What is the best product to use on tires which will clean the white outlined letters? Most products which bleach appear to be too harsh for the wheels

Thanks in advance
Kenny

 

I use Westly's. It is a bleach and would be harsh on the wheels. I am just careful not to get it on my wheels except for a minimum of overspray in the wind. It does great on the tires and white letters. Also, I use the Meguire's Quick Spray Wax on the wheels after cleaning them so that they have a protectant.

 

I also use Wesleys Bleach White, but have used both Simple Green and Zep's Citrus Cleaner and they both perform as well as the Wesleys..Of the two I prefer the Zep's Citrus Cleaner..

 

 

A tire cleaner, degreaser, or wheel cleaner. I've used a lot of different products before. Currently using Stoner's APC. A brass bristled brush is great for white letters. Also might want to consider a little dwell time ont he wheels.

I'll wet the front and back tires down on one side and spray both down with my wheel cleaner and my tire cleaner. And then clean the rear first and move to the front as the front usually needs a little more dwell time. Then I repeat on the other side.

 

Ajax or similar with a brush works well and is what I have seen various professionals use, so I do the same... cheap and effective.

 

I'd recommend staying away from products like Westley's because they are so harsh on wheels. There are a few different products you can use to whiten them up, but the key to making them bleach white is a good brush. Personally I am currently using Mothers FX Wheel Cleaner and the Meguiars Tire Brush. My tires have 10 - 15,000 miles on them and the lettering on them is just as good as the day that they went on. I imagine you'd get the same effect from Meguiars Hot Rims or you can even mix a solution of 90% water 10 % simple green/ any other all purpose cleaner.

- Chris

 

I can't take credit for this, but another member in the past recommended using a brillo pad. Works like a champ. One brillo pad can do all four tires.

I usually rub the brillo pad across the white letters and then use a tire brush to scrub. Looks brand new when done.

 

The product I've been using lately is Eagle One All Wheel & Tire Cleaner along with a quick scrub from a brush. I like this one because it has a "clinging" effect which (as much as is possible for the application) helps keep the product from running down onto your rims.

I had been using Simple Green before this, and I like the Eagle One product much better!

 

AJAX or comet and a scrub brush. Much cheaper than those fancy cleaners. I recently got a six-pack of the big cans for $3-something at Sam's. Just don't wash anything other than tires with it!

 

While all of the cleaners mentioned here will definitely take grime off of a tire, it needs to be reiterated (like Brian 5.4 said) that these cleaners should explicitly be used according to their directions and ONLY for their intended purposes.

A good comparison would be to buy a gallon of xylene at your local Wally-Hell and go out and 'wash' your truck with it. Odds are, you probably wouldn't do that because it would have some serious adverse effects (not to mention you'd be polluting the hell out of your local storm sewer); the same is true with a tire/wheel cleaner. Only use a product that is intended to serve your purpose...

Sure, there are always exceptions but, when you make sure that you're using a product that is tried and true, odds are that you won't have any problems.

My personal favorites when it comes to tire cleaning are diluted Simple Green or Meguiar's Safe D-Greaser or Meguiar's Citri-Gel.

Remember, common sense is the key!

RP

 

Castrol Super Clean I've used it for years. Never hurt the wheels and makes the tires look brand new

 

I just bought Michellin's Wheel & Tire Cleaner at AutoZone. It looks safe with no acids, and is recommended for both wheels and tires. Being that my truck only has 350 miles on it, I'm not sure how well it will work with subborn dirt and brake dust though.

Matt

 

i used to use the eagle one tire and wheel cleaner! it just wasnt getting the job done for me! so i switched due to recomendations from this board to that westleys bleach white and i have found my tire cleaner for life!

 

Be very careful with wheel cleaners as well. Even though they claim to be safe on wheels, I have seen too many cases that were not. Types found at car washes are the worst! I have never used anything but soap and water on wheels. Like RP mentioned, common sense is the key with any cleaner. Best of luck