When it comes to wheel cleaners, the options are endless, the tools are diverse, and it's almost certain that you can find a combination of chemicals and tools for your particular application.

With the never ending search for a better product in each respective category, Griot's Garage has done it again with their new Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner. This wheel cleaner is pH balanced, non-acidic, and features a non-caustic formula so it is safe for even the most delicate wheel finishes - including uncoated aluminum.



Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner clings to the surface of the wheel to release stubborn brake dust and other contaminants to make cleaning a breeze. Save time and money by having only one wheel cleaner in your arsenal of car care products.

I had the opportunity to put Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner to the test on severely neglected wheels that had not been cleaned in several months. When trying any new wheel cleaning product, I'm usually pretty skeptical because they all claim to be the best, but with Griot's Garage reputation for manufacturing high quality car care products at a great value, I can honestly say I wasn't very skeptical when it came time to use their newest creation.

You can see right away how filthy these wheels were. It's always critical to clean your wheels often because brake dust particulars are ferrous and will damage the surface of your wheel.




Before spraying on the wheel cleaner, thoroughly rinse the wheel first. It's very important that the wheel is also cool to the touch prior to cleaning.




Liberally spray the Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner on the face of the wheel and in between the spokes.




Let the wheel cleaner sit for 3-5 minutes while it breaks up the brake dust and road grime. As the wheel cleaner interacts with iron particles and road grime, it changes color from being translucent to red.




After the cleaner has sat for a couple minutes, agitate using your favorite wheel brush. I always grab my Daytona Speed Master just because it's quick, easy to use, and effectively cleans in all the hard to reach areas because of its flexible design.




Give the wheel a good rinse with a strong jet of water, dry it off, and apply a protective wheel coating such as DP Wheel Glaze and you're good to go until the next round of cleaning!




Griot's Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner is a safe, effective means of cleaning any neglected wheel finish. It doesn't burn or dry out your skin and contains no harsh chemical smell that lingers in the air. Griot's Garage HD Wheel Cleaner is also much more cost effective than similar heavy duty wheel cleaners, a 35oz is only $16.99 and a gallon is $49.99.




Have fun in your garage with Griot's Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner!

 

looks good...

 

The test will be how it performs in cool weather. Their original stuff didn't work much at all at about 60 degrees.

Jim

 

What type of brush did you use? How long did you let the cleaner sit on the wheel for? Was the wheel cool to the touch prior to cleaning?

 

It will be cool to see how this version works. I use the chrome wheel cleaner from them for all wheels because they told me it was a bit stronger. Their stuff is pretty conservative so I hope this works best yet.

 

I've been very impressed with all of their products so far, especially the speed shine.

 

We've been getting a lot of great feedback on the Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner so far. It's now in stock in both the 35oz and 128oz refill size.

 

I plan on trying this, since I'm a big believer in Griot's products. PLEASE tell me that is smells better than Sonax, though!!

 

It doesn't smell like apple pie, but it doesn't smell like harsh chemicals either.

 

I really like Sonax, but I would like to hear some feedback from people that have used both. Sonax is great, but also pretty expensive, and this seems like a better deal, and if it works just as well I'm in. I almost want to send both to Moe and get his feedback.

 

I've tried several Griot's Products over the years and as mentioned before, most are pretty conservative to say the least. I do love how you can buy a wheel cleaner, garage flooring, racing shoes, and a blanket in one trip Richard is a marketing genius.

As for wheel cleaners, we've had our share of testing and the one product we always stick with for ease of use, safety, effectiveness, and price, is P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner. I've yet to find a wheel cleaner that performs like it and has all the characteristics we look for.

As for value, looking at before/after pics of the demo, it looks like quite a bit of product was used on that one wheel. Nick, did you use that on one wheel or all four wheels in your last picture of the product next to wheel?

The P21S Gel formula may sound like it's more, $19.95 for 32oz, but if you get more uses out of it, then it' actually a better value.

One cool thing I do like about seeing the Griot's Wheel Cleaner in this thread is the changing of the color to red when coming into contact with metal fragments. That's a good indicator to the user of the degree of the product working and when you can begin brushing and rinsing.

 

Thanks for the input Moe.

I used the wheel cleaner on all four wheels, and it worked great. A lot of you have been requesting a side by side comparison of the Griot's HD vs Sonax Full Effect, and one of our forum members on AGO did such a comparison, along with a video.

Griots HDWC vs Sonax FEWC (w/Video)