Best Value
$0.35/oz
Positioned as budget mass-market wheel cleaner sold at major retailers (Walmart, AutoZone, etc.). At $8 for 23oz, it targets price-conscious consumers who prioritize affordability over safety or specialized performance. The 'non-acidic' marketing attempts to position it as safe, but the extremely alkaline pH (12-14) is equally if not more damaging than acidic products to both surfaces and skin.
Key Chemistry
pH Level
Active Mechanism
alkaline saponification
Surfactants
0 (anionic, nonionic, amphoteric, cationic, amine_oxide)
Expert Analysis
Turtle Wax Wheel & Tire Cleaner represents the traditional 'big box' approach to wheel cleaning - using highly alkaline chemistry (pH 12-14) to saponify and dissolve organic soils. The formulation relies on sodium metasilicate and potassium hydroxide as primary cleaning agents, supported by a complex 7+ surfactant system for foam and soil suspension. This approach is effective and extremely cheap to manufacture, but carries significant safety tradeoffs. Unlike modern thioglycolate-based wheel cleaners that specifically target iron contamination at mild pH levels, this caustic formula works through brute-force alkalinity that can damage sensitive wheel finishes, skin, and eyes.
Key Differentiators
- •Lowest price point in database ($0.35/oz) - true mass market product
- •Most severe safety classification (H314 skin corrosion, transport-restricted corrosive)
- •Only product requiring UN hazmat shipping classification
- •Multi-surfactant system (7+ types) vs single surfactant in most competitors
- •Full Prop 65 disclosure including trace manufacturing contaminants
- •No iron-reactive chemistry - relies purely on alkaline cleaning
Potential Concerns
- ⚠Extremely caustic pH (12-14) can damage polished aluminum, anodized, and chrome-plated wheels
- ⚠Skin Corrosion Category 1 - severe chemical burn risk
- ⚠Contains Prop 65 carcinogens (dichloroacetic acid, ethylene oxide, acetaldehyde)
- ⚠Transport-restricted as UN 1760 corrosive liquid
- ⚠Marketing as 'safe' is misleading - caustic products are not safer than acids
- ⚠No PPE guidance on consumer packaging despite corrosive classification
- ⚠30-second dwell time limit suggests rapid surface attack
Ingredients
Source: sb258 label
Safety Profile
Most severe safety profile in wheel cleaner database. Skin Corrosion Category 1 is the highest severity. Product is classified as corrosive for transport. Multiple Prop 65 chemicals present as trace contaminants. Marketing claims 'non-acidic and safe' but caustic alkaline products carry equal or greater risk than acids.