In the auto detail world, there are always debatable topics that will divide the crown like Moses crossing the red sea. Here we are burdoned with the topic of “to acid or not to acid”.

As I have mentioned in almost every post I fling out there into the sea of opinions, I only comment on products I have actually used extensively. And I personally think there’s room for both at the top, but lets do a little deeper dive into what the differences are exactly, so there can be a clear understanding of what these two actually have to offer.

Acid Cleaners

Acid wheel cleaners have a significant place in the detailing world because they have a lot of cleaning muscle. While this is very common for acid cleaners, it can also have the potential to be equally damaging. Acid cleaners by nature are extreamly corrosive, as they are generally around a pH of 1-5 as where a car soap or shampoo would be 6-7 (pH neautral) and alkaline cleaners being 8-13. For a good understanding of the pH scale, there is another post here that goes into a bit more detail. Acid cleaners have the ability to lift and disolve brake dust and road grime from wheels due most in part to the chemical reaction between the low pH level cleaner and the brake dust materials. While this chemical reaction has pros to doing it’s job, the cons are the fact that it will almost instantly cause the brake rotor to corrode/rust instantly. In most cases it is completly harmless because while driving, the brake pads will rub the oxidation off immedietly and the rotors will be clean and clear of the newly stained look.

Brake rotors before and after acid cleaners (as explained in above)

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Non-Acid Cleaners

While having a more gentle touch on the wheel and tire assemblies, non-acid cleaners can have an equaly, if not more impactful effect, on the fancy shoes of ones means of transportation. It’s commonly understood that these types of cleaners are heavy on the chemistry mixes and detergent based (fancy word play for I don’t know exactly). Most of them have enough info on the labels to tell you what is in them. The good news is that they don’t have the same chemical reaction as the acid cleaners do. These type of cleaners are a go to when you want to be very sure you don’t damage anything accidently.

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now. When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and