Product review: GLARE turbo action wheel cleaner

[AlexRuiz]

Well, after some weeks of absence, I will post the second review of a product in the GLARE line. As discussed here in the Glare main thread I was going to conduct reviews for each of the individual products. I apologize for not posting it sooner, but as many of you sometimes we have to make time for our hobby :p





GLARE wheel cleaner overview and directions

The product comes in a 355 ml bottle (12 oz). Shape is just a conventional bottle with wide bottom and narrower neck. This geometry coupled with the small size makes it very manageable.







Directions and manufacturer claims

1) Rinse wheel

2) Spray GLARE wheel cleaner

3) Let is sit for 60 seconds

4) Rinse wheel

5) For very embeddded dirt, a light scrubing may be needed.



"Glare Turbo Action Wheel Cleaner is the most powerful, effective, and fastest working wheel cleaner on the market. Safe for ALL types of wheels - Aluminum, Chrome, Magnesium - as well as clear coated and painted wheels.

Makes your wheels look show room bright and shiny the easy and safe way. Removes and dissolves dirt, grime, brake dust, and grease.

Just spray on Glare Turbo Action Wheel Cleaner to dirty wheels and hose off with clean water to get your wheels looking like new again!"





Physical features

- Spray nozzle provides a very even pattern spray.

- Nozzle is not adjustable

- Consistency is liquid, easy flow that foams on contact to the tire/wheel.

- Smell is just like a strong cleaner

- Color of the product is cloudy white.

[AlexRuiz]

Test #1 - Not so dirty wheels



Test subject: The subject for this test is a 1999 Ford F-150 truck that belongs to my inlaws. The rim is steel with a chrome center and they looked quite dirty.



Test products:

- GLARE Turbo action wheel cleaner.

- Eagle one "A to Z" wheel cleaner (not the new blue liquid, still the orange cleaner)

- Mothers ALL wheel spray mist (still the yellow bottle)



Test methodology:

1) Spray all the wheels with water to remove as much of the dirt and dust. To my surprise, the rims weren`t that dirty after the rinse.

2) Apply GLARE wheel cleaner to one wheel / tire. Let it sit per directions then rinse.

3) Do the same for the other 2 products. Apply them, let them sit and rinse

4) After 3 tires were done, a quick visual inspection was performed to evaluate what wheel "looked" cleaner. Also, the amount of dirt flowing onto the floor was used as indicator. Please notice the subjectivity of this approach, as not all the tires culd possibly have the same amount of crud before the test.

5) Rate the products based on the previous observation, then apply third best product to the wheels done with the other 2. Let is sit per directions and rinse.

6) Now, apply the second best product to the wheels done with the other 2. Let is sit per directions and rinse.

7) Finally, apply the best product to the other 2 wheels. Let is sit per directions and rinse. The objective is to see if one product could remove more that what was achieved by the others. Record results and rate the products again. If the ratings match the ratings from steps 4-5, go to step 8. If ratings don`t match, try to reconcile and pick the best 2. Justify your pick of the top 2.

8) Now, use the 4th wheel that was not done and use only the 2 best products. Rinse tire and apply the top 2 products, one on the left half, the other on the right half. Let them sit per directions and rinse them per directions trying as much as possible to avoid mixing them (outerwards, from center to left in left half, center to right in right half) Observe the wheels and the crud on the floor and rate them again.

[AlexRuiz]

Test #1 - Not so dirty wheels



Test results:

- Based on the observation in step 4, the products rating was as follows:

1) GLARE wheel cleaner

2) Eagle One A to Z

3) Mothers all wheel mist

As much as I like mothers products, the all wheel mist was quite overmatched by the other 2, and I expected it based on my previous experiences (just not up to what mothers delivers). The wheel didn`t look as clean and the crud flowing to the floor was quite less. Eagle one did a much better job, but the difference in look and flow of contaminants was noticeable enough to give GLARE the top spot. I tried to make the wheels as close as possible in the initial rinse, that is, the dirtiest wheel got the longest initial rinse prior to products application trying to leave the amount of dirt as similar as possible.



Now, going through steps 5-7 when aplying mothers cleaner (third place) to the other 2, the wheels looked the same than before application of third place product. No flow of contaminats to the floor was perceived. Applying A to Z (second place) to the other 2 wheels showed that the halt with mothers initially looked better and there was some flow of contaminants. No change was seen in the wheel that had GLARE initially, and no flow of contaminats was seen. Finally, applying glare again to the other 2 wheels improved the look slightly and a little flow of contaminants was seen. It also pulled some more contaminants form the wheel that had glare initially as a tiny flow of debris was seen, but the look didn`t change.



Ratings remained the same, with GLARe at the top spot followed by A to Z, mothers last by a good margin. for step 8, left half had GLARE, right half had A to Z. Again, I tried to even both halfs in the initial rinse. After rinse of the products the halk that had GLARE looked slighlty better, but enough to notice. The flow of contaminants on the left side also seemed heavier.



I have to mention that in ALL the cases a quick scrubbing with a wash mitt improved the look of the wheels (scrubbing after step 7 for the first 3 wheels, scrubbing after step 8 for the 4th wheel) and removed more debris. This is fact a GOOD sign in my opinion, the cleaners took out a lot of the smallest particles, and the larger ones were softened to be easily removed. I think it is positive because I don`t want to imagine how strong aproduct has to be to remove everything by just rinsing it after. In the tougheset cases, scrubbing is needed. The wheels looked quite better after the wash mitt was used.



Sorry, I didn`t take any pictures of this test subject. I got too carried out into the test that I realized about the pictures after we left my in-laws.



Comments are appreciated.

[AlexRuiz]

Test #2 - Brake dust (click on thumbnail for bigger picture)



Test subject: The vehicle used for this test is the wifemobile: 2003 Chrysler town and country LXi minivan. The wheels are alloy with clear coat. Some minor brake dust in the rear ones, heavier in the front ones. Wheels not washed for over 3 weeks prior to the test intentionally trying to make them get dirty





Test products:

- GLARE Turbo action wheel cleaner.



Test methodology:

1) Spray all the wheels with water to remove as much of the dirt and dust. Still had brake dust after the rinse.

2) Apply GLARE wheel cleaner to the right wheels (front and rear) Let is sit per directions and rinse.

3) Use a wash mitt with car wash solution to wash all the wheels.

4) Rate the left side (no GLARE) versus the right side for wheel look. Record results

5) If both sides look the same, stop test. If one side looks better than the other, record it. If left side looks better, stop test. If right side looks better, apply GLARE wheel cleaner to left side as in steps 2 and 3.

[AlexRuiz]

Test #2 - Brake dust (click on thumbnail for bigger picture)



Test results: After application of the GLARE wheel cleaner, sit and rinse the wheels looked better, but still not sparkling clean. Notice how the contaminants flowed to the corners between spokes in the wheel. The front face looks much better.





No question, after washing with the mitt the right side looked perfectly clean, and was a breeze to wash. The left side was not even perfectly clean and I had to scrub harder, so now going to step 5 peerformed to the left side the wash with the mitt was very easy, like dusting furniture to leave it perfectly clean. This is how the wheels looked after the wash with the mitt following the application of the GLARE wheel cleaner

[AlexRuiz]

After testing it in some others vehicles beside the 2 of the review, here is a summary of pros and cons I found so far with the product:



PROS:

- Performance, it takes out a lot or crud from the wheels, and loosens the toughest one enough to use a mitt or brush and get everything out. I think the pictures speak for themselves. Stellar performance!

- Application, Easy to apply, clear directions. Once the tough crud is loosened, it goes out easy.

- Nozzle, the pump sprays the perfect amount and the pattern is wide enough.

- Gentle, it won`t damage the clearcoat, and as I mentioned before the fact that it is not a bomb that nukes all the contaminants makes it well balanced. I wouldn`t use something that dissolves mud and brake dust...

- Green approved, it is also gentle on the environment, the grass closest to the driveway where I applied it doesn`t show any deterioration





CONS

- PRICE, at $12.95 plus shipping for 12 oz it is expensive. A bottle of eagle one wheel cleaner will give twice the amount of product for 40% of the price while delivering 80-85% of the performance of GLARE.





Veredict (revised)

A kick butt performer GLARE is going 2 out of 2, as the 2 products tested have been impressive. Sure, the wheel cleaner is expensive, and there is quite some tough competition in the field, but for the ultimate performance this one fits the bill. For an everyday wheel cleaning this works, but you can also use any other and get almost the same results. Where GLARE delivers quite better than the competition is for the tough jobs, and for everyday or weekly jobs it will still clean better. Kick butt performance.



Edit: After the one on one match against poorboys spray and rinse, Glare still performed well, but was simply outperformed by the spray and rinse. Because of the loss in the match, its value falls as the contender is cheaper and performed better.

Alex



PS: Comments are welcome. Remember, this is part of a sample kit of products that I received from GLARE (read, sample means free) I am not affiliated with GLARE, but I offered myself to test their products and give them a fair evaluation. After all, that is what autopians look for: FAir evaluation in order to get an objective view of a product.

[wannafbody]

good review- I found that for OTC Prestone wheel cleaner works really well but you have to use a soft brush as it doesn`t mist (more jel like) and cover the entire wheel.

[AlexRuiz]

Almost no replies!!!???? Is the review that bad?? :p

[JaCkaL829]

Probably one of the most thorough and detailed reviews i`ve read in a while :xyxthumbs



Seems like a nice wheel cleaner, I just hate to order basic car cleaning stuff like that online, i`m already going broke as it is with pads, polishes, waxes, etc.

[imported_themightytimmah]

Hey Alex, do you have any Poorboy`s Spray + Rinse? I`d like to see that up against Glare on a really nasty rim.



Thanks

Tim

[AlexRuiz]

Originally posted by themightytimmah

Hey Alex, do you have any Poorboy`s Spray + Rinse? I`d like to see that up against Glare on a really nasty rim.



Thanks

Tim

I ordered some stuff recently, and spray and rinse is part of the shipment. Expect a grudge match in a few days. What I need to get is the nasty rim

[imported_themightytimmah]

Heh, just go down to the local car wash. You`ll find a nasty set of rims in no time .

[AlexRuiz]

Am I slow or what?

I got the grudge match as promised. Let me just tell you that I am quite impressed by the contender. Pictures tonight with the veredict

[AlexRuiz]

Here are the pictures as promised. Click on the thumbnail to see bigger pictures



Test subject:

Pontiac Vibe 2003, belongs to my sister in law. Front wheels not really dirty but have not been cleaned in months. The brake dust was quite attached. Driver front wheel (left) got GLARE wheel cleaner, passenger front wheel (right) got poorboy`s spray and rinse.



Vehicle was exposed to the sun, but by dusk whe I applied it both tires were almost at the same temp. Vehicle facing North, so the sun was hitting it on the left side. I waited as long as I could before applying the products in order to avoid having temp as a factor. Both wheel almost the same degree of dirt.



GLARE Turbo action wheel cleaner BEFORE







[Poorboy`s Spray and Rinse BEFORE







Procedure:

In both cases application was per directions. Pre-rinse the wheel before aplying product, spray product and wait as directed (60 second for GLARE, poorboys doesn`t specify I also waited 60 second) Sprayed also in the tires, and tried to cover as good as I could in the cracks. Then rinse at full blast.



The poorboys applicator (well, don`t quote me on this one, maybe it is autogeek`s sprayer as it was the same than detailer`s pride products) provides a nice flow, but the GLARE pattern was more even. After the rinse we got





Results!!!:

By about 30 seconds after the wheel cleaners were sprayed, it was noticeable that the poorboys side was releasing more crud than Glare`s side. After the spray it was fully verifiable. The poorboys side released quite more crud from the wheel





GLARE Turbo action wheel cleaner after rinse





[Poorboy`s Spray and Rinse aftre rinse







The pictures show that in the GLARE side only little spot were uncovered, while in the poorboys side many large spots were uncovered. To be honest, I didn`t expect ANY product to release a lot of this long-time embedded crud, and while GLARE performed as I expected poorboys just pleasantly surprised me of how good it worked. Needless to say, neither product cleaned everything.



After the rinse, I took a bucket and a wash mitt dedicated for wheels. I prepared some soap solution with zymol blue car wash, and hit the wheels. In both sides very easy to clean the rest of the suff, but obviously the side that had less crud was faster and easier (poorboys). This is how the wheels looked after the wash with the mitt





GLARE Turbo action wheel cleaner FINAL





[Poorboy`s Spray and Rinse FINAL





I thought the poorboys side looked brighter, and both my wife and my sister in law agreed.





WINNER:

After the first experience with glare, I found it very capable and I kind of knew how it would perform. However, the real star of this contests was poorboys spray and rinse as it performed beyond my expectations. Quite potent, nice orange smell and not too strong.



The winner is Poorboys Spray and Rinse.

[AlexRuiz]

I revised the veredict paragraph in page 1. Still a great product, but loses quite some appeal after being outperformed and still be more expensive.



Alex