$10 at repco
Features:
- Dissolves grease, road grime and brake dust for easy cleaning of vehicle wheels
- Simply spray on and rinse off formula is safe on aluminium, clear coated, chrome and alloy wheels
- Acid free formula won't etch into painted or coated wheels
Yep for $6 it's worth it. Works nowhere near as good as Meguiar's. Haven't tried bowdens
Have Bowdens Own, can confirm its good stuff.
Next time it goes on special I'll give it a crack
This will probably be the only thing left on the shelves at Woolworths stores in Brisbane, oh this and vegan food…
Soft plastic fluffy brush, water, squirt of dishwashing liquid (adjust as necessary), get the wheel all wet and foamed up with the dishwashing liquid, leave sit for a few minutes, then wash off while brushing … If you want, use a wash&wax on the wheels afterward…
Really these wheel cleaner products are very expensive bottles of cheap mass produced chemicals.
How often do you wash your car? My wheels get heaps dirty because I don't wash them often so have to use these wheel cleaning products. Even then they aren't completely clean after scrubbing. There's no way dish soap or car washing liquid alone will get them clean.
I wouldn't bother cleaning them more than the basics of what I mentioned earlier. Depends how anal you want to be of course, but I'd say it's not worth it.
99% sure this product here is just alkaline salts already diluted and ready to go, otherwise buy a concentrate and mix your own and save a bundle, can even use an old spray bottle.
Only worth washing your car as it gets dirty…and you notice it, otherwise when it stops beading water from your hose or random downpour.
I used cut and polish with a cloth on mag wheels that hadn't been cleaned properly for a decade. They were brown and I thought rusted, but they came up perfectly intact, it was just brake dust and grime buildup. Took me over an hour, cost $7 plus my time and effort.
I just use the remainder of the car wash (Meguiar's or Bowden's) on the alloy wheels with a (dedicated) sponge.
If required, I'll spray on some degreaser.
I bought degreaser by accident thinking it was a wheel cleaner. I think it was labelled as brake cleaner and it's basically a degreaser. I feel the degreaser might be too harsh on the wheels and the calipers to use, but assume they would work much better than the wheel cleaner based on how well I've seen degreaser work before on other stuff.
May I ask two topic questions? I believe some of you are expert about the car.
Do you use Rain X? Will it harm the wipers? One of service guy told me not to use it as the Rain X could cause the wipers not flexible which may not clean the windscreen well after a certain period of time.
The brakes could have dirty etc which can cause the brake squeeze noise. Do you have any recommendations for cleaning?
Thanks
I find rain-x to be pretty useless, just use a good windscreen washer additive (mixed correctly) and every so often soak your wiper blades in silicone protectant, which you can find in a pressurised can, or a pump bottle. Clean the blades off beforehand with a plastic scourer to tidy them up on the trailing edge.
Thanks mate!
Also it's not a bad idea to clean the windscreen well by hand… Even a mild polish will help keep the windscreen cleaner, and allow the wiper blades to glide better over the glass.
I spray wd40 on a rag and wipe the blades every few weeks, the dirt and tar that comes off is ridiculous. You will notice a difference the next time it rains, one wipe squeaky clean providing you have good blades
WD40 is a water repellent and is oil based, and although it’s a great product to remove dirt, it’s also a magnet for dirt after the cleaning is done.
Well I find it an amazing product. And I rarely say that about anything, plus I'm usually the first person to rubbish such things as wastes of money. I have the old type before it was a spray but I plan to try the spray when it runs out. If I do it PROPERLY, exactly like it says on the bottle, I don't even need to turn my wipers on for a couple of months. (My car does get parked in a garage though. Not left in the Sun/weather.)
In fact if I do turn the wipers on I've noticed it stops working like that in about a third of that time. Luckily it really is unnecessary to turn the wipers on. So it lasts ages. It's just like rain sprints off a polished car. It's great in sprinkling rain because intermittent wipers still wipe too often so get turned off. Then it's annoying having to flick them on for one wipe every 2 minutes.
The condition is you have to REALLY clean the glass for it to behave as good as I described. Most people either can't be bothered, or believe they do clean it properly when they really don't. The first time I really cleaned the glass. Next time I only put maybe 40% of the effort in and it didn't.
As for the ruined wiper blade thing… pfft… MAYBE it's true. But first I find it difficult to believe anyone has done any real testing on that rather than just wanting to appear like an expert. Second, not all wiper blades are the same quality, nor are they all made of the same material. Any affect could be completely different on each set. Third, it probably wouldn't 'ruin' them before they needed to be changed anyway. i.e. They're sitting the Sun every day and you can bet most or all are made in China. So they already wear out fast. Four, 99.99% of people (me included) don't mark down the date they last changed them, to know when they next need replacing. So making them go harder (so you actually SEE they're not working) can only be a good thing if it means people change them sooner. Both they and the dirt they accumulate can eventually score lines in the glass too if never changed, even though they appear to be working fine. (I've seen it.)
Oh and about brakes. If you meant squealing, that's not from dirt because being dirty is just part of the design. (The pads wear down from braking which creates dust.) Unless it's a show car it's a waste of time trying to keep them clean. And depending on what you use, it could temporarily disable the brakes. (They could slip on the first attempt or two after cleaning.) They do get cleaned with brake cleaner in a spray can when your pads get changed. But the last time I read the direction on a can of that toxic stuff it warns not to get it on rubber parts. And the rubber parts keep dust out of the internals of the caliper. So obviously it's meant to be left alone unless servicing the brakes before replacing those parts. i.e. When pulling the caliper apart or replacing pads or brake hardware. After that they get wiped down, refitted, and you leave them be.
The reason brakes squeal is vibration of the pads. You brake, they oscillate, and 'sing'. Mechanics usually put a little anti-squeal compound on the back and/or edges of the brake pads and/or brake hardware like locating pins and locking clips. It's flexible like silicon so it absorbs any vibration to prevent squealing. It's usually red in colour but I think I've also seen green. I didn't use any the last time I changed my own brake pads and they sung for a few months until they wore in a little. So if yours are singing after buying a car, either someone fitted new pads themselves and didn't use any anti-squeal compound, or they have a hopeless mechanic who was hoping they'd come back for a $econd charge to fix the $queal, or you do. ;-)
You are so knowledgeable!. I have only changed the wiper by myself :)
Lack of money is a good motivator of learning. ;-)
Point of rain-x is not to use the wiper at all. Rain-x if applied unevely could make your wipers not wipe properly.
do i use this with the tires off or safe to use with the tires on?
I find the Trade Direct Mag Wheel Cleaner 5L does a good enough job at a budget price. I purchased during boxing day sale for $11.19, normally $15.99.
Works out to $2.38 (on sale) per litre, or $3.20 (normal price), versus $12 for the Armor All in this post, and many multiples cheaper than other expensive brands.
Comes in a 5L bottle, just fill a spray bottle as needed and it will last for years.
https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/trade-direct-mag-wheel-c…
I've always used:
https://www.autobarn.com.au/crc-so-easy-400g-tyre-cleaner-ae…
(often on special under $10)
Anyone know how this compares?
Anything else worth considering?
Morning fresh & a $1 IKEA dishwashing brush/hose is my go-to wheel cleaning method… I used to buy this product but the results are similar.
Can this be used on the plastic/fibre bumpers/cladding?
Nope. It's better to get AutoGlym bumper protectant.
Now it's worth the price. Otherwise Meguiar’s and Bowden Owns are way better.