Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner v. Sonax Full Effect review, updated w/ new pics, 5/4/13
#1
Adam's Deep Wheel Cleaner v. Sonax Full Effect review, updated w/ new pics, 5/4/13
I had been wanting to do this review for a couple weeks now ever since I picked up Adam's new wheel cleaner. Like most I've been using Sonax for a while now and am pretty happy with it. Sonax seems to have the wheel cleaning market locked down except for maybe Car Pro's Iron-x but I would venture to say Sonax is more well known and used more.
When Adam's came out with their Deep Wheel Cleaner it peaked my interest. When you talk to hard core detailers it seems you will get mixed reviews on Adam's products mainly on their paint correction products. I have never used any of their paint correction products but do use some of their other products and have loved everything I have tried. Their wheel cleaner was no different. I can say 100% this stuff is legit.
The first car I did was my 2000 Firehawk. The wheels like most are starting to look pretty pad. Luckily just the chrome on the barrels are flaking off but I'm sure it won't be long till the faces will look bad.
I did this comparison as fair and as scientifically as I could. I have no affiliation with either company and went into this comparison with an open mind to find out which product worked better.
When Adam's came out with their Deep Wheel Cleaner it peaked my interest. When you talk to hard core detailers it seems you will get mixed reviews on Adam's products mainly on their paint correction products. I have never used any of their paint correction products but do use some of their other products and have loved everything I have tried. Their wheel cleaner was no different. I can say 100% this stuff is legit.
The first car I did was my 2000 Firehawk. The wheels like most are starting to look pretty pad. Luckily just the chrome on the barrels are flaking off but I'm sure it won't be long till the faces will look bad.
I did this comparison as fair and as scientifically as I could. I have no affiliation with either company and went into this comparison with an open mind to find out which product worked better.
Last edited by LilJayV10; 05-04-2013 at 08:43 PM.
#2
Sonax sprayed on.
Adam's sprayed on. The first thing I noticed about ADWC is the sprayer. It foamed the product when helped it dwell on the wheel longer.
I let both products sit for 5 minutes. It was overcast today and did not fear either product would dry out.
This is what it looked like after 5 minutes.
Sonax
Adam's
After
Sonax
Adam's
Adam's sprayed on. The first thing I noticed about ADWC is the sprayer. It foamed the product when helped it dwell on the wheel longer.
I let both products sit for 5 minutes. It was overcast today and did not fear either product would dry out.
This is what it looked like after 5 minutes.
Sonax
Adam's
After
Sonax
Adam's
Last edited by LilJayV10; 04-29-2013 at 12:54 AM.
#4
My Firehawk wheels weren't real bad but the worse I could get a hold of today. I took my wifes Avalanche to work today to road force balance the tires. After I took the wheels off I realized the barrels had never been cleaned. (She bought it before I was obsessed with paint correction and detailing)
Now I had no hopes of the barrels coming completely clean. The semi metallic brake pads have destroyed the barrels. Let this be a lesson preventative maintenance is very important.
Sonax
Before
In action
After(this was after two applications)
Adam's
Before
In action
After
Now I had no hopes of the barrels coming completely clean. The semi metallic brake pads have destroyed the barrels. Let this be a lesson preventative maintenance is very important.
Sonax
Before
In action
After(this was after two applications)
Adam's
Before
In action
After
#8
My thoughts/impressions;
The sprayer on ADWC is very nice. As I mentioned before it foams the product which helps it cling to wheel compared to the SFE which runs off.
ADWC starts working much faster.
Both of my Firehawk wheels looked the same afterwards but ADWC required much less agitation to get the wheel clean.
ADWC seemed to be able to pull brake dust out that was deeper compared to SFE.
I used less ADWC than SFE.
Please don't think this is a slam on SFE. If it performed better than ADWC I would have posted those results. I will continue to use both products for a while so I can get more comparisons on different type of wheels.
Thanks for looking.
J
The sprayer on ADWC is very nice. As I mentioned before it foams the product which helps it cling to wheel compared to the SFE which runs off.
ADWC starts working much faster.
Both of my Firehawk wheels looked the same afterwards but ADWC required much less agitation to get the wheel clean.
ADWC seemed to be able to pull brake dust out that was deeper compared to SFE.
I used less ADWC than SFE.
Please don't think this is a slam on SFE. If it performed better than ADWC I would have posted those results. I will continue to use both products for a while so I can get more comparisons on different type of wheels.
Thanks for looking.
J
#12
I tried to be as unbiased as I could in the comparison.
#20
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: P-Town, IN
Posts: 1,358
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One tho g you'll find out about Adams products is that they won't release it until it has performed the same as, or better than the competition.
Great comparison. I'm surprised you didn't mention the smell comparison...
Great comparison. I'm surprised you didn't mention the smell comparison...