Sonax Wheel Cleaner Review

[Pats300zx]

I recently picked up a bottle of Sonax Wheel Cleaner from Phil at Detailers Domain and decided to try it on my newly purchased 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. The car was in clean shape by dealership standards but I have been working on it to bring it up to my standards Stay tuned for a more detailed writeup.



This past weekend I decided to tackle the 20 inch wheels and rims by removing them form the truck and cleaning the suspension, painting the brake calipers and hubs, and giving the wheels a serious clean up in the inner barrels. I figure it was a good test for Sonax Wheel Cleaner.



The Dodge Ram Hemi wheels are not a true chrome wheel but are a chrome glad that is more of a plastic. I was worried about using something very aggressive that might leach onto to the chrome clad portion of the wheel and stain it. As you can see in this picture the worse part of the wheel was directly behind the spokes.

The wheels were washed and then sprayed with Sonax Wheel Cleaner and let to sit for about 5 minutes while I was cleaning the suspension and brake calipers.

As you can see in this pic the Sonax is working it's magic and turns red as it reacts with the ferrous oxides.

Here is the end result. The inner spokes are just to hammered from neglect and fortunately you can't see them when they are on the truck. Fortunately the wheel barrels came out excellent. I thought of using something stronger like Megs Wheel Brightner but decided not to chance it. These wheels sell for around $800 each. Unreal considering they are not even true chrome.

End result. Polished with Mothers Power Metal and inner wheels and wheel sealed with Collonite 476.

All finished. Hubs painted silver and calipers painted black with Duplicolor Caliper Paint.



All in all I found Sonax to be an extremely effective and safe wheel cleaner

 

[Mindflux]

Looks nice but at $20 for 16 oz I'll pass.

 

[dmw2692004]

Have you tried megs wheel brightener diluted some? Maybe a 5:1 or 6:1 dilution?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Pat, I hear ya on those wheels and how expensive they are...for an aluminum wheel with a chrome-plated piece of plastic glued on the front...good call on not getting any acid trapped in between the wheel and the "fascia".



Anyway, besides the neat color change, does this stuff work any better than say, P21S?

 

[Pats300zx]

Setec...I agree 100% the risk to damaging the chrome clad was just not worth it IMO. You really can't see those parts of the wheel anyway since they are against the hub.



I can't even begin to imagine when these wheels were last cleaned like that. The build up of brake dust and etching on those spokes was unreal. I feel Sonax is comparable to P21S. I am not sure if it is more cost effective but it seems to be a very effective and safe wheel cleaner.

 

[trhland]

i love this wheel cleaner but just cant deal with the smell of it..rotten eggs!!!! its the worst...

 

[Legacy]

Good job. Now that it's sealed you won't need a wheel cleaner. Soap, water and a bit of agitation is all you need. BTW nice new finish on the tires...what did you use?

 

[Pats300zx]

Good job. Now that it's sealed you won't need a wheel cleaner. Soap, water and a bit of agitation is all you need. BTW nice new finish on the tires...what did you use?

Yeah that was exactly what I was hoping for. I am curious to see how the Colly 476 holds up against the brake dust. I used Optimum Tire Shine. It is very low matte.

 

[imported_DetailDan]

Sonax is 10x better than P21s, cant even compare the two.

 

[getcha]

With all the stuff about IronCut going around it seems like IronCut is right on par with Sonax except for the fact that Sonax is a wheel specific cleaner and IronCut is safe for wheels paint and glass.

 

[steelwind101]

Yeah that was exactly what I was hoping for. I am curious to see how the Colly 476 holds up against the brake dust.

Good review.



It depends on the cars and how they are used. IMO you tend to get dust that seems like its caught in wax if your doing heavy driving with stop starts. I find a real sealant such as EGP cleans much easier and seems to be a better barrier.

Sonax is 10x better than P21s, cant even compare the two.

Im not sure thats true, i found this Sonax product to be much more effective on contact. P21s is simply not an immediate right on contact cleaner. If you have seriously bonded brakedust and tar from say hard driving or track day events then P21s, green or red really makes its case b/c you can apply it, gently aggitate and leave it to melt thru build up. Horses for courses and all that imo.

 

[imported_DetailDan]

Im not sure thats true, i found this Sonax product to be much more effective on contact. P21s is simply not an immediate right on contact cleaner. If you have seriously bonded brakedust and tar from say hard driving or track day events then P21s, green or red really makes its case b/c you can apply it, gently aggitate and leave it to melt thru build up. Horses for courses and all that imo.

I agree. I've heard of people leaving p21s on overnight. But Sonax is more effective and works quicker.

 

[tom p.]

I've used this product and did like it. However, it is too $$$ in the small bottles. They should offer an industrial size for regular users.

 

[Mindflux]

I've used this product and did like it. However, it is too $$$ in the small bottles. They should offer an industrial size for regular users.

I don't think it would help the price much. I'll stick with a quality APC.

:har:

 

[tom p.]

I see Autogeek is running a sale on SONAX products for a couple days and you can get the 5L container of this wheel cleaner for $80.

 

[The Wraith]

Looks nice but at $20 for 16 oz I'll pass.

I'm right there with you, brother.

 

[wannafbody]

If you have an Ollies nearby they have some Sonax stuff cheap. I don't remember seeing the wheel cleaner though.

 

[Tuck91]

Wheels looks great.



Wouldnt ever buy the stuff though, too $$$$

 

[imported_Amused]

I just performed a side by side with Sonax Full Effect and P21S Gel (I'll photo doc it next time. I didn't have my iPhone or camera with me at the time).

The process was simple, I sprayed one rear wheel with Sonax and the other with P21S. Both soaked for a few minutes and then got hosed down (no agitation). Sonax was able to clean off a bit more grime and brake dust than P21S. I then tested the products on the fronts...same setup. This time however, I used a short boars hair brush and mini wheel brush to agitate after 3-4 minutes of soak. The wheels were then finished with a hose. Both cleaned equally well, but the P21S dried up a tad while soaking (it was in direct sunlight and the temps were in the low 90s), and I've always found that to be annoying.



In the end, I'd rate Sonax slightly better for 3 reasons.

1. The color change was a nice indicator as to when the product has done its work...no guessing required for when to start the brush work.
   
2. It seemed to be able to clean a tad more effectively based on no agitation and just a strong hose down.
   
3. It didn't dry as quickly as the P21S Gel.
   

With the price being comparable to P21S (a couple of dollars more), and with the 3 additional benefits, it's replaced P21S as my favorite wheel cleaner.

 

[bmw5541]

I agree. It isn't cheap by any means, but it is the best wheel cleaner that I have ever used bar none!!!!! I don't care that it smells bad, or it is expensive. The performance that Sonax offers is second to none.