Ferrex as a wheel cleaner?

[darrvao777]

I'm looking for a wheel cleaner that is great with brake dust and requires minimal agitation

Essentially I am looking for something I can spray on the wheel, rinse off with a hose, and then bring my car into the garage to proceed into rinseless washing

Would Ferrex fit the bill?

Or is using it as a weekly wheel cleaner inappropriate? Thanks

[Ron@Optimum]

Yes, that's exactly what FerreX is formulated to do, though agitation will depend on the brake dust buildup.  If you follow the ONR wash with Opti-Seal or Spray Wax, you would reduce the buildup and might get by with simply washing it off.  You can use FerreX weekly but that will get expensive.

[Setec Astronomy]

Oh, now I see more where you were going in that other thread.  Let me put it this way...if your wheels have a lot of buildup or if you have pads/rotors that shed a lot of particles (or your driving style encourages that...ahem), then you are likely to have to do a lot of agitation, especially the first time.

Once you get them clean, you may be able to get away with the spray-and-rinse if you're doing it weekly.  To help with that you might want to think about coating the wheels, or at a minimum use a spray sealant or wax weekly when drying, that will go a long way.  There are also some spray on/hose off SiO2 products that are good for things like wheels, that you could do outside after the Ferrex, and refresh it every month or two.

[darrvao777]

15 hours ago, Setec Astronomy said:

Oh, now I see more where you were going in that other thread.  Let me put it this way...if your wheels have a lot of buildup or if you have pads/rotors that shed a lot of particles (or your driving style encourages that...ahem), then you are likely to have to do a lot of agitation, especially the first time.

Once you get them clean, you may be able to get away with the spray-and-rinse if you're doing it weekly.  To help with that you might want to think about coating the wheels, or at a minimum use a spray sealant or wax weekly when drying, that will go a long way.  There are also some spray on/hose off SiO2 products that are good for things like wheels, that you could do outside after the Ferrex, and refresh it every month or two.

Thanks for the reply

I tend to wash late at night and was originally looking for a solution that did not require running water so that I could do everything inside my garage. I haven't found one that worked (undiluted Power Clean was not enough to get all the brake dust off my wheels) so I figured I would give Ferrex a try this weekend.

Because it's late at night with no outdoor cover and no outside lighting, I wanted a solution where I can foam the product on the wheels and then rinse off using a regular garden hose (giving the car a nice pre-rinse as well). Then I could pull the car indoors and ramp right into a rinseless wash. I do live in a safe neighborhood but I'd rather not be agitating with wheel brushes and barrel brushes at midnight in near pitch black conditions outside.

I do clean the wheels weekly. I do use Hyperseal as a drying aid on the wheels (applied to the barrel via a microfiber barrel brush and applied to the face of the wheels via a mitt)

Will report back with this weekend's findings

[Setec Astronomy]

To be honest I haven't developed a rinseless wheel regimen that I'm happy with.  Partly because I have tons of conventional shampoo, I tend to do a conventional wash on wheels, even if I am doing  a rinseless on the rest of the car.  A lot of this is to scrub the tire, and maybe that will change if I ever run out of tire dressing and switch to a coating.

Again I would suggest a coating on the wheels, that will go a long way towards helping you get to a "spray and rinse" result.  Not sure how Gloss-Coat will hold up to Ferrex; I have some old Opti-Coat 2.0 I use for wheels.

[Ron@Optimum]

FerreX should not remove ceramic coatings - though like anything, using it frequently will reduce the coating over time.  I agree with Setec that applying a coating or sealant will make wheel cleaning easier.

[stephen.details]

I had seen in an old video Dann “rinsing” ferrex off wheels with ONR he dipped a wheel whoolie in. But I thought I had seen a rep say you had to use a hose to rinse. Is there consensus on this? I know something like power clean needs lots of water (or lots of towels). Sometimes I don’t have the ability to rinse a customers car and need to get heavy dust off. 

[Ron@Optimum]

I've never used a hose to rinse FerreX and find a really wet microfiber/sponge (crappy one dedicated to wheels/tires) works well.

[Mr.Outback]

I once tried the Optimum Ferrex but after nearly being gassed by its smell got the OptiCoat Ferrex and found it much more pleasant to work with.  I tried using the OptiCoat Ferrex on my tires along with OptiCoat Power-Clean.  First try was applying/scrubbing Power clean and following with scrub with Ferrex.  Second try was reversing order of chemical applications.  Power Clean generated a tremendous amount of brown foam suggesting the tires (Nokian WR G4) had a lot of residue, Ferrex not so much brown foam.  What rinsed out of the scrub brush was pretty amazing.  Tires look a lot better.  Next will be new formula Hyper-Seal on the tires to help protect them from further brake dust/etc.

[Setec Astronomy]

OPC is a lot different than Ferrex as far as how they clean rubber.  FWIW those Nokian WR's, as well as Hakka's, and other "snowflake on the mountain" tires tend to brown a lot because of the rubber compounds used.  The browning has nothing to do with brake dust, it has to do with the rubber.  If you want to protect against browning and external dirt (brake dust, etc.) your best bet is the tire coating.

[Mr.Outback]

1 hour ago, Setec Astronomy said:

OPC is a lot different than Ferrex as far as how they clean rubber.  FWIW those Nokian WR's, as well as Hakka's, and other "snowflake on the mountain" tires tend to brown a lot because of the rubber compounds used.  The browning has nothing to do with brake dust, it has to do with the rubber.  If you want to protect against browning and external dirt (brake dust, etc.) your best bet is the tire coating.

I've owned several generations of Nokian All weather tires and yes, they do brown a lot.  So far Optimum products have helped control that problem.

[Ron@Optimum]

according to Dr G tire browning can be the effect of oxidation on the chemicals used on rubber to keep it supple over time...and differs by manufacturer.  I agree with Setec, Power Clean as an all purpose clean and has broad results on all the crap accumulated on tires.  FerreX works most effectively on metal deposits, but not as well on all the other crud.