Neglected alloy wheels with thick, caked on brake dust is one of those situations when shampoo just isn’t enough, and it’s the reason we created Auto-Finesse Imperial Wheel Cleaner. A powerful blend of cleaning agents and degreasers, Imperial will start to separate the brake dust and road dirt from the wheels on contact. Its high-foaming formula makes light work of a heavy task, and will take your rims from shameful to sparkling in a matter of minutes. Who said wheel cleaning had to be hard?
Like all Auto-Finesse car care products, Imperial is formulated to suit the needs of professional detailers, but can be used with great success by detailing enthusiasts and first time detailers as well. Imperials highly concentrated alkaline surfactants work by attacking the road grime and binding agents that adhere the brake dust to the wheel, allowing it to be easily washed away. In many cases, this makes Auto-Finesse Imperial both faster and more effective than harsh acidic cleaners.
Anyone who owns a high-performance vehicle, or details them for a living, will fully understand the massive quantity of brake dust they create under every-day driving conditions. This can often be more than just shampoo can handle during regular maintenance, and if left unattended, can become a real nightmare to remove. Auto-Finesse Imperial gives you the power to remove practically any level of brake dust effortlessly, while still remaining safe for both you and your vehicle.
Auto-Finesse Imperial represents a better method of wheel cleaning for both cars and motorcycles, and delivers the professional results our customers have come to expect with Auto-Finesse products. Its highly concentrated formula is economical, safe to use on all modern coated wheel finishes, and is gentle enough that it can even be used for cleaning tyres. Without high quality and effective detailing products like Imperial, our job at the Auto-Finesse detailing studio would be much, much harder.
How to use Imperial
Wheel cleaning is generally one of the first jobs you tackle when detailing a car or bike, so start by taking some time and laying out the tools you will need. You will need two types of brushes; a dedicated wheel brush for the barrels of the wheels, and a smaller detailing brush for the faces and wheel nuts. You will also need a bucket clearly labeled, and dedicated for wheel cleaning to rinse out your brushes. Our Limited Edition Detailing Bucket is perfect for this, as it eliminates the possibility of accidentally washing your vehicle with brake dust contaminated water. Lastly, you will need a Microfiber Drying Towel to dry off the wheels, and one last thing you will need a bottle of Auto-Finesse Imperial
Begin by using a free-running hosepipe or pressure washer to remove any loose contamination, and spray Imperial directly onto the wheels and tyres, thoroughly saturating all exposed surfaces. Allow the product to dwell momentarily while it begins to soften the brake dust and road film. Start with the wheel brush, cleaning in-between the spokes, and reaching into the barrel of the wheel to break loose as much of the brake dust as possible. Finish by using the detail brush to clean the face and lips of the wheels, as well as around the wheel nuts. Also, take this opportunity to thoroughly scrub the tyres, removing the old dressing in preparation for a new coat. Afterwards you can rinse or pressure wash off the remaining brake dust and cleaner residue, revealing spotlessly clean wheels. During the wheel cleaning process, make sure to regularly rinse out your brushes in the bucket you assigned for wheel duty, as this will minimize the chance of scratching the wheels. Once you are finished cleaning the rest of the vehicle, you can thoroughly dry your wheels, preventing the chance of unsightly water spotting. Finish up with a coat of Auto-Finesse Satin tyre dressing to accentuate the wheels, and its showtime!
If iron or tar based fallout is still present after cleaning with Imperial, you follow up with Auto-Finesse Iron Out, and or Auto-Finesse ObliTARate. These, along with a detailing Clay Bar, will help you to get your wheels in brand new condition, and ready for a sealant of your choice. Protecting your wheels with a dedicated wheel wax like Auto-Finesse Mint Rims will help to preserve your hard work, reduce brake dust build-up on long trips, and allow for easy clean-up in the future.
Auto-Finesse Imperial is available both in ready-to-use pre-diluted form, and as an economical concentrate for high-volume or professional detailers. The ready-to-use version is pre-diluted to 10:1, which is the ratio we recommend for normal wheel and tire cleaning duties. However, for heavier cleaning duties on badly neglected wheels, the concentrate can be mixed at a dilution ratio as strong as 2:1. It can also be mixed at up to a 20:1 dilution for light wheel cleaning on well-maintained vehicles, making it even more economical to use. A 1-liter bottle of concentrate can easily be used to make 10 or more liters of useable wheel cleaner!
Imperial is safe to use on all painted, clearcoated, and powder coated alloy wheel finishes. Chrome, bare polished aluminum, or anodized finishes should be treated with extreme caution. These types of wheel finishes are most common on aftermarket wheels, and should be cleaned with a mild exterior all-purpose-cleaner like Auto-Finesse Citrus Power. In more extreme cases of neglect, a reactive iron fallout remover like Auto-Finesse Iron Out can be used to help safely dissolve the brake dust.
Do not apply Auto-Finesse Imperial if the wheels are warm, in direct sunlight, or the ambient temperature is below 32-degrees Fahrenheit/0-degrees Celsius.
