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  • Wheel Cleaner Review

    Been after producing the results of something like this for a while now so I thought I would let you see the differences (or maybe not) in 4 different and differently priced wheel cleaners.

    The test involved 4 wheel cleaners that are currently in my collection; obviously more are available that can be purchased before you all say "what about this one , what about that one?":

    Astonish Wheel Cleaner - 99p 750ml
    Auto Finesse Imperial Wheel Cleaner - £24.95 5L diluted 1:1 to equal £2.49 1L
    CarPlan Wonder Wheels Hot Wheels - £4.00 500ml
    ValetPro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner - £24.95 5L diluted 1:1 to equal £2.49 1L

    The HotWheels and the Astonish however are more readily available on the high street than the other two which do need to be purchased from a specialist detailers supply shop or online.



    Wheels looked like this on Friday after being cleaned with AF Imperial, decontaminated with IronX and then sealed with PPWSAS:


    Didn't look like that anymore after this weekend so first up is the Astonish that hadn't been used since my Mrs bought me for 99p; she thought any wheel cleaner is like any other wheel cleaner.

    Using the Astonish on the front offside alloy (intentionally using the lesser makes on the front wheels):


    Very watery and not clingy at all:


    Brushes didn't seem to generate much foam but did bring up the dirt:




    A rinse with a jet wash revealed this finish:




    Using the Auto Finesse Imperial on the rear offside alloy:


    Diluted 1:1 with distilled water using a foaming spray head:


    Very foamy, obviously the spray head doing its job:


    Dirt starting to shift:


    Definitely shifting it now with the least effort:


    A rinse with a jetwash revealed this finish:




    Using the CarPlan Wonder Wheels Hot Wheels on the front nearside alloy:




    Nice and foamy:


    Nice and clingy:






    A rinse with a jetwash revealed this finish:




    Using the ValetPro Bilberry diluted 1:1 on the rear nearside alloy:




    Quite foamy, great smell:




    After agitating with brushes:


    A rinse with a jetwash revealed this finish:





    In my opinion, the Imperial shifted the most dirt/brakedust with the least effort, maybe due to the foaming sprayhead.

    The HotWheels is the worst smelling, is the clingiest and also has the added advantage of being a contaminate remover (none to shift today though as alloys were IronX'ed on Friday)

    The Bilberry is the best smelling and was quite foamy from a standard spray head

    The Astonish was the most watery and required the most effort with a brush hence why it is the cheapest.

    Per litre the costs were as follows:

    Astonish £1.32
    Auto Finesse Imperial diluted 1:1 £2.49
    Valet Pro Bilberry diluted 1:1 £2.49
    CarPlan Wonder Wheels Hotwheels £8.00

    My order of products taking into account price, ease of use and finish and it's a win for the

    Auto Finesse Imperial

    1st Auto Finesse Imperial Wheel Cleaner

    Joint 2nd CarPlan Wonder Wheels Hot Wheels & ValetPro Bilberry

    4th Astonish Wheel Cleaner

    Hope this has been slightly informative for at least one other person?

    Andy
    Last edited by Clean Your Ride; 24-06-2013, 20:38.
    Andy DS3 Club's Resident OCD Detailer!
    Take a pride in your ride
    @cleanyourride_uk

  • #2
    My fave bit of the car to clean other than the bonnet
    Are these all acid free- get nervous using acid based cleaners?- not good for rim protectors either

    That armour for all spray protector is pretty good after cleaning
    sigpic
    Jog on Noddy

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    • #3
      Not 100% sure about the Astonish but the other 3 most definitely are Chris.

      I personally think that even if the paintwork isn't clean, if the wheels are gleaming then that makes the rest of the car clean. Might just be me.

      Andy
      Last edited by Clean Your Ride; 24-06-2013, 18:20.
      Andy DS3 Club's Resident OCD Detailer!
      Take a pride in your ride
      @cleanyourride_uk

      Comment


      • #4
        I used the very cherry wheel cleaner from Autobrite-Direct and it was v good yesterday
        sigpic

        Comment


        • #5
          Ive also found you get 2 types of Tyre black
          Matt- which is more subtle and lasts for longer. But could be seen as boring
          Shiny- which is great for a few hours, and looks like just come out of a showroom
          Both got cheap from Halfords
          sigpic
          Jog on Noddy

          Comment


          • #6
            Shiny for me as well the wet look and no chris not baby wipes
            DS3 RACING | SUPERCHIPPED 233bhp/321nm | ITG INDUCTION

            sigpic

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            • #7
              Originally posted by ds3r View Post
              Shiny for me as well the wet look and no chris not baby wipes
              LOL
              They have their uses DS3r tho eh?
              sigpic
              Jog on Noddy

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              • #8
                OH yes
                DS3 RACING | SUPERCHIPPED 233bhp/321nm | ITG INDUCTION

                sigpic

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                • #9
                  On the back of this wheel review I now have a tyre and alloy wheel enhancement + protection detail booked this forthcoming Sunday. Pictures to follow....

                  Andy
                  Last edited by Clean Your Ride; 30-06-2013, 15:03.
                  Andy DS3 Club's Resident OCD Detailer!
                  Take a pride in your ride
                  @cleanyourride_uk

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Pics as promised.

                    Contacted by Fred (pomtraveloap) to do a wheel seal on his 100 mile old alloys

                    As I arrived:






                    After alloy decontamination, de-tar, AF Imperial wheel clean using Daytona Speedmaster, dried, polished with Megs Ultimate, sealed with Planet Polish Wheel Seal and Shine.
                    Wheel arches cleaned and scrubbed.
                    Tyres cleaned and scrubbed with Surfex HD, dried then dressed with CarPro Perl:




                    A couple of sport red DS3's on a Sunday morning:




                    Thanks for getting in touch Fred, I hope you were happy with the end result?

                    Andy
                    Last edited by Clean Your Ride; 30-06-2013, 15:16.
                    Andy DS3 Club's Resident OCD Detailer!
                    Take a pride in your ride
                    @cleanyourride_uk

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Both cars look great, clearly the best colour choice

                      Brilliant result on the wheels too.
                      - DS3 DSport Plus - THP 155 - Belle-ile Blue with Perla Nera Black Roof -
                      - DS3Club Discord -

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by BeefMasta View Post
                        Both cars look great, clearly the best colour choice

                        Brilliant result on the wheels too.
                        Thank you fellow sport red owner
                        Andy DS3 Club's Resident OCD Detailer!
                        Take a pride in your ride
                        @cleanyourride_uk

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by RabidRacoon28 View Post
                          Thank you fellow sport red owner
                          I wholeheartedly agree
                          sigpic
                          Jog on Noddy

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                          • #14
                            I saw the wheel detail pics in the other thread Andy - they look amazing !
                            sigpic

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by lfcrule1972 View Post
                              I saw the wheel detail pics in the other thread Andy - they look amazing !
                              Thanks mate, took about an hour and a halfish for all 4 wheel arches and tyres cleaned, alloys cleaned and sealed then tyres dressed with 2 coats. Also revived the black trim around doors, sills, rear wiper and rear splitter.

                              Fred was an extremely happy bunny especially with the detailers preference mf cloths I gave him and a free litre bottle of citrus pre-clean.

                              Andy
                              Andy DS3 Club's Resident OCD Detailer!
                              Take a pride in your ride
                              @cleanyourride_uk

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