Table of Contents
Sick of your dirty wheels ruining the appearance of your car? Wish they had that clean, new look to them once more? We take a look at the best wheel cleaners available to keep your wheels looking like new.
Car wheels suffer from dirt and mud flicking up from the road, rock salts and mainly, the grime created from the brake pads. Because of this, a convential car shampoo and wash mitt are extremely unlikely to clean your wheels properly and remove all of that nasty stuff. A specialist, dedicated wheel cleaner is needed to get the best results and thankfully, there are some brilliant products available to assist with this.
Only Got 5 Minutes?
Pushed for time and would like a quick overview of our best wheel cleaners? No problem.
Our Top Pick Wheel Cleaners
1. Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel
It’s becoming a regular theme, a Bilt-Hamber product at the number one spot in another one of our reviews. The UK based company produce excepetional products at an extremely affordable price and Auto Wheel is no exception.
Auto Wheel is a powerful pH neutral wheel cleaner which makes light work of breaking down brake dust, salt, dirt and mud etc. It’s a fallout remover featuring colour changing bleeding technology. This means that as you first spray Auto Wheel on, it’ll be clear in colour. Once the cleaner comes into contact with dirt etc, a colour change to purple will occur and the cleaner will begin to work it’s magic. We recommend spraying on the wheels and allow it to sit and dwell on the wheels for 5 minutes before rinsing off. If the wheels are heavily soiled you may need to agitate with a wheel brush and handily, a good quality wheel brush is included with Auto Wheel – bonus.
The key features of Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel are;
- pH Neutral
- Powerful Cleaning Ability
- Excellent Value for Money
- Fallout Remover with Bleeding Technology
- Wheel Brush Included
- Supplied in a 1L Bottle
2. Autoglym Clean Wheels
Another impressive product from the British car care giant. Autoglym clean wheels features a blend of acidic cleaners, non-ionic surfactants and metal attack inhibitors. It rapidly dissolves and remove contaminants from all wheel surfaces including alloy and plastic trimmed wheels.
The key features of Autoglym Clean Wheels are;
- Suitable for use on a range of different wheel types
- Acidic based formulation
- Easy to use
- Supplied in a 500ml bottle
3. Pro-Kleen Dragon’s Blood
Another fallout based wheel cleaner, this time from Pro-Kleen. Dragon’s blood safely removes all iron fallout from wheels and bodywork whilst an improved cleaning formula provides excellent cleaning abilities. Much like Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel, Dragon’s blood will change purple upon contact with contaminants.
Dragon’s blood is supplied in a whopping 5 litre package which makes it extremely good value for money.
The key features of Pro-Kleen Dragon’s Blood are;
- Safe for use on wheels and paintwork
- Colour changing formula
- Impressive cleaning ability
- Supplied in big 5l package, great value for money
4. ValetPRO Dragon’s Breath
Dragon’s breath is a fast acting, pH neutral cleaner designed to remove contamination from painted and metal surfaces. It boasts impressive cleaning ability and makes light work of restoring heavily soiled wheels. It features an easy to use formula and works extremely quickly. Dragon’s breath is thick in formulation for increased cling time meaning that it works for longer.
The key features of ValetPRO Dragon’s Breath are;
- pH neutral
- Fallout remover with colour changing technology
- Easy to use
- Great cleaning ability
- Supplied in a 1L bottle
5. Meguiar’s G180124EU Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner
Meguiar’s Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner is an impressive, gel based wheel cleaner and iron fallout remover. It’s pH balanced and easily dissolves brake dust whilst turning purple in the process. It delivers impressive results with it’s really strong cleaning ability. Dissapointingly, it’s supplied in a fairly small 709ml package which is smaller than most comparable cleaners.
The key features of Meguiar’s G180124EU Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner are;
- Gel based formula
- Impressive cleaning ability
- pH balanced
- Safe for use on all factory wheels
- Supplied in a 709ml bottle
What Are Wheel Cleaners And Why Are They Imporant?
Because of where wheels are located on a car, they are subjected to a lot of dirt and grime. Not only are they battered the elements such and mud and dirt from the road, they are also subjected to brake dust and contamination from your brakes when slowing down. All of this nasty stuff means that a traditional car shampoo and wash mitt are generally not strong enough to clean your wheels properly, this is where a dedicated wheel cleaner comes in.
Wheel cleaners are specifically formulated to tackle contamination found mainly on wheels such as brake dust, iron fallout etc. A wheel cleaner makes the task of cleaning your wheels so much easier. Where you’d previously be scrubbing away with a wash mitt, a dedicated wheel cleaner will simply do all the work for you whilst you stand back and watch. Depending on how heavily soiled your wheels are, you may need to agitate the cleaner with a soft wheel brush. If you clean your car regularly, which we strong advise, you’ll simply spray on the wheel cleaner, let it do it’s thing and then rinse off after 5 minutes or. It really couldn’t be any easier. On that note of washing your car regularly, have you read our article on how often you should wash your car? Give it a read, it’s an informative read.
Confused By Some of The Terms Used?
We understand that some of the terms used may be new to you and mildly confusing, here’s a simple explanation of what they mean
- pH Neutral: Essentially this means that it’s completely safe for use on your wheels and won’t inflict any damage to the metal.
- Colour changing: When using a wheel cleaner, a colour change will occur if the product contains this technology and the cleaner then comes into contact with dirt and contaminants. This provides a clear, easy to identify visual appearance that the cleaner is doing it’s thing. We would strongly advise the use of a colour changing wheel cleaner, we love them.
What Equipment Do I Need To Clean My Wheels?
To thoroughly clean your wheels and get them looking back to their best, you’re going to need the following equipment;
- Pressure Washer
Whilst it’s possible to clean your wheels without a pressure washer, we strong advise using one. A pressure washer will provide much more cleaning power and make the job a whole lot easier.
- Wheel Brush
A wheel brush is needed to remove the dirt from those hard to reach bits such as the back of the wheels, inside the spokes, in the wheel bolt recesses etc. We advise using a soft brush to avoid potentially damaging the wheels. Some wheel cleaners will include a soft wheel brush, that’s a nice bonus.
- Wheel Cleaner
Once you’ve decided upon your wheel cleaner of choice, it’s time to get your wheels looking like new again.
How Do I Clean My Wheels?
Following these simple steps will guarantee clean and shiny wheels everytime.
- Pressure Washer Rinse
Begin thoroughly rinsing your wheels with a pressure washer. The aim here is to remove as much of the dirt and grime without touching the wheels. If you don’t have a pressure washer, you can do this part with a conventional hosepipe but it’ll be much less effective.
- Apply Wheel Cleaner
Working from the top of the wheel downwards, begin spraying on your wheel cleaner being sure to follow the manufacturer instructions. Don’t be too worried about using too much wheel cleaner, ensure that all parts of the wheel have been sprayed. Allow to dwell on the surface for 5 minutes or so.
- Agitate with Wheel Brush
After allowing the cleaner to dwell on the wheels, begin agitating with a soft wheel brush. Use the brush to get those hard to reach parts such as the inside of the rim, in the wheel spokes and the wheel bolt recesses. If the wheels are only very lightly soiled you can more than likely skip this step and allow the cleaner to do all the work for you. This will ofcourse depend on the power of your wheel cleaner and also how dirty the wheels are.
- Rinse
The penultimate step is to thoroughly rinse your wheels. Be sure to get all of the wheel cleaner completely removed, you don’t want this to sit on the wheels and start to dry on the surface.
- Dry
The final step of the process is to dry your wheels. Dry them with either a dedicated drying towel or a few microfibre cloths. When finished, you should be left with lovely shiny, clean wheels!
Our Top Pick Wheel Cleaners
1. Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel
It’s becoming a regular theme, a Bilt-Hamber product at the number one spot in another one of our reviews. The UK based company produce excepetional products at an extremely affordable price and Auto Wheel is no exception.
Auto Wheel is a powerful pH neutral cleaner which makes light work of breaking down brake dust, salt, dirt and mud etc. It’s a fallout remover featuring colour changing bleeding technology. This means that as you first spray Auto Wheel on, it’ll be clear in colour. Once the cleaner comes into contact with dirt etc, a colour change to purple will occur and the cleaner will begin to work it’s magic. We recommend spraying on the wheels and allow it to sit and dwell on the wheels for 5 minutes before rinsing off. If the wheels are heavily soiled you may need to agitate with a wheel brush and handily, a good quality wheel brush is included with Auto Wheel – bonus.
The key features of Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel are;
- pH Neutral
- Powerful Cleaning Ability
- Excellent Value for Money
- Fallout Remover with Bleeding Technology
- Wheel Brush Included
- Supplied in a 1L Bottle
2. Autoglym Clean Wheels
Another impressive product from the British car care giant. Autoglym clean wheels features a blend of acidic cleaners, non-ionic surfactants and metal attack inhibitors. It rapidly dissolves and remove contaminants from all wheel surfaces including alloy and plastic trimmed wheels.
The key features of Autoglym Clean Wheels are;
- Suitable for use on a range of different wheel types
- Acidic based formulation
- Easy to use
- Supplied in a 500ml bottle
3. Pro-Kleen Dragon’s Blood
Another fallout based wheel cleaner, this time from Pro-Kleen. Dragon’s blood safely removes all iron fallout from wheels and bodywork whilst an improved cleaning formula provides excellent cleaning abilities. Much like Bilt-Hamber Auto Wheel, Dragon’s blood will change purple upon contact with contaminants.
Dragon’s blood is supplied in a whopping 5 litre package which makes it extremely good value for money.
The key features of Pro-Kleen Dragon’s Blood are;
- Safe for use on wheels and paintwork
- Colour changing formula
- Impressive cleaning ability
- Supplied in big 5l package, great value for money
4. ValetPRO Dragon’s Breath
Dragon’s breath is a fast acting, pH neutral cleaner designed to remove contamination from painted and metal surfaces. It boasts impressive cleaning ability and makes light work of restoring heavily soiled wheels. It features an easy to use formula and works extremely quickly. Dragon’s breath is thick in formulation for increased cling time meaning that it works for longer.
The key features of ValetPRO Dragon’s Breath are;
- pH neutral
- Fallout remover with colour changing technology
- Easy to use
- Great cleaning ability
- Supplied in a 1L bottle
5. Meguiar’s G180124EU Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner
Meguiar’s Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner is an impressive, gel based wheel cleaner and iron fallout remover. It’s pH balanced and easily dissolves brake dust whilst turning purple in the process. It delivers impressive results with it’s really strong cleaning ability. Dissapointingly, it’s supplied in a fairly small 709ml package which is smaller than most comparable cleaners.
The key features of Meguiar’s G180124EU Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner are;
- Gel based formula
- Impressive cleaning ability
- pH balanced
- Safe for use on all factory wheels
- Supplied in a 709ml bottle
Just so you know, we may earn a small commission through the links on this page but we think that’s a fair trade off for the hours research and time that we put in.