel cleaner, it will probably be PB's SNR, I was very impressed with it's performance.
 
Kai,

The reason I said this is because in my experience agitation works best for all wheel cleaners and for some like A2Z is essential.

Maybe you could do your test again and show the results with agitation and I would also include A2Z which is as good as some expensive cleaners like P21S Gel.

"Tested with litmus paper, came out reading about PH4."

Yowza, that seems strong...I think we want a neutral Ph for wheel cleaner...
 
Aggitation is not always possible with some of the new complicated wheels made today, but i agree that slight aggitation could not hurt and would not require a second pass.

I also agree that this is a stong Professional Wheel Cleaner and should not be used as a weekly cleaner, but for those who detail for a living, have complicated wheels or deal with vehicles that are not properly maintained it can surely save a lot of work.

If you clean wheels well and then protect them with a sealant, then regular maintenece should be easy and not require a strong cleaner.
 
SilverLexus said:
Kai,

The reason I said this is because in my experience agitation works best for all wheel cleaners and for some like A2Z is essential.
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I think agitation is important for most of the wheel cleaners out there, like I MENTIONED above, I was just simply testing both wheel cleaners to see how well they work by simply just spraying and rinsing. And I STATED it probably wasn't the fairest for 4 Star as it was instructed to use sponge or towel to wipe down the surface after spraying.
I KNEW what 4 Star's wheel cleaning gel can do, this was simply for the sake of testing.
 
SilverLexus said:
"Tested with litmus paper, came out reading about PH4."

Yowza, that seems strong...I think we want a neutral Ph for wheel cleaner...
Click to expand...

Hehehe A2Z has a PH of around 13! :eek Very strong base!

I think you are right to be cautious though, when using ANY strong chemical cleaners. Spot check first, only use on a cool surface, do not leave to soak for too long and rinse off really well are all very good ideas.

On a weekly basis my wheels and tires will only see car wash shampoo, but a few times a year I'll be breaking out the PB's SNR for the wheels AND the A2Z for the tires! The results I achieved by using these two (separated by a good rinse) were absolutely excellent!
 
RedondoV6 said:
On a weekly basis my wheels and tires will only see car wash shampoo, but a few times a year I'll be breaking out the PB's SNR for the wheels AND the A2Z for the tires! The results I achieved by using these two (separated by a good rinse) were absolutely excellent!
Click to expand...
I plan to do something similar. If the wheels on my personal vehicles are protected by a fresh coat of sealant, then a good car wash shampoo (plus a little agitation) are all I need to clean my wheels. When it's time for a new coat of sealant, I will break out the S&R to do its magic on all the little crevices before polishing and re-sealing. I still like to use Meg's Citri-Gel to deep clean tires, especially those with RWL. For weekly maintenance on tires, BnB seems to do the job very well (lightly cleans and dresses in one step).
 
This may seem a little crazy but can SNR be used on carpets? I was just thinking for really dirty and stained mats. You might be able spray some SNR, scrub and then hose off and let dry. Its such an unbelievable cleaner but with a PH of 4, it might damage mats. I would say the biggest concern would be if the cleaner would fade the color of the mat but I'm not really sure, any thoughts? I can tell you one thing, I'll definately be using this stuff for engines!!!
 
no I wouldn't use it on carpet Charles, but the other prototype..the green one..can easily be diluted for use on almost anything ..it starts out as a pH 7 and will not damage of fade the carpet...I also suggest the prototype green stuff for engines too.
 
What is potentially more dangerous to use as far as getting it on your skin and damaging wheels, ph of 4 or ph of 13?
 
wifehatescar said:
What is potentially more dangerous to use as far as getting it on your skin and damaging wheels, ph of 4 or ph of 13?
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I would say the 4. 4 is a mild-moderate acid which I feel would be worse than a very stong alkaline of 13...
 
hmm, i think just to clear up some stuff, it probably doesnt make sense to use a rim cleaner on your rims every time you wash, considering that its already clean. i think it would be more appropriate to maybe use it on rim's that have been neglected etc etc, and ocassionally on your rims, when they need to be cleaned every throughly. as for A2Z having a pH of 14, geez........ thats really basic (i think its almost off the lithmis scale). not quite sure if its dangerous to your rims or not blah blah blah, and if its more dangerous than an acid. i think the word "acid" is very misleading due to the media however......


now if only poorboy could send some samples to hawaii.....
 
"On a weekly basis my wheels and tires will only see car wash shampoo, but a few times a year I'll be breaking out the PB's SNR for the wheels AND the A2Z for the tires!"

This seems like a good idea (specially if the Ph is 13; I had no idea). I've been doing Pinnacle or P21S car soap every other week and every other week A2Z. Maybe I should back it off to once a month.
 
SilverLexus said:
This seems like a good idea (specially if the Ph is 13; I had no idea). I've been doing Pinnacle or P21S car soap every other week and every other week A2Z. Maybe I should back it off to once a month.
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It sounds like you have not noticed any damage to your rims, but personally I would back off using A2Z every other week. Please understand I'm a big fan of A2Z, it is the most effective OTC wheel and tire cleaner I have tested, but it is very close to being the same PH as drain cleaner! Treat it with respect, especially of you have painted rims.

Wash shampoo and a MF should take care of your rims OK and if the tires look too brown I break out the dawn washing liquid and give them a good scrubbing (contary to popular belief a solution of dawn does not have a very high PH value).

If anyone is interested in testing the PH of their current detailing products, you can get Litmus paper from most educational supplies stores, I paid around $3 for 40 testing strips.

Happy detailing!
 
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