Not sure if I like APC or not...

[Cyclone]

Used some of the All Purpose Cleaner today on the rims & tires. I spritzed it on to go ahead and break down the dirt and grime on them, by the time I went in the shop and got the rim brush, and the tire brush it had already ran down to the bottom. It took a lot of the dirt with it, but when I started scrubbing I had to spray it again to get everything wet again, the APC dried pretty fast. Then I realized how much it was taking and just started spray water to wet it down after the initial APC.

 

I was using it at full strength, and I think I used **** near half a bottle on my 4 22's. They were not real dirty to begin with either. It also seem to leave some sort of a haze on the rims that I had to take off with detail spray.

 

As far as I know the rims are painted and clear coated, but I am going to try and email American Racing to find out exactly how they are done so I can figure out the best cleaning method. Unless somebody on here is a dealer or knows one, I have 22" American Racing RT-S black w/polished lip. I want to figure this out so I can buff them real good and make the black parts sorta POP.

 

 

 

So far that is the only product that I have not been fully satisfied with yet. I plan on thinning down what I have left with water and trying it on the engine bay, hopefully I will have better results then. Other than that, It was good for cleaning out the applicator pads last time I used them. Speaking of which, I dropped a large microfiber towel and a applicator pad in the freaking dirt today

[Baron_Von_Awesome]

Diluting it would be your best bet. A 50/50 mix of APC and water is more than enough to handle most tasks. Personally, the only time I use it at full strength is for applicator/sponge cleaning.

[Junkman2008]

Why didn;t you use the Green Wheel Cleaner?

[CRQuarto]

Diluting it would be your best bet. A 50/50 mix of APC and water is more than enough to handle most tasks. Personally, the only time I use it at full strength is for applicator/sponge cleaning.

 

Use this method for wheel cleaning. Also, spritz the wheels down, let it soak for a minute, then use the boars hair brush to scrub them down gently and then rinse.

[b_pappy]

Use this method for wheel cleaning. Also, spritz the wheels down, let it soak for a minute, then use the boars hair brush to scrub them down gently and then rinse.

 

That's the method I use also, plus I get everything ready before I start to prevent the runoff. The new Green cleaner foams & sticks better to vertical surfaces, but there is still a lot of APC out there. Try it diluted 50/50, I prefer distilled water for mixing.

Bruce

[Cyclone]

Why didn;t you use the Green Wheel Cleaner?

 

Don't have any yet.... I am trying to hold off till the new bags come out to make one order.

 

 

 

 

Thanks guys, I will try to dilute it and use it that way for the engine bay and such. Don't think it will be used on the rims again.

[bigred vette]

I had great results using APC full strength on my wheels. I sprayed them on with the setting the doesn't mist but the other one, had it suddzing and wiped it down.

[Superdutytd]

Don't have any yet.... I am trying to hold off till the new bags come out to make one order.

 

 

 

 

Thanks guys, I will try to dilute it and use it that way for the engine bay and such. Don't think it will be used on the rims again.

 

Yea I feel as if the green wheel cleaner sticks and cleans better overall.

[Cyclone]

Just to update on this again... I diluted the APC, about half the bottle I had left with water. Since then I have used it to clean pads and towels and it works great. I also recently took some parts of my LED underbody kit off of the truck. Well they were really greasy and grimy from the road dirt and such. They were installed for nearly a year. I took a terry towel and sprayed some APC in the palm and wiped them down. They look brand new again!

 

Still did not like it on my particular rims, but I have some more on the way, along with the Green Wheel Cleaner so hopefully that will work better for me!

[jjwvette]

50/50 for me I do one wheel at a time....get the new wheel cleaner and save the APC for cleaning your pads

[brickbrad]

Does anyone dilute the green wheel cleaner with water? I know the bottle recommends to dilute 10:1 with water for polished aluminum wheels, but is it any advantage to use it diluted regularly to help it last longer/save money and still get the great cleaning results?

[bigred vette]

Does anyone dilute the green wheel cleaner with water? I know the bottle recommends to dilute 10:1 with water for polished aluminum wheels, but is it any advantage to use it diluted regularly to help it last longer/save money and still get the great cleaning results?

First off, Giggity.

 

It wont be as strong and will reduce the chances of turning the aluminum a milky color. Thus resulting in having to polish them. I've never diluted any Adams products but many do with great results.:thumbsup:

[Cyclone]

I do not dilute the GWC at all... I like it at full strength, but I do not have polished aluminum wheels either.

 

Now with the APC I do dilute that 50/50 with water to make it go further

[mc2hill]

I dilute GWC 50/50 with distilled water and it works fine on 'maintained' wheels & tires. If they are really dirty I use it full strength.

Edited July 8, 2009 by mc2hill
clarification

[11chevz71]

I would use it full strength

[Team Adam's]

I'm leery to leave APC sitting on any surface for more than a few seconds at full strength so I've never seen it dry out.

 

Just a little tip, I typically hose the wheels down really good to start, and even take my coarse brush to the tire to begin to break up anything on there without any cleaner. Then I re-rinse, spray liberally with APC (only on the tire) and scrub again with the coarse brush. Then I hose everything off again, and hit the wheel with my 1:1 mixture of APC and my BHB... rinse and done.

 

As for it not lasting long I find that Adams APC is far more potent of a product than what I was using previously (Simple Green) so I get just about the same amount of use from a gallon of APC as I did from 1 1/2 gallons of SG. Nothing concrete to back this up, just seat of the pants measurements.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Dylan06SS