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Sorry if I'm in the wrong area to post this but I want to purchase a good wheel cleaner I can spray on and then rinse with my pressure washer. In the past I have used a product called Sonax. It's expensive but it worked well on my prior 911. This product didn't require any scrubbing and at over90% of the dust was removed. Does anyone have any other suggestions of wheel cleaner products that work well without scrubbing?
Sorry if I'm in the wrong area to post this but I want to purchase a good wheel cleaner I can spray on and then rinse with my pressure washer. In the past I have used a product called Sonax. It's expensive but it worked well on my prior 911. This product didn't require any scrubbing and at over90% of the dust was removed. Does anyone have any other suggestions of wheel cleaner products that work well without scrubbing?
****Sonax works well. Really depends on how dirty the wheels are, quite honestly. If you leave brake dust on there long enough, you just need to scrub. Also, if you are using stock brake pads versus some lower dust option aftermarket like Red EBC, etc.. The lower dust options produce *much* less dust, and the dust that is on there is much easier to wash off versus most stock pads which just shed a lot of dust with normal use.
Also, BDP wheel cleaner works well. It is very similar to Sonax in terms of performance, but much stronger concentration. I use it for stubbornly dirty wheels, and if the wheel is very dirty yes it will require scrubbing no matter what the bottle says. Also, not cheap, but it just works.
I use Adam's Polisher products, too, but have to admit that since the pandemic I haven't handwashed my car for the last two years. Partly, because I haven't driven it in the rain and it's garaged 100% of the time. I just take it to a touchless automatic car wash near my house, which does a very good job keeping it clean, including the wheels. I have to say that with the black wheels, the brake dust doesn't bother me whatsoever compared to the lighter colored wheels on previous cars. I'll probably give it a spring cleaning one of these days, and for deep cleaning the wheels I use Adam's Turbo Stick Wheel Cleaning Tool attached to my battery powered power drill and Adam's Microfiber Wheel Wash Mitt to give the spokes and the outside a quick rub.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
I've made the switch from Sonax to Griots heavy duty wheel cleaner. Been quite happy with it so far, it has the same active ingredient as Sonax. I'll admit it doesn't work quite as well as Sonax, but it's pretty damn close and quite a bit cheaper, so its better value IMO. A little bit of agitation with a wheel brush and the dust is 100% gone.
I am somewhat of a detail snob (I do my own decontamination, cutting & polishing, ceramic coatings etc. on all my cars) and have tried many wheel cleaners over the years. This is the best formula I've used.
Much cheaper and safer on your wheels than Sonax.
One thing to note: depending on how long you've had brake dust caked on your wheels, you may need to agitate regardless of the product you use.
⏱️ 700HP Facelift converted C63 S Coupe with Drexler 3.06 plated LSD
Sonax is a huge let down. Not sure what you guys are talking about but unless you actually scrub with a brush it absolutely does not remove the brake dust from our wheels by just spraying it and washing it off.
What's more annoying is you spray this stuff on, wait for it to turn a fancy purple only to realise you've needed a quarter of the bottle for even coverage of 4 wheels. Then you still need to scrub.
Rubbish over hyped product
Last edited by Jimmy_c63s; Feb 10, 2022 at 11:00 AM.
Sonax is a huge let down. Not sure what you guys are talking about but it absolutely does not remove over 90% of brown brake dust from our wheels without "agitation" as they call it which just means scrubbing.
You spray this stuff on, wait for it to turn a fancy purple only to realise you need to use a quarter of the bottle for enough coverage over 4 wheels.
Rubbish over hyped product
Correct! It was my go to for years, but at $20 for a bottle (maybe 750mL or 1L), you run through this crap extremely quickly. You have to agitate anyways!
Go with a more economical, safer cleaner and get some good wheel brushes. Here is what I have/recommend:
I am somewhat of a detail snob (I do my own decontamination, cutting & polishing, ceramic coatings etc. on all my cars) and have tried many wheel cleaners over the years. This is the best formula I've used.
Much cheaper and safer on your wheels than Sonax.
One thing to note: depending on how long you've had brake dust caked on your wheels, you may need to agitate regardless of the product you use.
One
I always use a brush anyways especially for the inside of the wheels so I may give this a shot.
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