Review: 1z Colourtec Wheel Cleaner

I've had this wheel cleaner for a few weeks and finally decided to put it to the test and see what how it worked out.

I have to start it off by saying this stuff is pungent, incredibly, bad enough where it's stored outside.  It also was incredibly strong while using it, you can see my findings below.

Product Link

I found this product to have quite a liberal sprayer which I liked for using on wheels.  The color change was also incredible apparent, much more so than Sonax Full Effect.  You can see below on a close up shot.

My other finding were that with even the slightest agitation caused quite a bit of foaming which was very clingy and great for cleaning the wheels.  My technique for using this was to lightly rinse the wheel, spray the product liberally, slightly agitate to add to the foaming, then following this up with rinsing/agitating with a Wheel Woolie heavily to clean the wheel.  I followed this up with a simple microfiber wipe down. 

But my overall thoughts were that it works fantastic, foams incredibly well, smells horrible (even more so than Sonax Full Effect, up there with IronX in my opinion), but is likely the most cost effective wheel cleaner out.  Definitely wear gloves as well when using this product.

Thanks for reading, post any comments or questions below.

Review: Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner

I recently wanted to try out Sonax Full Effect in comparison to my previous review of Poorboy's Spray and Rinse and Wolf's Clean and Coat which you can find by clicking here.

Sonax Full Effect has been around quite a while and can be found at many detail outlets and runs around $16.99 for 16oz of product, I tested this product at full concentration which is recommended.  I did not get it in the bottle but transferred it to another bottle I had.  You can see it here in it's lime green glory.

Product Link found here.

This product works good on even the dirtiest of wheels and is tailored for German vehicles which are prone to excessive brake dusting turning bright wheels dark and dusty looking.  If you don't know what I'm talking about next time you go the grocery store check out BMW's and Mercedes.  My wheels weren't too dirty overall.

Quick before as I said not too dirty.

Here it is in action, I let it dwell for roughly 1 minute, slightly spray it it to wet it and then agitate with a Wheel Woolie.  After I scrub in between spokes I rinse it down again.

If you look closely at the rotor you can see the color change from green to purple as it reacts to brake dust and other pieces of dirt. 

And after cleaning

Overall my thoughts on the product are that it works good, the smell is something to get used to but I found it much less caustic than Poorboy's Spray and Rinse.  It does not have as much as an acidic smell to it as well but I would definitely recommend wearing gloves still while using this product.   As for cleaning it did clean less than the Poorboy's counterpart.

Thanks for reading and post up any comments you may have!

How-to: Maintenance Washing/Wheels & Tires/Glass Care

After seeing many people have questions on exactly how to wash and dry a car, take care of wheels and tires, and glass cleaning I decided to make this step-by-step process with pictures which I find to be the most effective.

So you're paint is all corrected and in great shape, but how do you maintain it? How do you prevent swirls and scratches from returning or at least minimizing them.

Note: This is my process and is technique only.  If you find another way that yields great results by all means stick with it.  And post it up so we all can learn.

First off I begin by filling a bucket with roughly 1-2 gallons of water with 1-2 oz of ONR depending on how soiled the vehicle is.  ONR recommends 1 oz per 2 gallons of water.  But in this case, better safe than sorry.

I use reusable wash media, so instead of a wash pad or mitt, I use multiple wash towels, usually 6-8 for a medium sized vehicle.

These towels are 360g/m and can be found at microfibertech for 10 for $23.

Next I soak them and let them sit in the solution for the time being.

Next I move on to wheels and tires while these soak.

For heavily soiled wheels a dedicated cleaner like Sonax Full Effect or Poorboy's Spray and Rinse works great.  Mine weren't too covered in brake dust so I went with Meguiar's D101 All Purpose Cleaner at full solution.  Before trying any product it is important to do a test spot in an inconspicuous place to check for any discoloration or damage to your wheels.

Here is the D101 in action

You can see the dirt being lifted off.  Then using a variety of brushes such as Wheel Whoolies, Raceglaze brushes for the lugs, and different wheel brushes.  For the tires using a foaming sprayer works great then brushing it off with a Tuff Shine tire brush.

Here's the type of gunk, tar, and various other things that your tires pick up daily.

After I'm done cleaning the wheels it's important to get your tools into a cleaning solution, I just use water and APC.

See:

Often cleaners will cause rusting and oxidation to start on brake rotors.  So I'll take the car for a quick spin before a wash it to clean the rotors, the problem is that the wheels take the brunt of the grime on the brake rotors as well as any leftover dirt that wasn't washed away. After parking it again I just take a microfiber towel and clean up anything left over on the wheels.

Now the last thing to do is dress the tires.  Here I'll be using Wolf's Blackout Gel, it provides nice sating sheen that doesn't look greasy and lasts for 2-3 weeks depending on your driving style.

Tire Before

After

For a glossier shine go over the tire again until it meets your desires, for a more satin shine use less product.

Now it's time to move on to washing the car.

For this take your towel soaked in solutions and gently wring it out. You want it wet but not completely soaking and dripping water.  With towels with a short nap and long nap side use the longer nap.  This lets the more dirt get trapped deeper and since you're trying to minimize swirls and scratches you want to avoid dragging dirt across the paint surface.

When you first start washing your car lay the towel folded in 1/4s flat on the surface and drag with absolutely zero pressure as so.

Now you're going to be picking up dirt and grime as seen here.

To avoid dragging this back across the surface lift slightly on the front of the towel

When you're done lifting 2 or 3 times your towel will have lines of dirt similar to this.  After each panel is complete I dry using a Cobra Guzzler HD, again as little pressure as required folded in 1/4's.

If you're towel still has solution you can continue using a different 1/4 of the towel.  You can see here where I used all 4  of the long nap side.

Lastly is the glass.  Right now I'm using Meguiar's D120 Glass Cleaner, it works very well and is extremely cost effective at 1:20 dilution (1 part concentrate to 20 parts water) and a Microfiber Madness Cloudbuster, by far the best glass cleaning towel I've used.  For the windshield I spray directly on the windshield and clean and buff with the other side of the towel.  I also clean the windshield wipers.  For the side windows and mirrors I spray on the towel so the solution avoids the paint, it's not dangerous but just means less to clean up.

Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any questions or tips!

Review: Wolf's WF-1NT Clear & Coat and Poorboy's Spray and Rinse

I recently got a sample in of Wolf's WF-1NT Nano wheel cleaner or "Clear & Coat" it's billed as a wheel cleaner that incorporates nano technology as a sealant into one product. I have been using Poorboy's Spray and Rinse and topping with V7. So today I decided to put them to the test on cleaning and after 1 week I will be revisiting them to see how the sealant nature stacks up.

Here are the products

Poorboy's (topped with V7) vs Wolf's

Note: After using Poorboy's quite a bit I diluted it 1:1 and have noticed no cleaning difference in it.





Here are the wheels I started out with, for reference I only tested the front wheels as they have the most dust. The brakes are stock 4-pot Brembo's on Camaro SS's.

Poorboy's is up first, I did a one-minute dwell time before rinsing off then wiping down the rims with a microfiber.


You can see on the bottom of the rim a slight area where I wiped it off to show the true color of the rim (note these are clear coated aluminum) and you can see the amount of dust that has accumulated.



During the dwell time.



Showering them off

And here is the wheel after being hosed down but before wiping.



After wiped down, note the rotor color change caused by it. It does come off after just a quick drive and it's just oxidation.



Here is how much dirt I wiped off that wasn't removed by rinsing.



Next up is Wolf's, again applied, 1 minute dwell time, then rinse off and ultimately wipe down

Rims before, again slight wipe down in the bottom center to show original rim color



During application, it didn't foam as much or drip anywhere near as much as PB



After spraying, before wiping



After wipedown



And how much dirt I pulled off



Total amount of product used

PB about 2 oz.



Wolf's about 1 oz



And here is the results of the towel head to head (Wolf's is on the left, PB on the right)




Both of these products worked well and are roughly the same price at 32 oz for $16 for PB and $17 for 1 Liter or 33oz for Wolf's.

Poorboy's Pros:
Cleans better
Proven can be diluted 1:1 and not drastically effect cleaning so you get 2x the product
More economical

Cons:
Clogs Sprayers after a few uses it took quite a bit of work to get it spraying again .
Smell (this is personal experience, but it really effects for my breathing if it's windy or I'm too close to it, feels like it's burning my nose and just overall uncomfortable)
Rotor Color (minor but it does look bad until the car is driven a few miles.

Wolf's Pros:
Smell and this is big for me as I didn't mind using it where Poorboy's is very unpleasant to use.
Doesn't change the rotor color much
Sealant built in to it

Cons:
Didn't clean as well

Final thoughts: Overall for now, until the sealant properties are proven Poorboy's is a better cleaning agent but for me since it really effect me and I don't want to wear a mask while cleaning my rims, I'd choose Wolf's. But Poorboy's is definitely a better cleaner but I have seen it slightly effect caliper paint if agitated so don't scrub at all with it, just rinse off.

Thanks for reading!