Is it real?

[brucemillar]

Folks

After much research on here and other (not so good forums) I was convinced that I need 5 litres of Bilberry Wheel Cleaner in my life.

Now I like a nice clean, shiny wheel as much as the next guy, maybe even more. So a good cleaner is imperative. Add to this, the fact that I have FOUR cars, or sixteen wheels, to clean (not including any spares) and all my wheels are as new (refurbished by Lepsons) you start to get a picture of the scale of the problem that confronts me every weekend.

Over the years I have tried many cleaners with varied results. As my wheels rarely get baked on brake dust, my preference is to avoid any abrasive cleaning. where possible. I have a variety of Wheel cleaning tools that look like they were stolen from Ken Dodd'd tickling stick collection.

Anyway, back to my question. I bought from ebay a 5 litres of "Bilberry" wheel cleaner. It was not cheap, but hey, with the reviews, it was going to be a good buy.

To date, I am underwhelmed in the extreme.

I spray it on the wheels (wet wheels or dry wheels , makes no odds) it runs down them looking pinky, purple, but does not change colour at all. More to the point, it doesn't actually appear to remove any dirt, unless I attack the wheel with brushes, cloths and elbow grease. I am now rapidly coming to the conclusion that my sweat is removing the dirt rather than the Bilberry.

Is there fake Bilberry? Are there many types/brands of Bilberry?

Is my expectation set to high? I figured:

1) Spray it on
2) Jet wash or hose it off
3) Stand back and admire

Can somebody point me at a genuine Bilberry seller please (I have a great mental picture now).

Is there a better cleaner that you just spray on and wash off?

 

[Cymruambyth]

I spray it on, leave dwell for a minute or so and then wash off by hand using water and shampoo with my wheel woolies. I don`t think any cleaner is good enough to just spray on and wash off and leave alloys pristine.

Valet Pro Bilberry cleaner I use.

 

[crockers]

Why not have your wheels treated with Gtechniq or equivalent ceramic coating....

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Merlins Blood is an awesome wheel cleaner, I'm sure that's what it is called. Bright red in colour

I held fire as my friend purchased some so I made him the guinea pig. The stuff is great on filthy wheels and the like

 

[BIRMA]

I'm on about my third 5 litre of this stuff I think it's brilliant. I spray it on with an atomiser by the time I've sprayed the last wheel the first is ready to power wash.
I'm guessing you power wash the stuff off.

 

[Cymruambyth]

Why not have your wheels treated with Gtechniq or equivalent ceramic coating....

Not this car. Even on my brand new, coated alloys on the ST....still needed washing.

 

[J LAD]

You simply want Autosmart Smart Wheels my friend. Its super concentrated so for wheels like ours / yours 5ltrs will go a long way.
To be honest, it works better on a dry wheel, simply spray all over, wait 5 to 10 mins then jet wash off, job done.
Simply contact your local Autosmart rep or buy off Ebay ( dearer option is Ebay),
Its based at the opposite end of the PH scale, so its non acidic, still better to wear gloves etc as it removes the oils out of your skin easily.
I find that modern gloss black alloys mark so easily these days no matter how carefull you are, so this is ideal for me, as its quick and easy.
I would go as far to say that if you dont like this product, the Autosmart rep will give you your money back!
For wheels that have baked on iron particles use Autosmart Red 7 first, this will get rid of all the stubborn embedded iron, then simply use Smart Wheels after.
I used to use Billberry but found that you needed plenty of elbow grease to remove heavily soiled wheels.

 

[brucemillar]

I just ordered 5 litres. Your fault if it goes wrong ;^)

We can but try.

Sent from my iPhone using sausage fingers.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I still haven't found a totally efficient substitute for Doddy's tickling sticks and a decent shampoo. No jollop and/or jet wash gets behind the spokes like the wooly fingers of my wheels' best friend. No doubt it takes longer, but if a job's worth doing ...

 

[clk320x]

I just ordered 5 litres. Your fault if it goes wrong ;^)

We can but try.

Sent from my iPhone using sausage fingers.

Ive always found, after cleaning the rest of the car, just go over my wheels with the wash mitt and the normal car shampoo (megs gold) works brilliant..

I have also coated my wheels with Sonax BSD .

 

[MancMike]

I know I'll be shot down for this by the purists, but I don't care. They're my wheels, I could cut them up with an angle grinder if I so wished so shush.

I've tried loads of expensive wheel cleaners and cheap ones, but cheap wheel acid has been the best by miles.

I've been using it for a couple of years now, both on my alloys and her Insignia's plastic trims and neither have shown any ill signs.

I spray it on (I use it neat, not diluted too) and the brake dust just melts away instantly. (then rinse, obviously).

It's nasty stuff, you don't want to breathe any overspray, but nothing else I've found has been so effective.

Not sure I'd trust it with diamond cut wheels as I've not tried it, and it does tend to dry your wheel bolts out so they'll be a pain to remove screech with every movement next time, but if they're ripped off with a windy gun it'll make no difference.

 

[brucemillar]

Mike

I too have used wheel acid and agree, it does the job. It can dull the lacquer if left to dwell just a few seconds too long ;^(

FYI: I have been known to remove wheels to clean them. On cars I buy that is a given.

My favourite starter being 'Dragons Breath'. Expensive! But it clings to the wheel in a semi gel state as it soaks into the baked on dust. Then light use of a stainless pot scrubber, will usually see off most (if not all) of the hard caked black dust that collects on the inner rims. The over-spill that runs through to the fronts will remove all of the dust from the holes it runs through (I would not advocate the use of the pot scrubbers on the front surfaces).

Once the lacquer is compromised or abraded it allows the brake dust to grip, in the same way that paint will stick to an abraded surface.

New or refurbished wheels, if waxed and sealed then cleaned with a decent (I hope that this is what I have just bought) cleaner, sprayed on and sponged off, will stay new looking and remain easy to keep clean, with a pressure wash.

My 15 slot 124 wheels are amongst the worst to keep clean as the dust settles into every single hole - all sixty of them.

I believe that wheels can make a car. On my AMG and my wife's X5, both have open spoke rims where you clearly see the inner rims, hubs, calipers etc. I spend ages with wheel woolies (great product) keeping these clean. I hate seeing a nice clean car let down by filthy wheels (My concession to OCD)

 

[BernardB]

I'm amazed no-one has mentioned Bilt Hamber Auto-Wheel. Spray it (generously) on a dry wheel, allow to dwell for five minutes, hose off. It really really works.

 

[tanuie]

I have tried Bilberry Wheel Cleaner, but not impressed. Bit of a waste of money IMO.

 

[markwibbs]

The jury is out on Bilberry as I have heard very variable results all over the place.

The new type of 'bleeding' wheel cleaners are often only as good as the rest of the chemicals in the formula and there are a lot of companies out there rebottling the same product from a very small number of chemical companies.

What I would advise, based on owning several cars, one of which is a race car is a combination of sealing the wheels once they are clean (I use Race Glaze Nano Wheel sealant which is very easy to do and is layerable, my 9.99 bottle is at least 2, maybe 3 years old and still not empty). This saves soooo much time, just a shampoo and brush round will clean them off - including on my Range Rover which takes loads of effort to stop.

I have used an acid based product in the past along with clay bar and as a last resort, an old credit card, but as an on-going product for the cars when the coating has expired is Kenotek Wheel Cleaner Ultra.

The key feature is that it is ph neutral, has the iron-targetting ingredients and is good value at a 14.99 a litre. It works brilliantly, even on the manky wheels of visitors cars I occasionally do. And no, I'm not giving out my address...

 

[brucemillar]

And no, I'm not giving out my address...

I will find you. I will hunt you down and come after you. You cannot hide from me...... Well not with nice clean wheels anyway..

 

[J LAD]

I will refund you the money if you are not impressed sir!
I have cleaned 5 cars today for a customer that simply wants his cars washing, from a new DB11 to a Mini Countryman.
Economics dictate i cannot spend hours detailing the wheels as i normally would, so its simply spray the Smart Wheels onto the dirty dry wheel ( not hot!!!, dont use on hot calipers by the way!), connect up the foam lance, foam car, then after snow foam has done its job i rinse off the wheels.
To be on the safe side i pay attention to the plastic centre caps, making sure they are rinsed well.

 

[brucemillar]

......and the winner is?

J Lad, with Autosmart Smart Wheels.

Squirted it onto dry wheels > left for 5 minutes > Gave a quick scrub with a wheel brush > Jet washed off.

This took off most, in some places all, of the hard dust that gets baked onto the inner rims over time, if not regularly cleaned.

I repeated this a second time, now that I could clearly see any stubborn patches. It has now got rid of these as well.

Very little elbow grease > No abrasive damage to the wheel rim > No aching back for me.

So it does what J Lad, said it would and what it says on the container.

Thank you.

You simply want Autosmart Smart Wheels my friend. Its super concentrated so for wheels like ours / yours 5ltrs will go a long way.
To be honest, it works better on a dry wheel, simply spray all over, wait 5 to 10 mins then jet wash off, job done.
Simply contact your local Autosmart rep or buy off Ebay ( dearer option is Ebay),
Its based at the opposite end of the PH scale, so its non acidic, still better to wear gloves etc as it removes the oils out of your skin easily.
I find that modern gloss black alloys mark so easily these days no matter how carefull you are, so this is ideal for me, as its quick and easy.
I would go as far to say that if you dont like this product, the Autosmart rep will give you your money back!
For wheels that have baked on iron particles use Autosmart Red 7 first, this will get rid of all the stubborn embedded iron, then simply use Smart Wheels after.
I used to use Billberry but found that you needed plenty of elbow grease to remove heavily soiled wheels.