Does a mild, inexpensive, clingy wheel cleaner exist?

D

Desertnate

Active member
Right now my go-to wheel cleaner is the regular, green, Griots wheel cleaner. It isn`t overly strong and it cuts through the grime and break dust on all my vehicles, even when they are at their worst. I also really like the price and buy it by the gallon to make sure I never run out.

The only thing I don`t like about it is how quickly it runs off the surface I`m trying to clean. It`s a thin liquid, and I`ve found the cleaner has run off the face of the wheels before I`ve finished the barrels. On my car this is really true as the OZ wheels have quite a few spokes to work around. I`d love something thicker or gel-like that would cling to the surface better.

Looking around I didn`t find any wheel cleaners in the same price range which were thicker/gel like in nature and many of those I did see were a stronger/heavy duty version. If I want a wheel cleaner which clings am simply going to pay more and step up to something like the McKees 37 or new Poorboys wheel cleaner? Have I overlooked a brand/product somewhere?
 
It`s not always about the initial price, but the price per use , how effective and will it satisfy you
 
The foaming sprayer definitely could be a solution. As far as a different wheel cleaner I use McKee`s and it`s worked extremely well. It`s a thicker liquid so it does stay in place. Removes brake dust and has removed a few stains that none of the others would. As far as mild it`s not going to damage anything, you do want to make sure it doesn`t dry of the surface.
 
Ever since I started waxing my wheels with 476s, I haven’t needed wheel cleaner. I just use a microfiber mitt with my regular wash solution,even using my rinseless when I’m doing that type of wash. I just wet them down first.

I used to use the Griot’s up until then.
 
Same here. Since I started Coating/Hydro2ing my wheels good old soap and water cleans them up easily. Before that I used Poorboys wheel cleaner or Sonax. I haven’t used it but I think P21 has a gel wheel cleaner.
 
If you want cheap and mild dilute an APC, although this doesn`t solve your runoff problem. Maybe spray the face again after you`ve scrubbed the barrels? Most diluted are cheap enough you don`t have to worry about being stingy. If that`s not good enough try the new poorboys, I like their stuff and want to see a review :)

Love OZ wheels
 
Look at the Nanoskin non-acid wheel cleaner. It works out to be less than $5/gallon. Good product, works well on cared-for wheels. I`ve gone thru a couple gallons - have been completely pleased.
 
CG Diablo is a mild wheel cleaner that clings well. It never lived up to the hype of a heavy duty wheel cleaner like nearly all things CG, so it sat 80% full on my shelf for years. Then when I started coated my own cars` wheels and didn`t need to keep using the strong cleaners. So I started using the Diablo again for maintenance washings. Normally the car shampoo I`ve chosen to wash the cars is enough, but every now and then I will use the Diablo for a deeper clean without worrying about it degrading the coatings on the wheels. I`ve got half a gallon of the CG Citrus Sticky Gel sitting too. The last spray bottle I made up I put a little of the Sticky Gel in it also.

I will hardly ever throw something out. I`ll find a use for it someplace.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses!

jatleson said:
What about a foaming sprayer on the Griots? No first hand experience, just throwing it out there.
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I hadn`t thought about going this route. I might give it a try.

Poorboy said:
It`s not always about the initial price, but the price per use , how effective and will it satisfy you
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So very true. This has been happening to me a lot these days. Typically I`ll got cheap on something and be dissapointed. Once I try something better and slightly more costly I`m much happier...which leads to knowing ridicule from my wife because I didn`t go the better route the first time.

That alone makes me think I need to give your new acid-free wheel product a try.

ShaneB said:
Griots HD wheel cleaner is mild IMO. It is thicker and tends to stay put.
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Good to know. When vendors start tossing around terms like "heavy duty", it makes me cautious, espicially when they already have a "milder" product in their line.

rlmccarty2000 said:
Same here. Since I started Coating/Hydro2ing my wheels good old soap and water cleans them up easily. Before that I used Poorboys wheel cleaner or Sonax. I haven’t used it but I think P21 has a gel wheel cleaner.
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My wheels are coated with CQuartz, but the other wheels in the family fleet are not and require a dedicated wheel cleaner to properly clean them. Even on my coated wheels, I`ve found a light spritzing of the wheel cleaner seems to cut through even a light dusting of German brake dust better than just wash soap.

DBAILEY said:
CG Diablo is a mild wheel cleaner that clings well. It never lived up to the hype of a heavy duty wheel cleaner like nearly all things CG, so it sat 80% full on my shelf for years. Then when I started coated my own cars` wheels and didn`t need to keep using the strong cleaners. So I started using the Diablo again for maintenance washings.
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I came across Diablo while doing some research, but was a little leary of using CG products. I found people diluting it down to 1:3 or 1:4. Do you dilute, or are you going full strength right out of the bottle?
 
Since I am not trying to use it as a heavy duty cleaner I have been diluting it to about 1:6, but I did add about an oz. of the Sticky Gel last time. Creates a ton of foam.
 
Older said:
Ever since I started waxing my wheels with 476s, I haven’t needed wheel cleaner. I just use a microfiber mitt with my regular wash solution,even using my rinseless when I’m doing that type of wash. I just wet them down first.

I used to use the Griot’s up until then.
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I could`ve posted that :D Although I use different LSPs that last longer. Even though some of my vehicles are considered problematic with regard to brake dust, the same dilution I use in the Foamguns (~7 oz. shampoo : ~121 oz. water = gallon of concentrate) cleans effectively while not stripping my LSP.

But of course that means getting all Autopian about all those family cars` wheels! Understand completely if that`s not feasible.
 
@ Accumulator, you use 7 oz soap to 121oz water in your foam gun.
That`s the mix you put in the bottle?
If you don`t mind me asking, what soap are you using.
A few weeks ago I used Turtle Wax soap and got no foaming. Just trying to use it up since it`s on the shelf.
I`m gonna try PB SS&S tomorrow if its not too hot. I do like foam though even though it`s probably not needed
I bought a gas power washer again. 3100psi max
Much better than the 1600psi electric I bought when my gas one died.
 
ShawnF350- Ah, yeah....TW shampoo...I used *gallons and gallons* of that stuff before becoming a Shampoo Snob. STILL remember exactly what it smells like! Hey, it`s better than Westleys IMO.

These days I do indeed mix my foamgun concentrate to that 7:121 ratio. I use about 3.5 oz each of Griot`s and 3D Pink. I use that mix for cleaning wheels/wells/etc. and for use in the foamguns. With the foamguns, I generally use the two strongest settings (and no, I *never have* looked up what actual dilution ratio that is, simply don`t care).

BUT...remember that with my wash technique I`m not really after "foamy foam", but rather a sudsy output that will lubricate and flush the surface being washed. Yeah, I spray some on there first and let it dwell as a kind of pre-soak, but that`s not at all my primary intention. The real goal of the foamgun output is for the flushing/lubrication to get the dirt off *while I`m agitating the surface* and do so without any marring.

So what I want might not be at all right for somebody else. (Maybe just the two of us, Bill ;) )

Funny about the pressure washers` output...I`ve had a lot of different ones over the years, and/but fortunately with my current LSPs [INSERT usual FK1000P rave] the [crappy] little 1600psi AR I got for Christmas years ago (cost my wife a whole $75) is absolutely perfect for pre-rinsing the vehicles; it gets the "big stuff" off just fine and doesn`t require much caution when used on fragile trim/etc. on the older ones (gee, they`re all "older" now). It`s not even close to potent enough for anything else (well, maybe the washbay floor), but it`s fine for that prewash. I bet it`s because of the LSP since I did indeed appreciate washing with more potent units in the past. No matter *how* filthy a vehicle is, or how many months since the last reLSPing, a quick rinsing off gets it looking nearly clean even before I begin the actual wash.
 
Super Clean diluted to whatever ratio you want it to be at will be great, I`d think between 5:1 to 8:1 would work well for a mild wheel cleaner. At $0.07/oz and $8.97 per gallon from Walmart, you can`t get much cheaper either. At that price you don`t need to worry about it clinging, just spray the wheel again.
 
Anybody else have concerns about the Wheel Cleaner dripping/running/dwelling on the tires? Redoing the tires might be in the plan anyhow, but sometimes I`ve had the above issue make that part of the tire so different that I had to do more than usual to get a uniform appearance.

I can see a clingy/foamy Wheel Cleaner helping in that regard, but I`ve never pursued it.
 
Accumulator said:
Anybody else have concerns about the Wheel Cleaner dripping/running/dwelling on the tires? Redoing the tires might be in the plan anyhow, but sometimes I`ve had the above issue make that part of the tire so different that I had to do more than usual to get a uniform appearance.

I can see a clingy/foamy Wheel Cleaner helping in that regard, but I`ve never pursued it.
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I`ve never had any discolor the tire, but that might be because I`m using milder cleaners. Whenever I wash the face of my wheels, I always finish with a swipe or two around the circumfrence of the tire face with the brush just to clean things up a bit. That, along with never letting it sit for more than a minute might help prevent any discoloration issues as well.
 
Desertnate- I generally do the tires first, which is always a project requiring a few different things (brushes, mainly).

I first thought "Gee, I never let the shampoo dwell all that long on the wheels", but I guess it *is* on there a while since it can take a while to do the back sides/barrels.

It`s not that the tires get discolored really, just that their dressing isn`t as healthy/uniform where the shampoo was on it and I then have to fix that. I simply *hate* dressing tires (another job that requires a few different approaches per tire, along with either jacking up or moving the vehicle) and would prefer that nothing make it more necessary. I did finally find a dressing applicator that I like (well, "like" more than the others) but of course the refill pads are no longer available :rolleyes:
 
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