Simple Green on your wheels?... yes or no?

T

tommyd

New member
I've been told from someone who's given me some good advice that simple green will etch or damage my wheels clearcoat...



From searching, i've found that some say it's safe to use and others say it's not... so what's the consensus?



I'm one of those types that will stick a finger into fire just to see if it's hot... so i tried it one day (i figured once won't kill me) and it worked amazingly... standard garden hose at full pressure and i was left with only a few spots to wipe...



ok... i used full strength... and i guess you're supposed to dilute... so what's the dilution ratio? (assuming ya think it's ok to use).



just looking for a second opinion...

note: using soap and water, it takes me 10 min. to clean each wheel currently... and i still get left with some very minor pitting from brake dust... the simple green seemed to work pretty well in wearing them down and i imagine after a few times, it'll take them out completely... and anything to save some time would be tremendous...



thx
 
Simple Green would never touch my rims because I am sure it would stain. Don't let your rims get real dirty and you won't need to use something like Simple Green.
 
I'd stay away.



If you want, buy Eagle One A2Z wheel cleaner and use that. It's cheap enough.



To make things easier for you, I recommend waxing your wheels with Wheel Wax, AIO, #20 or Zaino and then cleanup will be much easier. You'll only need soap and water.



I spend like 3 minutes a wheel that way. They have a thick coat of Collinite Insulator wax. In fact, if I wanted to, I could wipe them off with just a wet towel. They stay prisitne under that wax.
 
Yeah... i've been thinking about it... and there's enough negative opinions for me to think it's not worth the risk...



I tried autoglym... which works ok but is pretty expensive... need to find a good bulk product that's available locally... what i really need is something that's gonna cut my 40 minutes of wheel cleaning time down!! (I use 3 tools to work different areas of the wheel)



I clean my wheels twice a week... still get those minor pit marks...
 
Thanks spilch... been lazy and haven't taken my wheels off to do a sealant yet... but looking to do that this month after it goes into storage...

:xyxthumbs



but that simple green works so well!!!



...but i guess a blowtorch would also work well to get rid of unwanted body hair...

:p
 
civicex... even a no for the engine bay???

aaargghhgh!!!



one thing that worked pretty well for me was using the simple green on my rubber floor mats... scrubbed with my old old very old water letting car washing brush (can't believe i ever used that thing in hindsight)... and they came out as sparkly as rubber mats can get...

(don't tell me that's a no-no too!)
 
Well, it does an awesome job cleaning the engine bay but it leaves all the metal white like it is oxidized and all the hose white. We had this happen on a car we did last week and use Poorboy's Natural Look to get the hoses looking awesome! Nothing we could do about the whiteness on the metal though.
 
Could that have something to do with the engine being warm or do you think it was entirely the product?



edit: i actually go into the engine area and wipe everything down with a damp rag after every wash... (weekly at least)...

been pretty clean after 5 months... hoping it lasts!
 
I've used it without any problems for over 5 months. I use the A2Z now because it works better but the simple green worked flawlessly for me until I discovered the A2Z.
 
I have rather open spoked wheels and from March till I Zainoed them in Sept I never did more that wash them with a dedicated chenelle mitt couple times a week and never had any buildup or pitting from brake dust. No hard rubbing or brushes required. Once the Zaino was applied it was Iguess it was easier .. hard to tell. From what I have heard the VW Passat has very soft rear pads and brake dusting is above normal. Maybe washing often was the answer. Maybe it was the wheel finish.
 
My biggest problem is getting in past the brake shields to get at the back of the wheels... that's where most of the pitting is and i can't wipe properly back there...



I tried a cheap plastic body wash brush but the knit keeps getting caught on the shield and ripping... i'm back to using a rag to get back there... and have the knicks in my hands to prove it...

Otherwise, soap and water and wiping with an old wash mitt... never had to be at all agressive except on those few spots...

i use a foam pad paint brush (for painting into corners) to get in between each double spoke... and a soft paint brush to work the lug nut areas...



For some stupid reason, there are these little holes in between each lug as well... so i have to work a few bristles of the paint brush into these holes and try to get them as clean as possible... can't apply any pressure so without a wheel cleaner, they'll never be spotless... (ok... they're really small holes, but dammit i KNOW THEY'RE THERE and i KNOW THEY"RE DIRTY!!)



i think i have ocd...
 
I would simply clean my wheels more often and stick with regular car wash soap. I've seen more wheels than I care to count that have been damaged by wheel cleaners and the like, but never a wheel damaged by car wash soap.



Once you have them clean, products like Meguiars #20 or Clearkote's Moose Wax (the non-carnauba version) will clean the wheel a bit deeper and give them a more slick finish that brake dust is less likely to stick to.
 
what Scott said :). I've use A2Z once, maybe twice on my car and car wash soap every time afterwards. The new formula (orange) is very basic, pH of 13-14.
 
I used Simple Green on the wheels of my '97 Park Ave and it trashed the finish. The finish became very dull and felt dry to the touch, kind of like the way oxidized paint feels.
 
I had a customer who was washing her S-10 Blazer with Simple Green and in her words "I use a lot to make sure my truck is clean" and she was totally oblivious to the damage she was doing to her factory single stage paint job. Damn thing was pink when I started on it.



After I finished bringing the color back, I told her to make sure she used car wash soap only when washing it and that is when she mentioned using SG to wash it. Ugh.
 
I can echo what other have witnessed, I too have seen some really odd discoloration on wheels caused by SG. The stuff makes me very nervous...even for cleaning engines, etc. I had an unfortunate experience with it.
 
Scottwax said:
I would simply clean my wheels more often and stick with regular car wash soap. I've seen more wheels than I care to count that have been damaged by wheel cleaners and the like, but never a wheel damaged by car wash soap.



Once you have them clean, products like Meguiars #20 or Clearkote's Moose Wax (the non-carnauba version) will clean the wheel a bit deeper and give them a more slick finish that brake dust is less likely to stick to.
Click to expand...



Exactly. I use just cheapo armor-all car wash soap diluted in some water of course. With a sponge, they come very clean. This is everytime I wash. The wheels never get that dirty, even if they do (my dad does a lot of hilly driving in the Focus, the wheels get horrible) I find that brake dust really doesn't stick too much anyway. I always follow up with a coat of Blackfire. I'm trying to use BFII up, I want to try something new. :) Once in awhile using a wheel cleaner isn't bad. It's just maybe 364 days out of the year you really don't need to be putting anything that harsh onto your wheels. Try the least agressive method first for everything.
 
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