Review: Meguiar's Wheel Brightener

This isn't a car that I would go "all out" on. Each year I wash my kids care givers cars for them as a Christmas gift. That was a car that I was hating life on! Her husband a surfer and they have a dog that sheds like crazy. The outside was easy in comparison and the car hadn't been cleaned in months!



I get my Meguiar's stuff mostly from Autodetailingsolutions.com
 
Thanks for the pointers and the warnings. I am cautious about handling the wheel cleaners. I wasn't really sniffing the stuff but it was hard to miss that sweet berry smell...quite unusual.



I brewed up a gallon last night and filled a spray bottle. I may try it tonight on one wheel to get an idea of its power.



Spilchy, I didn't see any stuff floating in the bottom of mine.



All in all, that was an extremely economical purchase directly from Meg's. I have never purchased from them before. Shipping, post-sale contact, and tracking, etc. was all 1st class! ...as they all should be :thx
 
I agree. Wheel Brightener is a great product. It's very powerful and still very economical. I use it from time-to-time on my own car, but it's most useful when people bring me cars with caked on brake dust. It's so strong you don't even have to take the wheels off the car to clean the insides of them.



When I'm cleaning a wheel that's well cared for though I tend to use something much less powerful like Menzerna wheel cleaner or just car wash soap. I do so because the Wheel Brightener tears up my throat if I inhale any of it. When I do use it I wear rubber gloves and paper chemical resistant mask. I look like a total dork, but at least my throat doesn't hurt afterward.
 
SpoiledMan said:
Couple pictures:



763WHLBRTbefore.jpg




763WHLBRTafter.jpg
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Looks good...what was your process here? Agitation? Pressure washer?
 
Mikeyc said:
... the Wheel Brightener tears up my throat if I inhale any of it. When I do use it I wear rubber gloves and paper chemical resistant mask. I look like a total dork, but at least my throat doesn't hurt afterward.
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It's a good idea to check the MSDS for the products you use to see how hazardous they are. Usually there is a health hazard rating on the MSDS, which is a number between 0 and 4. Most detailing products have a rating of 1, which means:



Exposure could cause irritation but only minor residual injury even if no treatment is given.
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But some others, such as Wheel Brightener, have a rating of 3:



Short exposure could cause serious temporary or residual injury even though prompt medical attention was given.
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I don't have the need to use Wheel Brightener, but if I did I would be wearing gloves and a mask as well.
 
Black240SX said:
I don't have the need to use Wheel Brightener, but if I did I would be wearing gloves and a mask as well.
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On my own car I really only use it on occasion to clean the insides of the wheel. Otherwise, I mostly use it on other people's cars who don't care for them as well.
 
Guys, thanks for the additional warnings concerning the health risks - - it is a concern. I guess I should get something else for routine use.



I did clean one wheel tonight and the product is not only potent but it really does brighten things up. I am VERY impressed by its abilities so far. I've had plenty of other potent cleaners...this stuff appears to raise the bar!



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Black240SX said:
It's a good idea to check the MSDS for the products you use to see how hazardous they are. Usually there is a health hazard rating on the MSDS, which is a number between 0 and 4. Most detailing products have a rating of 1, which means:







But some others, such as Wheel Brightener, have a rating of 3:







I don't have the need to use Wheel Brightener, but if I did I would be wearing gloves and a mask as well.
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I've been looking for a good tire cleaning product and AW looks like it will be it.



How do I find out about the rating, because I used one of my new car products and I had a reaction to it, it gave me many little blisters on the insides of my fingers. I believe it was AIO or SG but I'm not for sure.
 
CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION



Product Name:REAL WHEEL CLEANER> PPC Cat. No. 14

Mfr's. Name and Address: Protective Products Corp., Box 246, Johnston, IA 50131

Product Use: Brake Dust and Corrosion Remover.

24-hr. Emergency Telephone: 1-888-772-1277

Information Telephone: 1-515-999-2999

Issue Date: 3-1-05

Prepared by: Dean Bibler



2. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS

Hazardous Components: Phosphoric Acid CAS #7664-38-2 <3%

2-Butoxyethanol CAS #111-76-2 <3%



3. HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

HMIS and NFPA Hazard Ratings: HEALTH – 1, FLAMMABILITY – 0, REACTIVITY – 0

SKIN – Can cause irritation with prolonged contact.

EYES – Irritation and redness can occur.

INGESTION – Can cause nausea or other injury.

INHALATION – Can irritate mucous lining with excessive contact.
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I've used a couple of gallons of this stuff before. It's strong and offers comparable cleaning power compared to the Meg's Wheel Brightener.



Is this product significantly safer? It appears it is based on the MSDS.



Thanks for any suggestions.
 
I had my SUV detailed today. My rims are chrome coated plastic. I always had a difficult time getting what looked liked embedded dirt totally off of the inside of the wheels without a lot of elbow grease and a chrome polish which actually didn't work all that well. I took my one year old SUV to Speedy Green car wash and had it hand detailed. They sprayed the Meguiar Wheel Brightener on it and rinsed it off. They had not yet even wiped it down with a cloth and all of the grime was gone and they were nice and shiny. I'm definitely buying this product. They said not to leave it on for more than 10 minutes because of the acid in the product. Excellent stuff!!
 
Last post was in 2006, so it's been around for quite awhile. Good stuff, but handle with care.
vette2red said:
I had my SUV detailed today. My rims are chrome coated plastic. I always had a difficult time getting what looked liked embedded dirt totally off of the inside of the wheels without a lot of elbow grease and a chrome polish which actually didn't work all that well. I took my one year old SUV to Speedy Green car wash and had it hand detailed. They sprayed the Meguiar Wheel Brightener on it and rinsed it off. They had not yet even wiped it down with a cloth and all of the grime was gone and they were nice and shiny. I'm definitely buying this product. They said not to leave it on for more than 10 minutes because of the acid in the product. Excellent stuff!!
Click to expand...
 
Hi, I purchased some of the Meg WB and used it a few times, but every time I use it, it turns the rotors a golden brown/rust color. This doesn't look good it seems like it's eating the rotors, I don't want my customers complaining about this. Should I dilute it more, why is this happening? Anyone else experience this? Other than that, it works fine.



Ultimate Reflections

1-877-REFLECT

Ultimate Reflection Detailing
 
mcodp said:
Hi, I purchased some of the Meg WB and used it a few times, but every time I use it, it turns the rotors a golden brown/rust color. This doesn't look good it seems like it's eating the rotors, I don't want my customers complaining about this. Should I dilute it more, why is this happening? Anyone else experience this? Other than that, it works fine.



Ultimate Reflections

1-877-REFLECT

Ultimate Reflection Detailing
Click to expand...



It's perfectly normal for rotors to flash rust when they get wet. Just roll the car forward and back while riding the brakes and it'll scrub that off.
 
mcodp said:
Hi, I purchased some of the Meg WB and used it a few times, but every time I use it, it turns the rotors a golden brown/rust color. This doesn't look good it seems like it's eating the rotors, I don't want my customers complaining about this. Should I dilute it more, why is this happening? Anyone else experience this? Other than that, it works fine.



Ultimate Reflections

1-877-REFLECT

Ultimate Reflection Detailing
Click to expand...



That same thing will happen if you wash the car with water but to a lesser extent. I doubt that it causes a significant loss of life to the rotors and it comes off the first time you drag the brakes. I like the stuff because it saves me time. My time these days is worth a lot to me
 
Understand the health risks associated with this product. Read the bottle. I think you are supposed to have a respirator and chem-resistant gloves.



I would not recommend this product as your go-to wheel cleaner for the home user. It's great in a production environment, but the health risks had me get rid of it soon after I purchased it. Too bad cuz the stuff works great on gross wheels.
 
The hazards of Meguiars WB are wildly exaggerated. Megs sells CUBIC TONS of WB around the world. If it were as dangerous as the URBAN LEGENDS about wheel acid, Meguiars would be facing class action lawsuits.



Dilute per the instructions, wear gloves and hold your breath while spraying it.



Stop scrubbing your wheels like a neanderthal.
 
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