Best Wheel Cleaners: Give Your Car a Showroom Look

The Sonax wheel cleaner does a great job of removing brake dust. This product is safe to use on a variety of different wheel finishes, including chrome, aluminum, steel, clear coat, painted, and powder-coated wheels. It's pH balanced with an acid-free formula, so it won't damage the wheels. One feature that sets this formula apart from others is that it changes color when it makes contact with dirt and ferrous metals generated by brake dust. It starts out fluorescent yellow and turns deep red or purple as it dissolves the dust. It penetrates deeply into the grime, particularly if you scrub it off with a sponge. However, it may adversely affect the quality of certain custom-made wheels. Also, it may require extra scrubbing if you have to clean away caked-on grime. It's also a little pricier than some competing brands.

The Armor All Extreme Wheel and Tire Cleaner is a great low-cost option. It is safe for factory and aftermarket coated wheels and tackles brake dust, grease, and grime caused by day-to-day driving using its triple-action formula. The cleaner features strong foaming agents that stick to your wheels and remove even stubborn stains. It's designed to flow into the tiny spaces and hard-to-reach areas of your wheels and bring back their shine. Users report that it's easy to use, effective, and cleans wheels and rims as it describes. It works quickly, and it also does a good job of cleaning the tires. It requires very little elbow grease to get the job done. However, you may need to use a brush or towel and scrub a bit to get old, tough stains off of your wheels. Also, the spray nozzle may be inconsistent in its application.

Adam's Wheel Cleaner is pH balanced and tough on stains. It works well on even the most challenging grime and is specially designed to tackle heavy brake dust. This cleaner is safe for use on a variety of wheel finishes, including chrome, alloy, powder coated, clear coated, and factory painted wheels. It comes with a long sprayer nozzle and changes color as it dissolves the dirt. It works quickly and efficiently, even if your wheels accumulate a lot of brake dust. Users have reported that you can literally see the dirt and grime dripping off your wheels as you spray the cleaner on the surface area. Plus, minimal scrubbing is required. One downside is that the strong fragrance could be irritating to some users. The cleaner is also not recommended for anodized aluminum wheels, polished aluminum wheels, and aftermarket metallic wheels. 

Meguiar's Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner features a powerful cleaning formula and is safe for all wheel finishes. It simultaneously dissolves brake dust while removing road grime, living up to its "ultimate" moniker. It features a deep-cleaning gel formula that turns dust purple and grime brown, visually demonstrating that it's working. It's also acid-free and pH balanced, so it won't damage your wheels or painted brake components. Users report that it does an excellent job of breaking down brake dust, even if it's heavily deposited on the wheels. Simply spray the cleaner on the wheels, wait a few minutes, and rinse off the residue. No scrubbing is required. Unfortunately, if you don't rinse it off quickly enough it can leave a residue behind. Also, you may have to agitate some tough-to-remove brake dust using a brush in order to thoroughly clean some wheels.

The Eagle One All Wheel & Tire Triple Cleaning Foam Spray features a thick foam that adheres to your wheels and tires and eliminates dust, grease, and grime. Simply spray the formula on the wheels, and then hose them off. It's safe for use on factory-coated, clear-coated, and factory-painted wheels. It removes dirt and grime without requiring any scrubbing. After you use it to clean your tires, they will shine with a factory-black result. Users report that this product is particularly effective on wheels that are tough to keep clean. The whole process takes just a few minutes, and it requires little to no elbow grease. Plus, the formula foams up immediately. And unlike many of the other products on this list, it's designed to clean tires as well. However, there have been several complaints that the spray nozzle doesn't work too well, and you may have to dump the contents into a new spray bottle to clean your wheels.

The Griot's Garage Heavy-Duty Wheel Cleaner is safe to use on a variety of wheels finishes, including anodized, chrome, painted, powder coated, and uncoated aluminum. The manufacturer listened to customer feedback and updated the scent, so it's more pleasing and doesn't linger. Griot's Garage also added more active ingredients, so its cleaner does a better job of removing particularly strong road grime. It turns deep purple, so you know it's working, and is pH balanced, non-acidic, and non-caustic. The cleaner clings to the wheels for better penetration and to break down and loosen brake dust and road debris. Users like that it's effective yet gentle enough so it won't damage a wheel's finish. Simply spray it on your wheels, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, and gently agitate it with a brush or other tool. Unfortunately, this formula requires some scrubbing, while some competing brands do not. Also, if it dries on your wheels, it can leave behind a residue.

The Chemical Guys Diablo Spray Wheel & Rim Cleaner is a little less expensive than some other options on this list, but it also comes in a smaller, 16-ounce bottle. This formula is safe to use on all wheels and removes stubborn brake dust, road grime, and other contaminants using concentrated suspension technology. It includes oxygen-infused cleaners and lubricants that turn wheel grime into a foaming lather. It's 100 percent pH balanced and won't scratch the surface of the wheel even when used with a brush. It's easy to use and does a good job overall of loosening and removing the dirt on your wheels. However, some users have complained that the spray nozzle isn't the best quality. The cleaner may come out in spurts instead of delivering a consistent spray.

Jay Leno's Garage Wheel Cleaner quickly and easily removes brake dust and road grime off of wheels. The product is safe to use on aluminum, alloy, chrome, painted, powder coated, and clear coated wheel finishes.  It features active cleaning agents and high-tech surfactants that tackle the toughest jobs. The formula is so thick that it clings to the wheels for a penetrating clean. Moments into its application the formula turns purple, which shows it's working to remove metal contaminants. It's safe to use with high-performance brake pads and rotors (carbon and ceramic) but may require a little agitation to clean wheels that are especially dirty. It leaves behind a protective shine, and users report that it does a great job overall. But you must heed the warning on the bottle, which advises against letting the chemical stay on the wheels for more than a few minutes or it could damage the finish.