Bilberry Wheel Cleaner Removed My Laquer !
Discussion
Bought some bilberry wheel cleaner to clean some of the company cars.
I used as per instructions diluted 4 to 1 with water.
On the two Mercedes cars we have it did a perfect job - but on the Fiesta Sport Van which is fitted with white painted compomotive afternmarket alloys, it looks like it's taken all the laquer off.
The wheeels are now a perfectly clean and smooth matt white whereas before they were shiny.
The inner part of the rim which was hardly cleaned is still shiny.
Anybody else heard of this ?
I used as per instructions diluted 4 to 1 with water.
On the two Mercedes cars we have it did a perfect job - but on the Fiesta Sport Van which is fitted with white painted compomotive afternmarket alloys, it looks like it's taken all the laquer off.
The wheeels are now a perfectly clean and smooth matt white whereas before they were shiny.
The inner part of the rim which was hardly cleaned is still shiny.
Anybody else heard of this ?
Just had a look at the valetpro website with the MSDS sheets for bilberry brands.
http://www.valetpro.co.uk/Information/MSDS-Data-Sh...
Blue gel wheel cleaner contains hydrochloric acid.
Orange gel wheel cleaner contains sulphamic acid.
Throwing acid on your paintwork is not a good idea - although for neglected wheels it can be the only way to clean them.
Their website has no MSDS for their 'Safe wheel cleaner' - even though the site extols the virtues of this product - & that in itself is of concern.
If its an alkaline solution, that can also do an effective job on paint.
As a number of car manufacturers specifically say not to use acid based cleaners on wheels in the owner's handbook I can't help but wonder if the cleaner manufacturers are just using an equally damaging alkaline to get round it.
A check of the MSDS sheets for other non-acidic wheel cleaners shows 'sodium hydroxide' as a common ingredient. Usually known as 'caustic soda' often found in drain cleaning products & is a strong alkali that can cause chemical burns to skin. Also used for paint stripping
so perhaps regular application - even in very dilute form - is not a good idea.
http://www.valetpro.co.uk/Information/MSDS-Data-Sh...
Blue gel wheel cleaner contains hydrochloric acid.
Orange gel wheel cleaner contains sulphamic acid.
Throwing acid on your paintwork is not a good idea - although for neglected wheels it can be the only way to clean them.
Their website has no MSDS for their 'Safe wheel cleaner' - even though the site extols the virtues of this product - & that in itself is of concern.
If its an alkaline solution, that can also do an effective job on paint.
As a number of car manufacturers specifically say not to use acid based cleaners on wheels in the owner's handbook I can't help but wonder if the cleaner manufacturers are just using an equally damaging alkaline to get round it.
A check of the MSDS sheets for other non-acidic wheel cleaners shows 'sodium hydroxide' as a common ingredient. Usually known as 'caustic soda' often found in drain cleaning products & is a strong alkali that can cause chemical burns to skin. Also used for paint stripping
so perhaps regular application - even in very dilute form - is not a good idea.It is an open secret in the industry that 'non-acidic' wheel cleaners often mean 'highly caustic' 
It just lulls customers into a false sense of security, thinking that a pH13 alkaline product is going to be much safer than a pH2 acidic cleaner. The safer ones are pH balanced now - using neutralised acid salts, detergents etc. The most important thing to do is RINSE. What makes these products effective against brake debris makes them a menace to pads and discs, so overspray must be rinsed off thoroughly. Try and remove centre caps as well - wheel cleaners typically find their way behind them and can attack the laquer where it is thinner or has an edge.
And as ever, the stronger products are more effective but require more careful use. You have to make the choice - a safer product that works a little less aggressively, or go for the big guns and watch out for the side effects. On most painted wheels, aggressive wheel cleaners are convenient and cause little damage given a reasonable dwell time and thorough rinse. But on anodised, chrome, or any bare metal wheels, I'd go for a milder pH balanced product.
It just lulls customers into a false sense of security, thinking that a pH13 alkaline product is going to be much safer than a pH2 acidic cleaner. The safer ones are pH balanced now - using neutralised acid salts, detergents etc. The most important thing to do is RINSE. What makes these products effective against brake debris makes them a menace to pads and discs, so overspray must be rinsed off thoroughly. Try and remove centre caps as well - wheel cleaners typically find their way behind them and can attack the laquer where it is thinner or has an edge.
And as ever, the stronger products are more effective but require more careful use. You have to make the choice - a safer product that works a little less aggressively, or go for the big guns and watch out for the side effects. On most painted wheels, aggressive wheel cleaners are convenient and cause little damage given a reasonable dwell time and thorough rinse. But on anodised, chrome, or any bare metal wheels, I'd go for a milder pH balanced product.
Peter Cee said:
Bought some bilberry wheel cleaner to clean some of the company cars.
I used as per instructions diluted 4 to 1 with water.
On the two Mercedes cars we have it did a perfect job - but on the Fiesta Sport Van which is fitted with white painted compomotive afternmarket alloys, it looks like it's taken all the laquer off.
The wheeels are now a perfectly clean and smooth matt white whereas before they were shiny.
The inner part of the rim which was hardly cleaned is still shiny.
Anybody else heard of this ?
PS It is highly unlikely that the product will have removed the lacquer - it may have etched it if it was a soft lacquer, or they may have been powdercoated and again, been etched by the product. Bilberry has changed formula since its inception IIRC (the original was 1:7 dilution, if I recall) but it won't have removed it - just etched it. This means the finish could be polished up by hand with a micro-abrasive compound (I'd be careful with T-cut as that may be too aggressive) to restore the shine.I used as per instructions diluted 4 to 1 with water.
On the two Mercedes cars we have it did a perfect job - but on the Fiesta Sport Van which is fitted with white painted compomotive afternmarket alloys, it looks like it's taken all the laquer off.
The wheeels are now a perfectly clean and smooth matt white whereas before they were shiny.
The inner part of the rim which was hardly cleaned is still shiny.
Anybody else heard of this ?
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