P21S Red Wheel Cleaner comparo.

[E46LC]

Picture of Product :


Product Name :

- P21-S Felgen-Reiniger Power Gel (German)
- P21-S Wheel Cleaner Power Gel

Product Rating:

- Effectiveness I give it 8/10, why not 10/10? Well it did remove the majority of brake dust that's accumulated for the past 15 days, I still had to use a synthetic wool mitten to get rid of the very light brake dust film that was left behined after rinsing. This is still the best wheel cleaner that I've used, nothing comes close.


MFG Claim :

Direct copy and paste from Google Translator:

P21-S acidless and is proven over 30 years
P21-S wheel cleaners Power Gel is the solution against strong brake.
He removed himself as stubborn dirt durchsportliche extreme brake driving style.
Extremely fast in effect and apply (only 3-5 minutes residence!) And dabeiabsolut acid.
When the material is not and is therefore safe for all surfaces. P21-S wheel cleaners Power Gel cleans itself, and its gel very productive and effective.

Price / Price per application :

- I purchased the 5 litre bottle.
- Ebay price was 69.00 EURO.
- I paid $125 CDN which included tax and shipping within Germany.
- I used aprox 100ml to apply two wheels. So that's about ~$5.00 for all 4 wheels.
- Just to put that into prospective, the regular P21S Gel Cleaner is roughly $25.00/liter plus shipping.

***FWIW My cost for 1 liter of Red Gel was $25.00, shipping from Germany to Canada was free courtesy of my grandparents***


How I used :

I tested the P21 S Red version on the right side of my car, and P21 S Gel cleaner on the left side. Both sides had the same amount of brake dust.

Before pictures of left side:



Before pictures of right side:



Product description suggest to apply in shade to avoid direct sunlight. Product should be applied above 10°C (50°F), let product sit for 5-10 minutes and rinse, use a sponge if necessary.

The temp this morning was about 8°C so I let it sit for about 15 minutes. After roughly 5 minutes the gel starts to kick in and you begin to see the dust to drip down. The cleaner changes from a bright neon red to dark maroon. I've never seen this happen with other wheel cleaners, its soo power full that it attacks the dust inside from inside the wheel, where it had slowly accumulated over the summer. I check to see how the regular cleaner was doing and the wheel just looked wet.

Left side pictures:



Right side pictures:




Overall thoughts :

Just to be fair, the best results that I get from the regular P21 S Gel Wheel cleaner is to apply it in shade, let it sit for about 2 hours and then apply to all 4 wheels and start rinsing. The 2 hour method does produce cleaner results then the above described method, but its still no where near the Red Gel.

Once I rinsed both wheels, the wheel with the Red Gel came out much cleaner. There was a light film of dust left behind, and one spot of a heavy soiled area that didn't break down.

Before & After pictures of right side with P21 S Red Gel:



Now compare how the regular P21 S Gel cleaner worked:



The regular Gel barely removed a very light and fresh layer of dust. There is no major differece between the before and after picture above. I had to use my mitten to clean the wheel after it was rinsed.

In the past I've used PBW's S&R, Meguiar's wheel cleaner, P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner. diluted citrius APC, and the results they yield is somewhere between 2-4 /10. I dont use wheel cleaner on my car since I wash it once a week. I just use the left over car wash soap and a synthetic wool mitten. I try to minimize the amount of chemicals I use to be more eco-friendly.

When it comes to customers car's, I've been using P21 S Gel Wheel Cleaner. It's safe on all finishes, it works well, and I can get it for a really good price in bulk.


Tips / Other notes :

I bet this product with work better if you let it sit longer. I will avoid cleaning my wheels again for long as possible (winter is approaching) and then apply the Red gel and let it sit for an hour or so. I have a feeling it will work even better.


DISCLAIMER: All the photos above where taken with a Canon 40D dSLR, with a 28-135 IS lens. All shots were taken in RAW and photoshoped. I am a novice photographer and a new user of Photoshop. The pictures were adjusted in Photoshop to what I thought was a good setting to help showcase my review. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the pictures please critique my work constructively!!

[paddy328]

Good to see someone over there trying the red gel. You will find you will use less if you spread it around the wheel with something like a swissvax wheel brush. I dont think leaving it on for ages will make much difference. It cfan dry out if you leave it on too long, especially if you live somewhere warm.

Your right though, it is the best (safe) wheel cleaner out there. I just with it didnt smell like ass.

[klumzypinoy]

I've never used the red gel since it can't be bought here in the U.S., but I do like the regular gel. I always agitate it, and it takes off a healthy amount of brake dust that no other cleaner has ever taken off before. Someday I will take off my wheels, lay them in the garage, and let the cleaner sit on them for an hour. Thanks for the review!

[pyiu]

great review.

[D&D Auto Detailing]

Were you comparing regular gel to P21s Red? That would be like comparing 106 to SIP to see which one has more cut. One wheel cleaner is obviously stronger then the other. P21s Gel isnt meant to be used as a spray on, spray off type of cleaner on really dirty wheels. If you were comparing how well the two cleaned, then I dont think it was a good comparison because P21s Gel wasnt used correctly.

[m4gician]

Originally Posted by D&D Auto Detailing

Were you comparing regular gel to P21s Red? That would be like comparing 106 to SIP to see which one has more cut. One wheel cleaner is obviously stronger then the other. P21s Gel isnt meant to be used as a spray on, spray off type of cleaner on really dirty wheels. If you were comparing how well the two cleaned, then I dont think it was a good comparison because P21s Gel wasnt used correctly.

agreed and completely true. But I think the comparison is still valid seeing as we want to answer the question "is it worth it?"

In my honest opinion, the 21s gel is just more practical and has a lot more value.

[NEW AGAIN]

I use DAWN and a toilet scrubber from K-mart for the inside of the wheel and some good old hand power: Safe bio and won't harm wheels coat.

[KD00LS]

Stuff's like trying to catch a unicorn, I wonder if they'll ever bring it over here. Nice writeup.