The Detailers Cafe
Exterior Detailing => Wheels, Tires and Wheel-Wells => Topic started by: hwm3 on April 08, 2009, 12:29:53 PM
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I figured this would be a good opportunity to test what WB can really do. This is one of my regulars trucks, and the wheels were particularly nasty this time.
Before
(http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii301/hmcqu76/WB/001.jpg)
(http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii301/hmcqu76/WB/003.jpg)
After
(http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii301/hmcqu76/WB/005.jpg)
(http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii301/hmcqu76/WB/007.jpg)
Process was WB 4:1 sprayed on and allowed to dwell for a couple minutes. Then scrubbed with my wheel sponge. Overall it did a great job of removing the crud from these wheels. The small amount that was left behind was easily removed via clay.
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WOW! I didn't even realize those were chrome until the after pics.
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How'd your spray head hold up?
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Better take that spay head out and wash it good, I jsut checked mine to see if it would work from last week...dead.
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Hmmm. Interesting. I honestly hadn't thought of using a "wheel brightener" on chrome plated wheels for some reason - only on aluminum. Then again, the local detailing supply house no longer carries the slightly acidic "wheel cleaner" they used to.
Oh yea, and I'm having the exact same problems with spray heads. Wheel brightener seems to turn them into a single use deal. The best I've been able to get is two - three uses with a complete water flushing (and soaking in a bucket of fresh water) in between.
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I'm still not a big fan of the chemical but, the wheels look pretty dang good.
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I'm purposely not rinsing out the head to see how long it lasts. I cleaned the wheels this morning and the spray head still works right now.
Don't worry. I'm not wasting a good spray head. I used the cheap head that comes with the spray bottles from Lowes. It's not a terrible setup especially considering they are only $.98 each.
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I maybe with Rock on this, I may be done with WB...not worth killing 2.50 spray heads for 4 wheels.
Going back to APC+
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What ever happened to the ol soap and water to clean the wheels. I have wheel brightener but I havent used it yet. It's more of a special occasion thing. Least aggressive method first right?
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Yes. This is NOT something I would use all the time. Only on particularly nasty wheels. I had attempted to clean one of the other wheels with my usual car wash soap, Megs Super Soap, and then with APC+. Neither put the slightest dent in this crud. That's when I reached for WB to see if it would be any more effective.
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P21S Wheel Cleaner is the only one I use... it's not nearly as aggressive and yields pretty darn good results on a really grimey wheel.
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P21S Wheel Cleaner is the only one I use... it's not nearly as aggressive and yields pretty darn good results on a really grimey wheel.
How do the chem heads work with that product?
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Comes in a spray bottle from the get-go... they do fine. Never had a problem but, I will admit, I don't use it very often - only on the *really* bad ones.
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Comes in a spray bottle from the get-go... they do fine. Never had a problem but, I will admit, I don't use it very often - only on the *really* bad ones.
I ordered the PB APC today (along with a few other goodies)...yes I haven't tried it yet...are you shocked? Want to see how that stuff works.
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I maybe with Rock on this, I may be done with WB...not worth killing 2.50 spray heads for 4 wheels.
Going back to APC+
I hear you. I stopped using it (even though it worked AWESOME on the wheels) because I literally can't find a spray head to last more than 1 use.
For now, I bought a ton of the All Wheel Orange citrus Megs wheel cleaner for $3.50 a bottle at Big Lots. the stuff is safe on everything, and works extremely well to break up dust.
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Rock, Lumadar, I do have that old Megs Citri Gel, I don't know how to use it, would that be a good alternative?
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Rock, Lumadar, I do have that old Megs Citri Gel, I don't know how to use it, would that be a good alternative?
Is yours a gel? The stuff I was talking about is a foam spray- similar shaped bottle as the blue aluminum cleaner, the red chrome, and the purple all wheel cleaner.
If yours is a gel, I too would not know how to use it :biglaugh:
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WB doesn't destroy the heads as long as once you are immediately done with it you go ahead and rinse out the head with water. Kinda a paint, but I like how it can really break apart any grime in its way. But yes, definitely not an every wash product.
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There's no question that the P21S wheel cleaners work well. The problem with them is the price. It's over $100 for the 1.32gal refill of P21S wheel gel, while you get 5 gallons of WB at 4:1 out of a gallon bottle for only $18.49.
If an agressive wheel cleaner was something that I rarely had to use, it probably wouldn't make much difference, but I have a few clients that bring me their vehicles once a year. Outside of that once a year that I see them, the never get a decent wash, so the wheels are pretty nasty.
I am going to try Surf City's Beyond Steel wheel cleaner. It's still not as cheap as WB, but it's not as expensive as the P21S stuff either.
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Rock, Lumadar, I do have that old Megs Citri Gel, I don't know how to use it, would that be a good alternative?
It's a concentrate. I think I have a technical data sheet on it at home (of course, I have no clue where it is because of the recent move)... I want to say it was a 4:1 or 10:1 ratio but, I'm not certain.
I **LOVE** Citri-Gel -- it's one of those products that Meguiar's screwed up on when the scrapped it when they brought the D-Line in house. It was great stuff -- and SUPER safe.
I have a buddy that details airplanes up in NJ... he bought it by the DRUM.