Mother's Wheel Mist - Brake Dust Beware!
Written: Oct 17 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The product actually does what it's advertised to do. Removes brake dust, easily.
Cons: The stuff is corrosive, and if not handled properly, could be dangerous.
The Bottom Line: This is the best alloy wheel cleaner I've found-and I've tried them all. With a pressure washer, you can clean your rims in less than 10 minutes with no effort.
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| androoos's Full Review: Mothers Wheel Mist Multi Purpose Wheel Cleaner |
Some Background
The last two new cars I've bought have come from the factory with special, upgraded wheels on them...
My 2002 Volkswagen GTI 337 Edition came with snazzy 18" BBS RC wheels with a special chrome and clearcoat finish. They were gorgeous wheels, until the brake dust got to them. The brake dust from Volkswagen's terrible stock brake pads actually eat itself into the clearcoat finish of the wheels. This destroyed the finish of the wheels and they looked terrible immediately after a thorough cleaning with soap and water.
My 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution came with stock 17" Enkei forged aluminum wheels, in a beautiful metallic silver with clearcoat. The brake dust doesn't react with these wheels but it does get laid on pretty thick after a week's worth of commuting to work and back.
I've tried every type of wheel cleaner under the sun. The guys at AutoZone got to know me because every week I'd come in and try out a different type of wheel cleaner to see if it touched the brake dust on my otherwise beautiful rims. Nothing did...until a friend recommended Mother's Wheel Mist.
You wouldn't think a "Mist" would work...
I visited upwards of a dozen auto parts stores in my area looking for Mother's Wheel Mist in the yellow bottle (they also sell it in a red bottle, but the yellow bottle is specifically for "Clear coated, factory finish and custom wheels.") I couldn't find it anywhere locally.
Link to Mother's Wheel Products site. Wheel Mist is the 4th item down, in the yellow bottle.
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/wheelprod.html
SAVE ME!
Then the internet came to my rescue, along with a wonderful place called AutoBarn.com, located on Long Island, NY.
I ordered 5 bottles of Mother's Wheel Mist at $4.99 per bottle. The shipment arrived a few days later and I immediately went to try the stuff out. I had let my Evo's wheels get really dirty on purpose, because I wanted to give the Wheel Mist the hardest workout it would ever receive.
Armed and dangerous...
Armed with my Wheel Mist, a brush and my hose, I sprayed down the first wheel with "mist". I let it sit there for about 2 minutes, per the directions on the bottle. I hosed the wheel off, and I would say 90% of the brake dust came off after the initial spray. I scrubbed the wheel and after a fair amount of elbow grease, the wheel was clean. I rinsed the wheel off again, admired it's shinyness and moved on to the next wheel.
Finally, the right combination...
For the second wheel, I decided it was time to get out my trusty pressure washer. It's a electric-powered Husky 1650psi model from Home Depot. I "misted" the next wheel and after 2 minutes, hosed it down with the pressure washer. BINGO!! I've finally found the combination I need. 100% of the brake dust was removed using the pressure washer. Needless to say, I was happy.
I continued on to the next two wheels and had identical results all around.
Mother's Wheel Mist (in the yellow bottle) and my pressure washer are the combination I need for effortless brake dust removal.
***WARNINGS***
Mother's Wheel Mist is a corrosive product. You have to be extremely careful with it, try to avoid getting it on any painted (and not clearcoated) surfaces, it'll eat the paint right off. I got it on a painted plastic part in the engine compartment and the paint is now gone.
The active ingredient is called OXALIC ACID. Try not to breathe this stuff in either, and definetely DO NOT GET IT IN YOUR EYES!!! Also, the bottle warns not to try to clean your wheels when they're hot. Mother's Wheel Mist is not flammable, but the heat may cause an adverse reaction with the paint on your beloved wheels.
In conclusion
I'm very happy to have finally found a product which actually works like it's supposed to. There are too many companies out there hawking wheel cleaners that do about the same job a bucket of water will do. Mother's has delivered a superb product with their Wheel Mist. I'll admit, there is a little elbow grease involved if you don't have a pressure washer. If you DO have a pressure washer, you should be able to clean your wheels in about 10 minutes time, and there won't be a speck of brake dust left on them. This is a fantastic product, and I highly recommend it.
Recommended:
Yes
Ease of Application: Excellent; a breeze to apply and shine - lasts forever
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Epinions.com ID:
androoos
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Member: JC Andrews
Location: Chesapeake, VA
Reviews written: 70
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
Great job-check. House-check. Wife-check. Dog-check. Kids? Uh-oh.
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