Wheel Cleaners??

[TQB]

OK all I have very very rarely ever use wheel cleaners to clean the wheels. What I normally do is mix a seperate bucket of wash with a rather harsh dose of car wash and wash the wheels with that instead of using "wheel cleaners"

I have always been afraid of wheel cleaners do to this:
Most wheels are clearcoated now and the most all "wheel cleaners" say DON NOT get on vehicle paint. Well the vehicles paint is covered by Clearcoat and so are the wheels so if it isnt safe to use on the painted part of the vehicle that is covered with clearcoat what makes it safe to use on the wheels with clearcoat?

Am I over reacting to this or do others here feel the same way about wheel cleaners?

 

[ACE]

I rarely use wheel cleaners myself, but once in a while a good wheel cleaner can really brighten up the wheels nicely. I use Eagle One A2Z maybe 3 times a year to really scrub out the wheels and get the residue off the tires to get them in shape for proper dressing. I also like Amazing Rolloff for wheels and tires as well. I've used these products on many standard aluminum wheels on VW, Acura, Pontiac and never had a problem with any garden-variety OEM wheels. On exotics, I don't know. I will tell you though, I never use any product on a dry wheel because it could spot. I always hose the wheels down with water first. Try A2Z - it's good stuff.

 

[usdm]

not really.

The painting process for most wheels is a little
different than car panels. Since wheels are
more exposed to harsh elements, they are
suppossed to be made or treated with a more
sturdy painting process. This process (excluding
the very new paint technologies) is not transferred
to car panels.

a wheel cleaner's purpose should be to
loosen up and/ or remove the brake dust
(specifically the glue/ adhesive that is on
the brake dust particles) that gets imbedded in
the wheel paint finish. As a result, some of the
cleaners can be very harsh, and can hurt paint
in varying levels.

If you are still concerned about using these
products, but still want to try them out, (the
spray bottles that is), I would suggest that you do it
in an area where there is little to no wind. This will
prevent a breeze from carrying some of the cleaner
to land on panels. Or you could just mix up a
small batch in a bucket, and then wash the wheels
just as you would the panels.

 

[III]

quote:
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Originally posted by Unreal
OK all I have very very rarely ever use wheel cleaners to clean the wheels. What I normally do is mix a seperate bucket of wash with a rather harsh dose of car wash and wash the wheels with that instead of using "wheel cleaners"
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I do exactly what you do, but it's not because I'm afraid of the wheel cleaner. I just don't see the need for one when soap and water will remove the dirt.