Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsWas hoping for great results, but just ended up underimpressed
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2021
I have 19" clearcoat painted factory rims on my 2018 Escape and they collect brake dust like I've never seen. After cleaning my wheels thoroughly a week prior with 2 other products that was a big hassle, I received my Chemical Guys Signature Series Wheel/Tire cleaner by mail and was eager to try it out.
Followed instructions exactly but didn't bother diluting it because my wheels were already quite dirty with black carbon brake dust piling up fast after only driving it about 100 miles in mixed 50/50 street and highway driving in dry conditions. After wetting each wheel generously then spraying down with the solution(being sure to hit extra dirty spots twice), I got a small wheel brush and started scrubbing each wheel for any dirt I saw, even getting into the crevices as much as possible.. Everything *seemed* to be working well and then sprayed each wheel off to remove the soapy solution. Then I took my car to a drive thru car wash for the final blast and to remove any last traces of wheel cleaner or grime that remained.
When I got home and parked, the results were less than stellar (see photo). Each wheel had about 75-80% of the brake dust and grime removed, but there was still some there I had to go back and try to remove by hand after they were already air dry.
This cleaner comes in a good quality spray bottle and can be diluted to your liking (though one will need an extra bottle to do this), while also being biodegradable and working on tires, but to me it is no better than any other eco or citrus based degreaser I've ever used on wheels. I think if they filled the spray bottle for you with a 1:4 solution, and then included a small bottle or resealable pouch of the 4:1 solution this would make a lot more sense. As it stands I would have to find an empty water bottle to fill with most of the concentrate just so I could dilute the spray bottle down to around 3:1 which is my preferred strength until I use this stuff up and never buy it again. I think having to apply it twice just to get decent results is not what I was looking for, so I will end up going another direction after this.
This will not harm your brakes and is not caustic but try to avoid it anyway. I got some overspray on one of my cold rotors and upon driving at low speed started complaining loudly no matter how gently I braked (even after hosing them off). This was resolved once I ran it through the automated car wash down the street. And definitely don't use it on wheels that have been driven in at least a couple of hours.