Imperial - Acid Free Wheel Cleaner

An acid-free alloy wheel cleaner that can take your rims from shameful to sparkling on every single detail with our powerful.

The go-to product for many a car detailing professional, Imperial Wheel Cleaner has been developed as a supremely potent aqueous cleaning agent, degreaser and brake dust remover - with the ability to shift the heaviest salt, road films and other potentially harmful contamination – while remaining completely free of acidic ingredients, making it gentle enough for regular use on all common alloy wheel finishes… even those with previously applied waxes, sealants or coatings.

By nature, car wheels have to stand up to some of the harshest soiling and the highest concentration of contaminants found anywhere on the road. To successfully rid surfaces of heavy grime and combat the onset of early corrosion, routine cleaning with a deep-cleansing solution will always remain the most effective method. Acid-based cleaning agents, while capable of removing heavy soiling, can cause serious degradation in lacquer and powder-coat layers when used on a regular basis. This itself can lead to corrosion, etching, staining, damage to specialist finishes and possible metal impairment, eventually leading to structural failure. This is why we’ve packed Imperial with a powerful blend of non-acidic surface active agents (surfactants) to quickly separate the worst contaminants from your standard or aftermarket wheels on contact, but to remain kind to the surfaces underneath. Whether it’s intense cleaning on in-depth details or routine maintenance washing, Imperial actively dissolves grime but will never degrade lacquer, paint or powder-coat… it won’t even strip away your protection layers!

This car detailing product chemically cleans by using an advanced mix of high-foaming anionic surfactants (organic cleaning agents) to lift and encapsulate organic particulate soils, and non-ionic surfactants (degreasing agents) to emulsify oil-based contamination directly into the solution. These specially-selected complementary surfactants are classed as ‘polar’ molecules which attract water at one end and grime at the other. Using this mechanism, they are able to latch onto heavy dirt particles, along with fatty grease and oils, actively pulling them from surfaces, surrounding them and effectively suspending them in the solution. Once safely extracted and encapsulated by these advanced cleaning molecules, the contamination isn’t allowed to return to surfaces and can be quickly rinsed away, without scratching or causing damage to sensitive finishes. Learn more about the science of surfactants in our article - All Car Cleaning Products Explained.

Imperial acid-free wheel cleaner is safe for regular, risk-free use on all painted, powder-coated or clear-coated finishes, and can even be utilised as a first stage pre-cleaner or a simple ‘spray and rinse’ cleaner on light to medium soiling. For the best results on heavy contamination, Imperial can also be safely agitated with suitable scratch-free brushes - such as our Barrel Brush, Detailing Brushes or Hog Hair Brushes - for the most intense deep-cleaning. Here the agitation isn’t so much to scrub away contaminants by mechanical cleaning, but to ensure that the solution is worked into all areas, and that any spent product (Imperial solution already encapsulating particulates and grease) is moved away allowing the area to be replenished with fresh solution to work on any remaining contamination. For the full cleaning process, and for advice on a multitude of wheel types and finishes, take a look at our wheel cleaning guide – The Definitive Guide To Cleaning Alloy Wheels

Imperial Wheel Cleaner is supplied ready-to-use for regular wheel cleaning duties in 500ml bottles (diluted from concentrate at a ratio of 1:10) and is also available as a dilute-to-suit concentrate in 1-Litre and 5-Litre bottles, which can be diluted at ratios between 1:2 for heavy duty deep cleaning and 1:20 for light cleaning on well-maintained wheels.

Imperial Concentrate is ideal for use with our Pro Mixing Bottle or Pressure Sprayer, and 1-Litre makes up to 20-litres of wheel cleaning solution. Our entire wheel cleaning range can be found here in our Wheels Category.