Help w/Wheel Brightener Dilution

mikenap

mikenap

New member
Ok, like an idiot I ordered ADS' sampler 32oz size of Meguiar's Wheel Brightener without doing a whole lot of research on it. Now that I've checked a little, I'm kind of regretting not going with something more gentle for my wheels.



Here's my question though. It seems that at the 4:1 ratio, people still seem to think this stuff is too strong for wheels that get regular maintenance. Has anyone tried diluting it beyond 4:1? Even at that ratio, the small sample size will likely last me about a year with regular washings on 3 cars. And one of those cars has 13 years of brake dust and grime, so I'm not worried about it. But my baby has expensive OEM BMW painted and clearcoated wheels which were regularly washed with WG wheel and tire cleaner until I ran out. They are in great shape and I don't want to use Wheel Brightener on them if I run the risk of ruining the finish. If I decide to go 6:1 or 10:1 do you guys think it will be safe for my BMW wheels?



Please help a noob out with this!:thx
 
10:1 is fine. I use WB at 4:1 every week or two on my folks benz and lexus wheels without issue. I have been doing it for 2 years.
 
The issue isn't so much if its dangerious for wheels, so much as it is if it is dangerious for you.



Make sure you wear gloves, goggles and an apron if you are working with it. HF burns are nasty.
 
Yea I tend to play the safe route with HF cleaners. Mine gets diluted down to at least 10:1 most of the time it's more like 20:1 there's just no need to make it stronger. 10:1 will have no issues getting off brake dust. and you have less risk damaging the wheels with that ratio.
 
I use it 3:1 and as long as you have the wheel wet, and don't let it dry on it you should be ok. Now, this is my go-to for nasty wheels, for regular maintenance I just use soap and water or a spray of Majestic Solutions Super Green 2:1. The main thing is don't let anyting dry on the wheel, rinse very well!
 
I just tried this stuff on my grimy Honda wheels. Dilution was roughly 4:1. First off, even with a mask the smell of this product is beyond strong. It got the job done for sure, but anything that eats off 13-year old crud off these wheels without ANY scrubbing is something I don't want in my house. Now that the wheels are clean, I really don't see myself neglecting them for another 13 years so keeping this stuff laying around seems pointless.



Long story short, anyone in or around Charlotte, NC please come and take this stuff off my hands. It was worth a try for the sample size but from here on out I just don't need it. FWIW, I still have over 90% of the sample size left and whatever I diluted into my old Wolfgang 16oz spray bottle. PM if interested.
 
I sealed my BMW wheels, and even though they get tons of brake dust, most of it hoses right off. The Honda is my guinea pig car, the one I try things out on before doing the M3. I don't really put much time into it, and a good portion of the wheels are brushed, not painted so I don't think sealant will work on those anyway. I need to keep some wheel cleaner around, but I don't think this Wheel Brightener will be it.
 
ABF chemistries are effectively the same as HF chemistries since, when the ABF dissolves it releases F- ions's which immediately grab some H+ from any water molecules floating around.



There is nothing better at dropping inorganic dirt from metal surfaces. These cleaners are especially good on chrome since it doesn't react with the HF, but everything else on the wheel surface will.



For myself I like Mothers FX Wheel Cleaner, and Turtle Wax F21 Wheel/Tire Cleaner. I find the F21 is good for getting the tire and rim clean (though you need some agitation with a wheel brush to get the dust off) although the FX is better all around cleaning the rim.



For metal wheels, after cleaning I like to follow up with a few dabs of Eagle 1 Nano wheel polish, which I think "seals" the metal surface, and then some spray wax.



The nano polish is a very very mild, yet glossy polish, and so you can get odd situations where the metal can be stained with oxidation and yet very shiny everywhere else.
 
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