Wheel care.. Help

[coloradom3]

Been finding this gunk sticking on my wheels. It feels like a hard tar. It comes off fairly easy but leaves a spot. What do you guys use to get this stuff off? It's really tearing up my wheels :(

[gvuk417]

http://www.ammonyc.com/shop/ammo-plum-whee-cleaner/

[will13k7]

not sure what your getting on your wheels, but I use sonax for every wash and I haven't got any staining on any of my wheel sets:

[coloradom3]

Thanks man!!

http://www.ammonyc.com/shop/ammo-plum-whee-cleaner/

[coloradom3]

Thank you! Going to look into both recommendations!

not sure what your getting on your wheels, but I use sonax for every wash and I haven't got any staining on any of my wheel sets:

[gvuk417]

Thanks man!!

anytime!

[S4ilicious]

I use Sonax for my 19' peelers and have good experiences with it, plus it turns all the dirty stuff on your wheels to purple which is pretty cool Only thing is I go through the bottles so damn fast

[cchoi83]

When it comes to tar, get a canister of Stoner Tarminator or any of the other good tar removers.

[StealthBlackA4]

I have the same issue on my HREs...it drives me nuts. Mine won't come off though, which is no fun.

[grovlet]

Sonax has an updated wheel cleaner - Wheel Cleaner Plus

And for the wheel cleaning junkies - it's available in a 5 Liter Refill Size

I mistakenly bought Full Effect after I tried the Plus - The Plus is much much better at removing gunk - and it's a little more viscous so it stick to the wheel better!

Bottom Line: Full Effect works well but Plus is better

[apexit1]

I use sonax when the wheels are filthy but use reg. car soap at the end of my wash if they're not too bad. Sonax is an acidic cleaner and I suspect it may lead to early refinishing down the road.

What you have posted in you wheel barrel is tar, probably had a rock on top too. I use tarminator and if that doesn't work I use a clay bar. Once you're done use a sealant of some kind to make your life easier in the future. I do a wheel off detail on the wheels when it's time to swap wheels for the season.

[will13k7]

And for the wheel cleaning junkies - it's available in a 5 Liter Refill Size

hell ya! I'm about half way through the 5 liters and its been over a year since I got it.

Sonax is an acidic cleaner and I suspect it may lead to early refinishing down the road.

that's a common misconception:

"SONAX Full Effect Wheel Cleaner is a highly effective, acid-free and pH balanced rim and wheel cleaner that is safe for all wheels, including aluminum and alloys. This formulation is also effective and safe for use on painted wheels and will not deteriorate clear coats."
https://www.detailersdomain.com/prod...-wheel-cleaner

[apexit1]

Isn't it comparable to the decon. products? I went to the DD adams clinic and if i'm not mistaken he said that the decon products were essentially an acid bath.

[Pyromatic177]

I gotta get the 5 liter refill! But Sonax is awesome!

[Mike Panic]

I used the Sonax listed above and it works great, smells awful IMHO and $ per ounce is a little spendy. I was about to buy some stuff from AMMO but the shipping charges are insane and no where on the site does it actually say how many ounces are in anything. I was trying to buy the PLUM and the MUD, but after some research, opted not to. There are several threads on reddit where most have come to the conclusion that Griot's Garage Wheel Cleaner is indeed, PLUM.

Real world cleaning. Sonax will turn purple / red fairly quickly but does not specify if you should apply dry or with pre-rinse of water first. Griot's does tell you to rinse down first, apply and wait 5-7 minutes. It does take longer to turn purple / red at least for me, but this is the iron being dissolved by the process. The smell isn't nearly as offensive and if you buy it by the gallon it becomes darn right affordable.

The argument for rinsing down first is that doing so will get excess loose dirt and grime off, but will also dilute whatever cleaner you use.

Aside from that, you may want to look into getting your wheels ceramic coated to ease in cleaning. Over the winter I'm having my factory pealers repaired from the previous owner's slight rash on one and getting them all powdercoated, still unsure about OEM silver or OEM anthracite like some of the Q5's came with. Either way, I'll be having them ceramic coated, too, before spring when they go back on.

[MrFunk]

Simple. Goo Gone for those. Melts right off... Done.

Thread.

[cchoi83]

What you have posted in you wheel barrel is tar, probably had a rock on top too. I use tarminator and if that doesn't work I use a clay bar. Once you're done use a sealant of some kind to make your life easier in the future. I do a wheel off detail on the wheels when it's time to swap wheels for the season.

This is pretty much what the OP should do. Tarminator or a similar tar remover. Just make sure you thoroughly rinse it off at the end.

Simple. Goo Gone for those. Melts right off... Done.

Thread.

Goo Gone works as well but make sure to rinse it off completely just as one would do with Tarminator.

[StealthBlackA4]

For normal wheel cleaning (not removing tar) I use P21S that comes by the gallon. I will admit, it's very pricey...but I really like it. Does the job well, and also smells pretty darn good!

[jokingjimmy]

This is what I use. Incredible, environmentally safe stuff. Their whole product line is awesome, really, like the "wash N wax"

[s4buckeye]

I use Sonax for my 19' peelers and have good experiences with it, plus it turns all the dirty stuff on your wheels to purple which is pretty cool Only thing is I go through the bottles so damn fast

http://www.amazon.com/Sonax-230500-C...keywords=sonax


http://www.amazon.com/Sonax-230505-W...l+cleaner+plus

[LYKUNO]

That sticky black residue is very likely tiny pieces of asphalt. If you've driven on any newly paved or patched asphalt roads, there's a good chance you'll find bits tightly adhered to the inner wheel surface. I once was stuck on a country road following (by at least a quarter mile) a semi that was carrying asphalt for a nearby highway repaving project. My tires were very effective at picking up the truck's droppings and depositing them into the wheels' drums. Had to take off all 4 wheels when I got home and spent a good hour cleaning all that crap off.



For removing asphalt residue like this, I've found that Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover was much more effective than either Sonar or P21S, and cheaper too. I was a fan of Sonax for years but got tired of the awful odor, and switched to P21S (the spray gel style).

[coloradom3]

Thx everyone. I'll def need something very strong/heavy to get the residue off that it left behind. I'm going to try a couple listed above and see which works better.

[StealthBlackA4]

Thx everyone. I'll def need something very strong/heavy to get the residue off that it left behind. I'm going to try a couple listed above and see which works better.

Report back with your findings! :)

[B G 8er]

Agreed, looks like road tar. Be very careful removing as it can be abrasive and scratch your finish. No need for fancy wheel cleaners here. I personally just use dish soap like Dawn and water on my semi matte black wheels. As long as you don't let them go beyond the capability of soap and water which you shouldn't. . WD40 dissolves tar quit effectively but you'll have to follow with the soap and water.