P21S or Chemical Guys Diablo Wheel Gel

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bes225

New member
Alright, so I spent almost a good two hours trying to clean my rims!



I used the PS21 wheel cleaner. Let it settle for 20minutes and then I used a sponge to clean it. The wheels look nice and clean, BUT there's tiny small dots of brake dust that looks like it's baked onto the rims!



So what did i do? I used the left over of my Mother's Claybar and started to clay one of the rims. It did work, but on some sections, it's still very hard to clean! I think I have to go at it again tomorrow just to get those tiny baked on particles from the rim.



Does anyone know a product that can get these tiny baked on particles off the rim besides using Mother's Claybar, which will probably take me another good 3-5 hours to do all the rims?



My back is starting to hurt :(
 
Wish I could help but found myself in the same predicament last night. I spent a good 2 hours cleaning 1 wheel / tire / wheelwell. The tire required 6 entire cleanings with EF HI, i dressed it this morning and it was completely clean - no dirty applicator.



Wheel? YUCK I tried:



EF HI

Eagle One A to Z, new version

PPCL (new kind, :down)

WD-40

Car Soap (first..)



Wellp, E1 and EF-Hi seemed to clean about the same, I used the EF bottle since it had less chemical warnings on it and put on some latex gloves and safety goggles (goggles are good...not a joke).



I went at it and figured out that these things all work okay but clay would be necessary after them. Tried some clay out real quick and it worked fine. I am going to be cleaning 1 wheel at a time and Klassing it for the next few weekends. Klassing will be done all at once so as not to seal in brake dust.
 
Well there are a couple things you can try on the tough spots. You can try Gumout Aerosol Brake Parts Cleaner, Denatured Alcohol or even abrasive compounds like 3M Fine Cut Rubbing Compound.



I would try the brake parts cleaner and denatured alcohol first, and then you can always try the abrasive stuff later. :up
 
Forgot about the brake parts cleaner. Remember, buy only NON-chlorinated stuff! $2 at a local store.



I tried denatured alcohol and it did nothing for me. Forgot to mention it.
 
Did you leave the denatured alcohol sit for a little bit on the spots? It's a solvent so it might take a few minutes to break everything down.
 
I would retry the brake cleaner and leave it for 5 mins, wash down and then use the clay. It took my a day to fully clean one wheel the first time, and a lot of clay!



Steven
 
One thing that you could do that would save your back is to remove the wheel and work on it on some sawhorses at waist height. Frankly, given the difficulty of your task, I can't imagine it being done any other way
 
Well I just spent about 3 hours cleaning the outer side of one wheel and it still has embedded brake dust. Here is a picture of a 164 with the same (stock) wheels as mine. The car looks extremely similar to mine, only a couple of minor details are different. <strong class='bbc'>This is not my car![/b]

164z1_200.jpg


Here is what I tried, in no particular order:

<ul class='bbc'>[*]New PPCL, chemical type[*]Old PPCL, citrus type[*]Dawn[*]WD-40[*]Citrus Degreaser[*]Denatured Alcohol[*]Mixture of Denatured Alcohol, IPA and Vinegar (Don't ask . . . I don't know)[*]Mothers Clay[*]Eagle One clay[*]EF-HI[*]Eagle One New A2Z All Wheel Cleaner[*]KLASSE AIO[*]AutoInt OEM 1-Step[*]Meguiar's #82 BodyShop Professional Swirl-Free Polish[*]Cursing[/list]
The first thing I did was washed the wheel gently with a dish soap and cut up strips of Charisma towels. I then repeated this a little more firmly to be sure that all surface grit was gone. Rinsed very well, tried EF-HI. I sprayed it at nearly full strength on the wheel and let it sit for about 30 seconds, then started agitating it with 100% cotton Charisma. This removed some junk, but left a lot (:rolleyes: dirty wheels, I've been lazy with this, EF HI was the furthest I had gone before this).

I then used other products, starting out with chemical cleaners like the wheel cleaners and then moved on down. Clay worked the best but took a huge amount of time and still left stuff behind. I think it is safe to assume that there is some pitting due to the brake dust being left in the paint for so long.

What the heck should I try next? I am going to pick up some non-chlorinated brake cleaner right now, but if that doesn't work I think I'm going to go nuts!
 
Putey try to not curse so much and say an autopia prayer and maybe that will help.



If not sandpaper? Joking of course.
 
I was (patiently) annoyed enough to seriously consider doing a strange dance around the car to rid it of this evil contaminant! Heck it might get me some more beads too if I get a picture! LOL



Anyone have experience removing this junk after it has been on for months or years? I'd love to hear your suggestions!
 
when I first got the SS I cleaned the wheels really well, I used a little simple green and a little gas. Then I went over the wheels with a ton of Zaino, since then I have kept up on them ant they look great:)



This is right after I cleaned them the first time
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Bumpers Plus [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Have you tried laquer thinner? [/b]</blockquote>No...:confused:

Just got back from a fruitless search for jackstands, I finally decided to do it the right way! I'll be sitting inside of a wheelwell detailing for a while tomorrow :D.

I did get brake cleaner and will try it in the morning!

Simple green did not work . . . this stuff must be pretty deep.
 
If that bad do you think they damaged the clear coating?



Have you done the hopping mad dance?:bounce :bounce :bounce
 
I guess I'll do the best job I can claying and stuff and I will find out how safe it is to use ABC on paint like this. I know the thing to do is to get the wheels refinished, but I'd rather live with it than pay right now. I have better things to spend my money on than some small spots of brake dust.



Anyone else? I'm still open to ideas as I have only cleaned the front of 1 wheel . . . a sample ABC is coming soon and I will try that if it is deemed safe for paint in not so good condition, but for now . . . off to get jackstands!



:(

puterbum
 
But once you got the jackstands, you will be able to clean the underside of the car :) and the wheel wells, exhaust system, change the engine oil, gearbox oil.....:xyxthumbs



Steven
 
Putey have you tried Prepsol or lighter fluid maybe to break it down and soften this stuff?



And when ya gonna post an up close pic of it?
 
So as this nasty weather here in Colorado continues all I see is dirty cars, with very dirty wheels. So I have been looking into getting a new wheel cleaner. I have been looking at two and cannot decide on what to go with from the little info I have been able to find. So I thought I would as the experts on what your guys opinions are on them. The two in this comparison are P21S Wheel Gel or Chemical Guys Diablo Wheel & Rim Cleaner. I would like to which one is a better performer. The only thing I would like to make sure is that these are safe to spray one high performance brakes without damaging them. Rotors and calipers. From what I have read about P21S it seems that this is not a option but I want to make sure. I was wondering what your guys opinion is on how well they can clean, do you have to use more of one product to fully clean the wheel than the other? I really am looking forward to what you all have to say.
Hope everyone is doing well. Thank you.
 
I have used the P21S gel and like it very much. The CG Diablo, I have not tried. I have read some good things about it, and some not so good. The P21S is completely PH neutral and safe on all wheels.

I really like Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner the best. However, if you do use this, be careful as the Sonax may cause the disks to rust. The rust can be removed, but you need to know about it. It is PH neutral as well.

If you want a great wheel cleaner without having to worry about doing any harm, you can't go wrong with the P21S.
 
I have used the P21S and P21S Gel on the last several cars I have owned. A BMW M3 (1988) was the worst to clean. Honeycomb BBS Silver wheels. It gave off brake dust pulling in to the garage after a wash! Never harmed finish, always performed and no bad smell!

Used sucessfully on all clear coated wheels and does not harm paint. Rinses easily and all in all, for what it does and the fact that I don't have to re-apply is fairly priced (per application).

I have not tried the Diablo or the Sonax. I don't feel the need becasue this works perfectly for me.

I also dont do this for a living so my experience is limited to my own cars.
 
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