safest wheel cleaner, Simple Green?

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imported_cutter

New member
I have been using Eagle One on my wheels and have been considering using Simple Green ( 10:1 mixture) instead. It's much cheaper. I haven't found much information when I did a search for use of this product on clear coated and uncoated aluminum wheels. I read there could be damage to uncoated wheels if left on to long.

Does anyone have any opinions?
 
In the past there has been concern about how SG can attack aluminum and other metals. Even if it's used diluted that's too much of risk for me. You could do a search for more details about this if you like. If you get your wheels clean once with the A2Z, going over them regularly with only car wash will more or less eliminate the need to use anything strong. In fact, I haven't used my bottle of A2z yet.
 
In respect to the rims themselves, use something that is safe for them. e.g. A2Z is safe for all wheels including clearcoats. However, after you clean and dry them apply a good sealant like FMJ. Once you have a good sealant on washing the wheels becomes a breeze because the brake dust and other dirt come off with a strong stream of water.
 
I wouldn't touch Simple Green to anything uncoated (ie: Aluminum).



However, regular hubcaps or silver/chrome wheels will do just fine with it.



I use it Full Strength with no problems.
 
Wheel cleaners are an occasional use item for me. Most of the time, it's just the wash water, a soft brush and a stream of water on my wheels. I have the Klasse twins on them, works really good. As for wheels cleaners, I've used Armor All (way too nasty on the rims), S100 gel and Detailer's Pride gel (my fave).
 
If you really want to be safe go with a quality dedicated wheel cleaner such as P21S, Sonus or 4-Star. They are ph balanced and don't contain harmful chemicals. Because of this they are more expensive but well worth it. I got burnt by those off-the-shelf wheel cleaners and will never use them again.
 
I've used Griot's wheel cleaner for several years now. Good, safe stuff. I've got 10 sets of wheels for our four cars, and go through quite a bit of it. I buy it by the gallon for $30.



-Keith
 
I don't use anything on my rims except whatever is left in the bucket after doing the car. On my GN with billet rims I occasionally need to polish them with aluminum polish but thats it. Usually the soapy water washes all the brake dust off. I don't let my wheels get that dirty though. If I were doing someone elses car who has 3 months of brake dust on their wheels I would probably run out and buy some sort of spray...seems like A2Z is pretty popular.
 
For tough jobs I use TOL's Wheel Wash which is a non-acidic wheel cleaner than cleans everything up QUITE WELL and is safe for the rims.



$20 shipped for the gallon, you really can't go wrong.



But I agree with protecting your rims. Keeping a good sealant on them will help a ton for cleanups :)
 
I'm getting good results from Mothers Clear Coat polish as my protectant. I bought it to try it, it seems very AIO like. Pick it up to try for yourself, otherwise any good high quality sealant, Klasse twins and Zaino are popular, does well
 
GSRstilez said:
For tough jobs I use TOL's Wheel Wash which is a non-acidic wheel cleaner than cleans everything up QUITE WELL and is safe for the rims.



$20 shipped for the gallon, you really can't go wrong.
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Ok so I'm a newbie, but who/what is TOL? (and no, it isn't on the acronym list)



-Keith
 
wheel cleaner in the gallon size. That's a great value, it's very mild and carries the BBS stamp of approval (FWIW). For heavy dust and very dirty wheels, there are better choices.
 
GSRstilez said:
I wouldn't touch Simple Green to anything uncoated (ie: Aluminum).



However, regular hubcaps or silver/chrome wheels will do just fine with it.



I use it Full Strength with no problems.
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I wish my dad would have told me that when he dumped some in my wheel cleaner bottle. :( My wheels need to be VM'd everytime I wash now or they look cloudy.
 
cutter said:
I haven't found much information when I did a search for use of this product on clear coated and uncoated aluminum wheels. I read there could be damage to uncoated wheels if left on to long.

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Any wheel cleaner will damage rims if left on too long. I use the automotive version of simple green which is ready to use right from the bottle. I use it on my tires for the white lettering. Works great. Simple green has a ph level of 9.3-9.5. Go to their website and look for yourself. I've done my own tests with simple green on glass just to see what would happen. Yeah, I had nothing else better to do. I sprayed simple green on a piece of glass and I even put it in the sun to dry! I waited for a while and sprayed it off. Rinsed clean and looked good with no ill effect. I then tried this test with meguiar's extra and it damaged the glass a little. Now, I'm not sure how simple green would treat uncoated metal and I only raise the point about the glass thing because I just wanted to see what would happen, and just because nothing happened to the glass doesn't mean that it would be ok for your purpose.
 
Choosing the right wheel cleaner is the first issue. Find out what wheel type you have then purchase a wheel cleaner for that wheel type. The next biggest problem is spraying a wheel cleaner on hot wheels closely followed by I got a phone call just after I sprayed the wheel and the cleaner dried on it. Don't answer the phone or have a freshly opened beer just before you start. Acid or non acid damage can still occur, even if you don't see it right away. If you commit the above infractions a stain will surely occur. Wheel cleaners are designed to be as strong as they can be. It is done by adjusting or controlling the ph to a specific level. A balanced ph will most likely not clean anything unless you introduce an abrasive.
 
I don't like A2Z, I used it on my Audi wheels and it left them dry looking like someone wetsanded them. I also found SG to leave a residue if you don't rinse them very thouroughly. I try sticking to Meg's hotrims and never had a problem.
 
I have coated wheels and have been using Simple Green full-strength. I have not had any issues to date...my car is new and my wheels look new too. I always spray it on cool wheels and I think this is key. If the wheels are too hot it will be tough to remove any cleaner. I also do not let SG sit on the wheels for more than a minute before cleaning them.



I've tried several of the Megs wheel cleaners and some Simonez, but haven't tried any of the more exotic wheel cleaners. Simple Green has worked as well or better than everything I've tried.



The only downside is the heavy fumes; if you clean immediately after spraying it is pretty heavy. I've been thinking of watering the SG down just because the fumes bother me a bit and it will go further that way.
 
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