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Old 11-03-2003, 03:30 PM   #9
lemming
Western Anomaly
 
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Carmudgeonly Ride: White Orca
Posts: 16,582
Quote:
Originally Posted by RKT BMR
Quote:
Originally Posted by rwg
Wow. I am a more than a bit surprised. I was not impressed with the wheel cleaner (and I use a lot of Griot's stuff). Come to think of it, I am not impressed with any wheel cleaner that I have tried, including the spray on wash off versions.

But I am basing that opinion from when I used it in Chicago. Maybe I should try it again here - where it never rains, much less snows and salts.

I don't like any of them. I use a pressure washer to spray the loose stuff off followed by soap and water.
I don't think your experiences are unusual. Spray-on, rinse-off wheel cleaner is for the most part a chimerical pursuit.

That said, having tried Simple Green, some other mass-market products at Pepboys, and the Griots, the latter has worked the best for me in two regards:
  • does a nice job of loosening the brake dust and other grime when I have neglected the wheels (sometimes for many weeks!), so that I can get them clean very easily with brushes, sponge, and soapy water. Without the Griots cleaner pre-treat, getting the wheels clean with said tools is much more difficult.<br /><br />
  • If I'm diligent and clean the wheels once a week, the Griots seems to work for spray-on wash off (avoiding the brushes, sponge, and soapy water) as long as conditions have been dry since the last cleaning.
I'm going to try also doing a speedshine pass on the wheels after next weekend's cleaning to see if that helps even more -- I suspect it will. :smile:
waxing the wheels either with carnuba or a polymer really helps. things come right off with soap and water.
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