APC left nasty streaks on my Mazda 6 wheels

[kesmit]

I've seen Adam's APC get used a lot for tire and wheel cleaning, so I've been trying it out too.  Today I tried it full-strength on my 2004 Mazda 6 wheels.  These wheels have been fairly neglected and are a bit dull, but the coloring is fairly even.  However, after using APC on them, it left horrible streaks on them that didn't come off after drying.  I had to get out some mag wheel polish I had laying around and polish the streaks out.  Are there some wheel types that this product shouldn't be used on?

[07stanggt]

Post up a pic (if you can) and we'll help you out. Were the wheels hot when you applied the product ?

[kesmit]

Post up a pic (if you can) and we'll help you out. Were the wheels hot when you applied the product ?

 

 

I didn't take any pictures.  I tried a couple of things right away to get rid of the streaks and the mag wheel polish worked.  The wheels were cool.  The car had been sitting outside in 60 degree weather for a couple of hours.  I'm not exactly sure what finish these wheels have on them.  They sell the same wheels on eBay and it says it's painted silver.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-OEM-Alloy-Wheel-Rim-for-2003-2004-2005-2006-2007-2008-Mazda-6-/400860278649

[TheWolf]

Did the APC dry before you rinsed the wheels?

[kesmit]

Did the APC dry before you rinsed the wheels?

 

No, I let it dwell for a minute or two, agitated, then rinsed.  It did look kind of look like etched in drip marks, so maybe it got drier than I thought.

[BrianT]

Did the rag turn black after you used the mag wheel cleaner? If it did those rims are raw aluminum.

[kesmit]

Did the rag turn black after you used the mag wheel cleaner? If it did those rims are raw aluminum.

 

 

I don't recall exactly, but it may have.  I already threw the rag in the laundry pile and I'm not sure which one it was.  I'm just getting into detailing, so I'm still learning.  I take it raw aluminum is more sensitive than some other types of wheels?

[BluedogGMC]

If they are like the ones on eBay then I would think it just started to dry. It can start to dry while still having wet around it and will streak. It is basically the dirt just drying to the wheel. If it is just painted and maybe clear coated you should get some Adams Green Wheel Cleaner but at the moment it is not on the site so maybe they discontinued that. Since you have them clean now I would mix up a bottle of about 2oz. of Adams Car Shampoo and water in a spray bottle and use that to spray on them to clean next time.

[Dan@Adams]

Adam's Green Wheel Cleaner has been discontinued for over a year now. Our All Purpose Cleaner is a pretty strong degreaser, so you always have to use caution when using it on painted surfaces, especially non-clearcoated surfaces and raw aluminum (I would suggest to NOT use it on raw aluminum at all). Those Mazda wheels are most likely clearcoated from the factory, but at 11 years old now, that clear may have already started to degrade, since you did say the wheels have been fairly neglected and are dull. The only time I have ever used APC on wheels is on wheels that are plastidipped - it worked great for me at cleaning the rubber paint without damaging or melting the plastidip. Full strength APC does work good at scrubbing the sidewalls of tires, but I make to have minimal dripping onto wheels.

 

For moderate to very dirty wheels, we recommend our Deep Wheel Cleaner; however, just like All Purpose Cleaner, you do not want to let it dry on the wheel. It should only take 2 or 3 minutes to start changing to a purple color and interacting with the brake dust particles (for most brake pad compounds...some wheels it may not change color), then you can agitate it with a wheel brush and thoroughly rinse off. It is safe on painted, chrome, powdercoated, and clearcoated wheels, but again, you do not want to use it on a bare billet aluminum wheel. The wheels must also be cool to the touch, and it will work best spraying onto a dry wheel - in other words, don't spray the wheel down with water first.

 

If the wheels are just a little bit dirty, our Car Shampoo will work fine at getting them clean.

[Ricky Bobby]

^I agree with Dan, although I've used APC on wheels with no issues in a pinch when I was out of DWC and needed to "deep clean" the wheels - Although make sure you are always working in shade, and not letting it dry.  Another tip thats helpful is that after you spray the wheels with APC (if you choose to use it) you should always be following up with brushes/woolies etc that are soaking in a bucket of suds/Car Shampoo, as it will neutralize some of the cleaner as you agitate it and let it rinse cleaner.

 

There are way too many variables involved in spraying cleaner on a dry wheel, and then agitating it with a dry brush or woolie - which is why I always recommend a dedicated wheel/tire bucket so you always have your suds and brushes soaped up and ready to get rid of that grime!

 

DWC in my opinion should only be needed quarterly, if you maintain your vehicle and keep your wheels sealed all you should need is Car Shampoo for maintenance.

[PlainOleS5]

I've used full strength APC on my wheels with no issue before.  However I usually keep up on sealing my wheels and they aren't too old.

 

APC is great to use if you haven't kicked up too much brake dust or there has been minimal time between washes.  If its been 11 years, I would definitely be looking to use deep wheel cleaner.  DWC is amazing as well!  Just like Ricky Bobby said, having your wheel tools soaked in some water with Car Shampoo is a must!

[Kodiak]

I've found that the deep wheel cleaner doesn't change colors for me much on any of my vehicles, they just don't put out alot of dust. I dilute it and still use it because it breaks down the crap inside my lug barrels and makes it easy to hose out without brushing much, if at all. APC in the wheel wells and on the tires. A hard stream of water seems to clean almost everything out of my wheel wells since I started using under carriage spray

[stripesace]

I've only used Deep Wheel Cleaner at full strength once. Most of my gallon still exists because I only use it 8oz at a time with 1:1. My wheels don't turn colors much but I still have not found a better solution to getting my wheels bright and shiny than DWC, even with it cut 1:1. 1 car has painted wheels the other is that Chromtec stuff everyone is using these days.

 

As per the Daily Driver video I have used APC on my wheels in a pinch but I believe Adam hosed his wheels down first as to dilute the APC as he applies it to the wheels.

[Audog]

I have used All Purpose cleaner on Jeep and wife's Hyundai without any issues, I don't let it dry and rinse off after scrub. You might want to dilute it if you try it again.