If you haven't already picked this up you really should ; )

Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner

2000 miles were logged on to this Q7 on 21's.

2000 miles of brake dust/dirt/grime




Close up - showing caked on brake dust and grime




Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner and various brushes were used to clean up this mess.






Afters

 

I love this stuff to get off all the accumulated brake dust. I bought a few smaller bottles, the next purchase will be the gallon.

 

Wow, what a difference!

 

Wow...

 

Phil,

How does this product compare to something like Meg's Super Degreaser or an APC in general? Sonax commands quite a premium and I'm just wondering if the same results can be achieved with something not quite as pricey.

 

IMO with regular cleaning, wheels shouldn't need Sonax each and every wash. Do I wish I could use it every time I wash my car? Of course, its a badass product. But economically it wouldn't be smart, for me at least. I'll stick to my diluted APC and soap method for now.

 

To me a good demo would be wash the wheels first then use the Sonax after that. 2000 miles is 2000 miles but if it was over a period of 2 months in the winter and the wheels never cleaned and exposed to moisture and brake dust imbedded is one thing .. but 2000 in a dry climate and over a few weeks is another ..

To me right now I have seen wheels like that that clean up with the tail end of the wash water.

 

I've used Sonax in the past and I love it.

 

I totally agree with both of you here. I think another good test would be to wash one of the front wheels with Sonax and another with soap/water and see what the difference is.

When I first started reading about detailing my car, I too got caught up with the dedicated wheel cleaner. I bought the P21S wheel cleaner (GREAT PRODUCT) but only used it a couple times and one of them was not even on my car. Now I can get away with tail end of wash water, or just a spray or two of QD to wipe them down.

Unless you are detailing cars that never(ever) had their wheels cleaned on a regular basis....I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

I love this product and is safe on all finish expensive wheels. I ended up buying the big gallon.

 

^Im with you soap and water are good enough fo rme to keep my wheels looking like the after picture above.

 

I bought this stuff when I lived in my old apartment and I had to wash the car at the coin op. While a great product it is just too expensive to use on a regular basis. I get great results with my ONR bucket wash after I wash the car.

 

Luckily I never let my wheels get that dirty.

 

Usually a simple wash with any car soap works for me, but I've had a few wheels that has been in storage for years. Some that were in the sun that long (rain) and it accumulated a lot of dirt and the brake dust was basically stuck on there. I used soap and water and some Megs wheel cleaner and it was a POS to get it out, but, then, I sprayed Sonax and it is all out with just a simple brush and wipe.

Agree with the economical thing. It is pretty expensive, but it work wonders.

 

I have used the sonax and it works well, but a little pricey. I got some griots garage wheel cleaner for the same price as sonax - but you get almost twice the product. It works just as good as sonax too. Ialso bought the poor boys wheel cleaner which I'll be trying next.

 

I just bought two bottles of Sonax the other day and have only used it once but I love it. On most of the wheels I have had in the back a brush and soap was enough. However with my mesh wheels it is just a pain to use a brush. I will from now only just spray and rinse.

 

I have been wanting to try this product since it was announced on here, but I have too many other bottles of wheel cleaner right now

 

agreed. I think it looks like good stuff.... but with weekly washing I dont see how it would clean the wheels any better then some fresh car shampoo

 

ha! best quote of 2012 on this forum. lmfao

 

You guys think this is safe for Matte Black rims? The barrel of my rims are nasty looking right now.

 

I just bought my first bottle recently and plan on using it tonight when I was my car. Can't wait to see the results.

 

Do a test for us

1) Use it on an unwashed front wheel and take pix ans on the other front wheel wash it first .. dry it then apply and take pix.

Ever posting I have seen is where its applied to a dirty wheels and I'm curious how much of the color we are seeing is just color from stuff that would have washed off any way.

 

I have used quite a few wheel cleaners.

I would use Griots Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner over Sonax simply due to price. The Sonax demands a high price. The GG works almost as well and costs less.

 

Didn't look at this thread til this morning so no pics .. although I was going to but my phone was in the house and didn't want to go inside to get it.

It did clean the wheels well, a little better than the wheel cleaner I have always been using. I tried just spraying and rinsing and that definitely didn't get everything off. I used a cloth to wipe the wheel with it and then rinsed and looked great afterwards.

Only my front left wheel really accumulates a lot of brake dust in a short period of time and I saw tons of the stuff turning red like someone was bleeding alll over the wheel. The other wheels didn't really turn from green to red much at all.

But yea, it works well.

 

Ok so washed my car after a much needed 2 weeks.

I sprayed the wheel cleaner I have used for the past 3 years on the wheel, then rinsed. The effect is the first pic.



After that, I sprayed the Sonax on the wheel and let it soak in. The second pic is of the sonax going to work after using the first cleaner but before I rinsed the Sonax.





One thing that should be mentioned is that I always used an old rag or t-shirt when I clean my wheels. After using the cleaner I've used for 3 years compared to Sonax, the outcome is the same imo, just that Sonax cost more.