The Best Wheel Cleaners For Your Car (Review & Buying Guide) 2021

A great thing about these products is that you can safely use them on a variety of surfaces, trims, and wheel finishes. That is precisely the standout feature on this cleaner by Sonox. It has been carefully formulated to be both acid-free and PH balanced, which means you can just go nuts with it. That’s nice to know when you are dealing with caked-on dirt and grime.

The formula also changes color as it works, turning from yellow to a lovely shade of red or purple as it breaks down dirt. This handy feature is essentially a progress bar, and you know your wheels are spotless. That’s useful when you’re trying to deep clean all the nooks and crannies on a car wheel.

The first thing you may note is that nowhere in the name of this spray bottle does it state that it’s a wheel cleaner. That’s because this incredible product from CarGuys is designed to replace all your individual cleaning products, including your dedicated wheel cleaner product. 

It’s safe to use on all surfaces except glass and instrument panel screens. Aside from that, you can spray it on your vehicle with happy abandon and get incredible results from this non-toxic, surprisingly mild product. It’s pretty cost-effective to have the ability to clean nearly every surface with just one product. It even comes with a free towel. What more do you want?

Do you remember the scene in the film Ghostbusters 2 when the characters spray pink slime over the Statue of Liberty to make it walk? That could be an application guide for this product.

First of all, it’s a far nicer product than paranormal slime, but when it is sprayed onto your wheels it foams up nicely and is designed to cling to surfaces even when they are vertical, i.e. a wheel. This makes application super simple: just spray it on and let it soak in and do its job, breaking down dirt and grime that’s easy to wipe off.

Its mild formula is safe on factory paint, trim, and rubber, so you don’t have to be too picky about where you spray it. This is one of the cheaper products on the list, but is it a great overall product that’s easy to use and will leave your wheels sparkling clean.

You may also like our review of the best foam cannons.

This product from Mothers is one of the cheapest on the list, but don’t let that fool you. There’s a lot going on in this bottle. It’s more than meets the eye and more than you would expect for the price.

This product is specially formulated to be safe to use on a range of surfaces – including paint and chrome – making it easy to apply. It foams up nicely to penetrate caked-on dirt and, despite being mild enough that you don’t have to worry about your paint, it is tough enough on dirt that it rinses right away without any scrubbing. For a bargain price, you get a top-level wheel cleaner.

This great product from Trinova provides a really deep clean that makes it perfect if you’re working with older wheels that didn’t receive all the care and attention they needed over the years.

Cleaning the wheels is a hassle sometimes, and we can’t always be bothered, right? If that sounds familiar this could be the product for you. It’s specially formulated to bring back shine and restore luster to dull and dirty wheels

It’s even specially formulated to tackle those irritating stains left behind by snow and road salt deposits, making it the perfect product for keeping wheels looking sharp in colder weather.

If you’ve never heard of Aero Cosmetics, you’re missing out. The company consistently goes above and beyond to bring car cleaning products to the market that are both high quality and unique – and this product is no different.

This cleanser is deeply effective and an excellent degreaser. More than that, the water-based formula is very mild and safe to use on a variety of surfaces. Since Aero Cosmetics’ heritage lies in producing products for aircraft, this wheel cleaner is even safe to use on the wheels of your Boeing airliner (if they’re a little grubby looking).

The water-based formula also means that you can wipe it off with or without additional water. That makes an irritating task quite a bit faster and easier.

Most of the products on this list have been designed for tackling dirt that has accumulated on the outside of your wheels. However, if you have a sports car with slick sport wheels and alloys then you may have a different issue when you are cleaning your wheels – brake dust.

This material is a natural, normal byproduct of using your brakes when driving. On a regular car wheel, you may not notice it too much, but you’ll definitely see it on a more cut-back sports style wheel.

If that sounds like you, this could be the product you’re looking for. It’s specially formulated to tackle and dissolve metallic debris and brake dust. Not only that, but it’s PH neutral, making it safe to use on a variety of surface types.

Griot’s Garage has a reputation for producing premium car cleaning products, and this wheel cleaner is no exception.

It is a remarkably mild, PH balanced formula that is not only safe to use on a variety of materials such as aluminum and paint, it is also nontoxic and environmentally friendly. That means when you rinse the product away, you don’t have to worry about where the run off is going.

Coupled with that is the fact you are getting a high-quality finish with deep cleaning capabilities that will leave your wheels looking incredible, and this really is an excellent product. Price-wise, it’s toward the top end of the scale, but not really any higher than you would typically expect to pay for a premium brand of this type.