Wheel cleaning - Muc-Off bike cleaner okay?

[*tim*]

Whilst cleaning the mountain bike over the weekend, I realise that the muc-off that I use as a general purpose degreaser / cleaner would probably be ideal for cleaning the wheels on the car.

Anyone has any experience with using this? I presume it'll be paint / lacquer safe as its sprayed all over the bike and doesn't seem to cause any harm to it.

I noticed on their website that they do a specific wheel cleaner product, but I'm guessing this must be near identical to the bike cleaner - after all its the same colour

[KR MAN]

From memory I think the Muc-Off is acid based so you'd have to be a bit careful with it. My recommendation would be to get some Billberry wheelcleaner, its non acidic and absolutely awesome stuff.

[*tim*]

Apparently its alkaline based. Says its safe on paintwork, aluminium, plastic, seals, anodising.... plus its available in the 'garage' already, and saves buying a specific 'wheel' product. But if its gonna do the wheels no good, then I'd rather buy something else... hmmm

[devonutopia]

Sounds OK to me. It's more like a detergent from memory of my MTB days, than an acid based cleaner. Probably the same as fairy liquid or similar?

[BigW]

IIRC its a mixture of products similar to APC and Safe De-Greaser, It should be fine but it will strip any protection you have to a certain extent so remember to re-wax

[Baker21]

IIRC its a mixture of products similar to APC and Safe De-Greaser, It should be fine but it will strip any protection you have to a certain extent so remember to re-wax

I have some Muc-Off as well and it's very similar to APC and I have used it on my wheels on many occasions...........

Megs APC is however cheape to purchase in bulk than Muc-Off after having spoken to Bluefox about this...........

[*tim*]

Thanks for the replies guys!! I'll give it a go when I next wash the car.

Bigw: are you in some way implying that I have previously waxed my wheels? Actually, maybe thats a very good idea as it might save the brake dust / tar from being stuck in the first place... I'll look into that

Baker: I'll look into the cost of Megs APC. But you can get 10l of Muc-Off (delivered) for £27. I don't use that much of the stuff, so anything larger than 5 / 10l would be a waste

Thanks again

[Bodge]

I've used Muc-Off on my wheels a few times, as I'm getting fat and old and the bike gets less and less use!

Works fine, but nothing can get my wheels clean. Even wonder wheels wont shift the lumps of Mintex Xtreme pad stuck to the rims. PITA!

Think they need to be dipped in acid or something!

[Baker21]

Baker: I'll look into the cost of Megs APC. But you can get 10l of Muc-Off (delivered) for £27. I don't use that much of the stuff, so anything larger than 5 / 10l would be a waste

Thanks again

Come on then spill the beans, where is this from?

Megs APC at 1 Gallon = 3.78 Litres is around £13 excluding delivery so sounds like your's could be cheaper?

[*tim*]

www.thepolishingshop.co.uk Muc Off

never used them before, but should be okay. Most bike shops seem to sell 5 liters for around £17-18, which must work out similar to Megs APC

[Bluefox]

Whaaaaaaaaaat!! :eek::eek::eek:

That is a BARGAIN - MucOff's normally circa £7/litre from everywhere, so £27 for 10 litres is a steal!!!

Seriously though, I use MucOff all the time on everything, car, bike, SWMBO, the lot. It's brilliant stuff and in terms of wheels it is probably one of the best cleaners I've used.

It is indeed alkaline based, but it's not that strong - so it should be okay for not stripping any sealants that have been applied, although as my wheels are currently unsealed I've not tried this.

Thanks for the heads up on the price

[fluffmeister]

I use Muc-Off on the bike, and use it in place of the APC. I get mine from Busters Motorcycle accessories where they quite often have a BOGOF on the 5 litre containers and it comes at a similar price to the site above. I get all my bike cleaning kit from Busters and a lot of it is used on the car as well, some really good alloy protectors and plastic protectors avaialble

Edit - Busters - 10L of Muc-Off with 3 x Cleaning Brushes £24.99

Here we go .... Enjoy http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/productInfo.aspx?catRef=901932&kw=muc-off

[Bluefox]

I have some Muc-Off as well and it's very similar to APC and I have used it on my wheels on many occasions...........

Megs APC is however cheape to purchase in bulk than Muc-Off after having spoken to Bluefox about this...........

Hmm, that said, MucOff vs APC in cost (from a few suppliers) is as follows:

Halfords - 5l MucOff @ £34.98 delivered = £6.99/litre

Polishing Shop - 10l MucOff @ £26.97 delivered = £2.70/litre

Elite Car Care - 3.78L APC @ £20.98 delivered:

4:1 (18.9l of product) = £1.11/litre

10:1 (41.6l of product) = £0.50/litre

Busters - 10l MucOff @ £29.98 delivered - £2.99/litre

So, despite the bargain price of the Polishing Shop if you're comparing it to APC then that should win hands down...

EDIT: changed to include Busters for the sake of completeness

[snownrock]

I love Muc-Off, great for the mountain bikes. Saves a lot of elbow grease as the dirt just falls off, i might have to nip into Busters, got my last batch from there and due some more soon.