which wire wheel cleaner?

wozrig · Post by **wozrig** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:19 pm

i have noted a few threads here with members views on methods for cleaning the wheels but wonder if i could lean on a few more more opinions in this matter. i dont really want to apply the expensive acid based commercial liquids on my new daytons, until i can get some satisfaction that they will do NO harm and there is no real alternative for effective results.. i have seen a home-made method of vinegar/water and a creme of tartar/water mix. there was also a battery drill attached brush kit to assist(fix40??) but havent seen that available in Oz. i understand that whatever is used initially still requires the effort of removing and polishing... all opinions appreciated. thanks warren (ps. i,m in danger of becoming a serial-poster!!)

wol916 · Post by **wol916** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 5:06 am

Hi,
I have always sprayed WD40 lightly over the wheels of my bikes immediately after washing. This disperses the water and stops corrosion, also makes them easy to clean as it will just wipe off. Down side is that dust sticks to the oil so need to be cleaned more often.

Warren

Post by **Heuer** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:10 am

I use P21S and it works brilliantly on my Borrani's: http://www.p21s.com/products/bis_wc1.html

SESH · Post by **SESH** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:43 pm

I use Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner, safe for use on chrome.

http://www.autoglym.com/enGB/product-pr ... 9&v06VQ=HM

I also use a similar product to WD40 it's called ACF-50 and includes an anti corrosion formula. Apparantly the US Navy use it on carrier based aircraft.

http://www.acf-50.co.uk/

wozrig · Post by **wozrig** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:46 pm

thanks for all the advise so far. great forum for getting answers and ideas.
i had emailed my supplier of the daytons here in OZ and today received a reply....."no we dont stock any cleaner, but as long as it specifies 'wire wheels ' its OK as many cleaners are for alloys"!
I checked the P21S website David, and it didnt mention 'chrome' wheels specifically , as it did with alloys, but does cover ALL wheels. I see a product that compares itself to P21S , but not as expensive , available here called Style Magic. still appreciate all suggestions. thanks

Dave K · Post by **Dave K** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 10:12 pm

I remove mine and pressure wash them then use a Teflon based liquid wax which helps stop dust sticking to them and keeps them looking good for quite a while.

Dave

wozrig · Post by **wozrig** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:13 pm

today i received this interesting reply from Autoglym.........

"Thank you for your enquiry.

Autoglym do not recommend the use of any wheel cleaner on wire wheels. Due the their construction there is a slim chance that the cleaner could get into the rim via a spoke hole and then sit there unable to be rinsed away. For this reason we do not recommend wheels cleaners to be used on split rim wheels or any other kind of multi part wheel.

Instead we recommend that you wash them regularly with Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner to keep the grime at bay. You can polish and protect chrome with Autoglym Super Resin Polish and High Definition Wax making future cleaning easier.

Regards,"

The plot thickens....

SESH · Post by **SESH** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:29 pm

Hmm interesting as their video clearly says suitable for all wheel types

Post by **Heuer** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:45 pm

I also bought one of these: http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2136 which helps get into the bits your fingers can't reach. Surprised by the Autoglym response though. Maybe worth posting a question on one of the Aus car 'detailing' sites? e.g. http://www.detailparadise.com.au/

SteveG · Post by **SteveG** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:04 pm

I have used the good old fashioned method of a piece of cloth wrapped around your finger with a dab of Autosol and serious amounts of elbow grease. For the hard to reach bits an old flexible head toothbrush or small bottle brush from a cookshop works, when clean spray each wheel with a thin film of GT-85 (similar to WD40 but with silicone) to stop any corrosion setting in.

It's hard work at 3 or 4 hours a wheel but the results are fantastic. My wife just gets used to the breakfast bar being covered in E-Type bits over the winter as it's a darn sight warmer than the garage!

SESH · Post by **SESH** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:10 pm

SteveG wrote:I have used the good old fashioned method of a piece of cloth wrapped around your finger with a dab of Autosol and serious amounts of elbow grease. For the hard to reach bits an old flexible head toothbrush or small bottle brush from a cookshop works, when clean spray each wheel with a thin film of GT-85 (similar to WD40 but with silicone) to stop any corrosion setting in.

It's hard work at 3 or 4 hours a wheel but the results are fantastic. My wife just gets used to the breakfast bar being covered in E-Type bits over the winter as it's a darn sight warmer than the garage!

Hi Steve, I have done the same with mine, I cleaned them all with Solvol with fingers and toothbrush and finished of with Rim Wax - smells like bubble gum, but boy your fingers are shredded!!
Mike

Post by **Heuer** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:20 pm

Rim Wax is great stuff but you need to apply it at least twice, preferably three times, for it to be effective. I use it on alloy wheels but I gave up on the wires after just one application in deference to my fingers.

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:53 pm

To me the issue is not getting them clean but the short return on that investment if it takes any longer than 5 minutes in total. If you drive 'con brio' or on wet roads it certainly takes massivley less time to get them dusty or dirty than it does to clean them totally with fingers and Autosol. The front wheels of the E-type get dusty and grubby after single-digit hours of anything other than motorway cruising.

Once the fix takes longer than the problem I know I'm chasing my tail and it's time to reassess. I guess for many the answer is to drive less and thereby extend the time between cleaning sessions, but this would be anathema to me. Instead, I run with centre-laced wheels which take ten seconds each to clean 80% of visible chrome (i.e. a wipe over the large visible rim circumference and the outside faces of the outer spokes). This gives you a sparkling wheel on a sunny day but not the total deep sparkle down to the hub and inner rows of spokes. The hub takes an extra minute to get to 'driver' as opposed to 'concours' clean, using cloth and fingers on high days and holidays. The whole wheel gets cleaned maybe once every year or so if off the car for other reasons?

At least my several decades of British motorbike cleaning involved fewer spokes, more accessible rims and mostly drum brakes. Even the disc-braked bikes don't get anything like as dusty as bike discs are often stainless. My Moto Guzzi with cast iron discs and spoked unlacquered Borrani wheels was the worst.

Pete

wozrig · Post by **wozrig** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:50 am

well i have taken in all the suggestions and different methods members are using to clean their wires and using that information, today decided against any of the commercial purpose-made sprays etc and went for a strong wash concentrate called NU-Finish with orange. So after a good scrub and then a blast with the high pressure cleaner i blew off most of the moisture and sprayed a product called FW1 general cleaner(with carnauba! which must be the equivalent of Saffron as a commodity!!). left it to dry and then the painfully tedious task of polishing it off. Result was very pleasing. (But not that 'sparkle' that comes from the nasty chemical product). Anyway the 2 fronts are done and tomorrow i will get the rears off and finish the job..probably chuck it all in next time for another method but in the meantime i feel ive achieved a pretty good reult without chucking nasties into me, atmosphere and my beautiful Daytons.. thanks to all

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:17 am

Actually the "blast with a high pressure cleaner" will do considerably more damage than any commercial wheel cleaning products. I agree with Pete regarding time; my wheels are cleaned properly once a year and after that rinsed with a low pressure washer after sponging with normal car shampoo.

Post by **Heuer** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 6:37 pm

As I had to replace the front shock absorber's (the fifth of my six Koni Classics to fail!) I thought I might as well give the wire wheels a good clean and try some new cleaners. To my shame I only really clean the wires properly once a year, and afterwards it is down to a quick spray with cleaner and a power jet whenever the car needs a wash. The biggest problem is that these are Borrani wire wheels with alloy rims and chromed hub and spokes so they are a real pain to keep clean. The rims in particular are a magnet for dirt and great care is needed not to use anything too aggressive.

This year I decided to try cleaning them with P21S Gel which seems to be highly regarded. I have to say it does work fairly well but it is still defeated by caked on brake dust and tar. In the end I used P21S agitated by a hand brush, left it for 10 minutes and followed it up with the rotary Fix40 brushes on the Metabo. This really did get into all the crevices and really speeds up the effectiveness of the P21S.

For stubborn spots of tar I used some Meguiers Bug & Tar Remover, again agitated with the Fix40 brush system.

So the P21S does work although I also gave some Bilberry Wheel Cleaner a try with equal results. Seems to me the only effective way of cleaning wire wheels it us use rotary brushes - the Fix40 conical ones really get into the spoke crevices.

SESH · Post by **SESH** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 11:02 pm

David, what about using Kevlar brake pads? Heard there is no dust residue from them and braking is improved dramatically.
Any thoughts?
Mike

aussieseries2dhc · Post by **aussieseries2dhc** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:23 am

heed the warning on the use of a power jet to clean chrome wire wheels. Like a plonker, I cleaned my chrome wire wheels with the karcher power jet head a little too close to the hub and watched the chrome peel off!

Learnt my lesson there.

So now have set of new dayton wire wheels Dayton EW 15x7 (D=3.88") center laced chrome wire wheels with 72 0.225 polished stainless spokes sealed tubeless.

Will not be using the Karcher on them and appreciate forum posters advice on choice of cleaning methods.

As a previous 1967 Triumph Bonneville owner, I used to clean the chrome wire wheels with a brushed on and then hosed off commercially available 25% phosphoric acid mix. Made the chrome shine spectacularly, although probably not environmentally friendly nowadays!

Probably helped that the phosphoric acid converted any tiny rust (ferric) spots to a colourless phosphate that hosed off.

john

Kes · Post by **Kes** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:50 am

Mr Sesh is on to something here. He mentioned AFC50, which is what I've used for ages. it's a Canadian product developed for the aircraft industry and It's amazing stuff, and I use it to clean my chrome wires and give them a wipe over with it after - it's a superb rust inhibiter. I know this because I sprayed some suspension components on my MGC over a year ago and not only did it remove the surface rust - but the components have looked shiny clean and without a speck of corrosion ever since. It's about ?12 a can, but I personally think it's the best stuff available for both cleaning and corrosion protection. I usually buy 4 cans at a time off of eBay.

Post by **Heuer** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:58 am

Mike

Kevlar pads seem to be popular with bikers but reports on use in car's seem to vary. Reports are of a softer pedal feel, squealing when wet and lees braking power in the rain. They do produce less brake dust because the amount of fibre filler is far less. They are now being marketed as 'organic' brake pads which should sound alarm bells for any petrolhead

Interesting about the AFC50 - I will give some a try.

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