Even the most well-washed car doesn't look its best if it has dirty rims. Anyone who likes to take care of the exterior of a car knows that it is difficult to wash wheels from road dirt and wheel dust without the use of specialized chemicals. But the choice of cleaning products is large, their prices differ markedly.
We went to the nearest hypermarket and bought four inexpensive disc cleaners to test their effectiveness. We also took a tile cleaner with us, since it is based on acid, which is also the main component of budget wheel rim cleaners. We haven’t forgotten about regular table vinegar – why isn’t it an acid?
Contactless washing
It’s almost impossible to wash discs without using a brush, but it’s worth a try. Apply four products to two spokes of one disc and into the space between them, wait a couple of minutes, and wash off with high pressure.
The triggers for all the remedies are far from good. None of them produce a long “zilch” with a cloud of finely dispersed suspension. GRASS sprays generously, like Lesta, LAVR foams heavily, Eclipse practically flows like a stream.
The only thing I honestly didn’t like about the smell was GRASS, which smells like cheap and effective toilet cleaners. “Lavr” also has a slight acidic smell, but it is not so pungent. Lesta and Eclipse are practically odorless. All liquids are initially transparent, except for LAVR cleaner, which is pink.
In terms of wow effect, the Lesta wins, which, after application and reaction with metallic inclusions, acquires a purple color, as befits an iron.
LAVR and Lesta coped best with dirt in this test. Although after “Lavr” the spokes are still cleaner.
Lesta left a lot of dirt on the spokes and between them.
But in general, the attempt to wash very grimy discs without contact, as expected, was a failure.
Third place goes to GRASS.
Well, the worst part of the Eclipse disk was washed.
We take another disk, on one half of which we apply a bathroom product, on the second - vinegar. Here the result is interesting: a lot of dirt remains, but after Clean Tone it is mostly sand - the black shoe dust has been washed off from more of it, although overall the result is worse than that of Eclipse. This is not very noticeable in photographs, but in person the difference is obvious.
Therefore, it’s definitely not worth trying to wash discs with vinegar, but in principle it’s possible to use an acidic household cleaner in the absence of special equipment.
The result of the first stage of the test: none of the cleaners is capable of washing dirty disks without contact, but LAVR and Lesta will probably be able to remove a week’s worth of dirt without any extra effort on your part.
Re: How to clean discs from brake pad soot
you need to buy new wheels, leave the dirty ones for the spare wheel
No question! That's what I do!
I think you should try a special brake disc cleaner - that’s probably what they were created for, for example: https://mobil-esso.ru/catalog/group1/. r-Aerosol.html All brands producing fuel and lubricants and auto chemicals have similar chemistry.
The brake disc cleaner cleans them, the main purpose is to degrease them. I bought a spray can to clean rims, everything was washed, the rims are like new
It's more of a degreaser and won't help with soot.
And this soot, isn’t it reddish in color?
It's usually black! Reddish in color, in my opinion this is rust from the wheels after the car has been sitting for a long time!
GenaWRX
Gena, a long time ago, in my “youthful maximalism,” I raced in IP Racing with a DS 3000 Ultra, not only that, it was slow. discs with pads erased nah. in 2.5 months, I also “removed” the wheels. With powerful braking (and on the DS 3000 ultra it is so strong that you fly out of the windshield!) hot dust hits the brakes. pads and brake the disc literally melts into the paint of the wheel rim. By the way, it settles on the discs in the form of soot, which then turns red due to the oxidation of the worn-out metal of the brake disc. In general, I couldn’t wash the wheels with anything then, only to repaint them. Although Gena, maybe your situation is different and I hope you can solve this problem.
Dimon, I have exactly the same situation, the dust from the pads has practically eaten into the paint. I surfed various forums and prescribed various “super” products; if they don’t help, then I’ll definitely use painting.
GenaWRX
Tell me what kind of product it is)))) I bought some kind of crap foam cleaner that helps, but it doesn’t really help, once I wiped off the rims, scraped them with a lighter all day, a month later the same garbage again, although right now there is no layer of dust a millimeter thick, but that’s all still don't rub off. I tried it with a rust converter, it wipes it off, but some stains remain. and it feels like they are being eaten away. Is there any effective proven remedy? So I could spray it a little and rub it off and wash it off?
young pirates don’t care about elderly port girls
Test of wheel cleaners or “Hedgehog compares car chemicals ツ Part 2”
Here comes another test from the series of posts “Hedgehog Compares Auto Chemicalsツ”. This time I will try to tell, and somewhere show, my impressions of using wheel rim cleaners. Why exactly them?! It’s simple, it’s time to change a set of winter “felt boots” for summer “Louboutins”, and since the “felt boots” over the winter have become quite overgrown with a layer of brake dust, oxides and all sorts of other dirt, it was decided to try several wheel cleaners: - TURTLE WAX
Extreme Nano-Tech Formula Wheel Cleaner;
— Atas Forlega
Disk Cleaner;
— K2
FELIX Disc cleaner;
— Motip
Wheel Cleaner Disc cleaner;
— GRASS
Disc cleaner;
— LAVR
Wheel Rims Cleaner;
— MANNOL
Felgen Cleaner Disc cleaner;
— LIQUI MOLY
Felgen-Reiniger Wheel rim cleaner.
Most of the subjects were bought in hypermarkets, a couple in an auto parts store, and only Liqui Moly had to wait a couple of days from MSC (it was easier to order than to look for it in Minsk).
Test scenario: wash off dirt from disks. We apply 2 types of cleaner to each disc and let each of them work on the dirt independently and help with a stiff brush/brush.
I won’t describe each cleaner separately,...You will see everything for yourself in the photos and videos, and everyone will draw certain conclusions for themselves.
I will note only a few features that I personally liked/disliked:
Application of the working substance to the surface of the disk:
All cleaners are applied to the surface of the disk in almost the same way, but there are two manufacturers that stand out. Mannol first...that would be fine, but it’s a little hard to apply. After a couple of dozen presses, my hand, to put it mildly, begins to ache in the wrist. The reason for all this is the solution sprayer (if you change it to another, then everything will be OK!). The second MOTIP...the coolest thing about it is not how it washes off the dirt, but it washes off beautifully. The juice is in the way it is applied...it's an indescribable feeling) You apply the foam and it begins to rise before your eyes...SUPER!
Cleaning properties without a brush/brush:
Here I did not expect a WOW effect from any of the samples, but Turtle Wax, Motip, and Liqui Moly showed themselves in the most worthy manner. This trio is able to cope with dirt without the help of a stiff brush/brush (although this is indicated in the application).
Cleaning properties with a brush/brush:
Here the situation has certainly improved for the better. The top three remained the same: Turtle Wax, Motip, Liqui Moly, but Atas, K2, and Mannol were sitting well on their tail.
Smell:
Most cleansers don't have a strong scent, K2 and Grass have a very pleasant smell, but Liqui Moly reminded me of the smell of a hairdresser getting a perm.
Indicator:
Only Liqui Moly, of all the cleaners in this test, is able to change its color during the reaction of the substance with the “dirt” being removed.
We put all the above listed advantages and disadvantages into a table and summarize.
CONCLUSION: Everyone chooses for themselves by what criteria and how to evaluate certain product indicators. Based on my impressions, you can quickly, efficiently and without unnecessary consequences remove dirt using TURTLE WAX Extreme Nano-Tech Formula Wheel Cleaner, then with Motip Wheel Cleaner and only then with LIQUI MOLY Felgen-Reiniger. BUT it should be noted that the price of these guys is not the most pleasant, but there is an effect))) and you understand that the money was not wasted!
Thank you for your attention! I hope you found it interesting ツ
GOOD ALL! See you again, FRIENDS
