GiggityGiggity

Those ****ers ruined $4000 worth of brushed black anodized custom wheels on my car!!!

Their Custom Wheel Cleaner which is supposed to be acid free and safe for Anodized wheels completely ruined the finish of a beautiful wheel.

Their HO in the UK is trying to shift blame on the manufacturer and myself for using their product on after market wheels. The label clearly states that its safe for Anodized and says nothing about factory wheels.

I'm currently in a major dispute over their false advertisements. I have asked them to replace my wheels and recall their product, issue new labels indicating "NOT SAFE FOR ANODIZED WHEELS" and they won't acknowledge that their product is falsely advertised.

They ask me stupid questions like, how old are the wheels, where did you buy them, did you clean the wheels inside or outdoors? None of this has anything to do with the FACT that their product is not safe for ANODIZED wheels.

Here is their FB page, you can read the story on their page.
https://www.facebook.com/autoglym
They deleted the first discussion we started yesterday stating "they don't want people to start laying the blame game on them". HELLO!!!! Your stuff is junk! It's YOUR fault. The blame falls solely on misleading advertising that caused damage to my wheels.

Here are some pics of before the damage.....






And after.....







STAY AWAY FROM THEIR CRAP!!!!

So far they have done and said everything to try and deflect the blame. I should of listened to my own advice when I used their shietty wax last year. I know there will be some people who say "oh i like autoglym, I used this and I used that and it works awesome". Compared to what? Canadian Tire Crap? Turtle Wax? Low end stuff maybe. Autoglym is a farce, they falsely advertise, they take no corporate responsibility for their marketing and no responsibility for their products when they cause damage.

This is currently under investigation in the UK and so far it looks like they dont give a crap. "what did the manufacturer tell you to use" some lady asked me today. "What the fack does that have to do with how your product is advertised" I asked. Oh because if they said not to use our stuff we're not liable. What? You're on crack lady! Big fuken rocks your on! "Safe for anodize wheels means safe for anodized wheels does it not? I was told to use soap and water or anything thats safe for Andoized wheels. Now what? "Can you send me more pictures?" Sure, heres one of me on vaca with the boys in Vegas last may, oh here's one of the first musky I ever caught, and this one is awesome, its when my my buddy crashed his truck into ditch last winter cause he was going to fast in the snow. WTF more pictures do you want? "Oh there is corrosion on your brakes which likely contributed to the damage" are you insane? Thats surface corrosion from washing the car. Do you know how that works? Brake discs are made of metal. Brake pads create friction on that metal to stop your car. that metal is bare. when you wet bare metal like is normal when you wash a wheel, it instantly corrodes. STUPIDS they are!

Autoglym Bad. Do not use. I can't be more clear than this.

Overdrive

Yeah, looks like it damaged the finish. Isn't that the stuff that crappy tire just started carrying recently and advertising big time?

Meguiars Alum wheel cleaner says guaranteed safe on anodized wheels.

http://www.meguiars.com/estore/produ...ectionID=13101

PaulUptime

Sorry to hear of these problems and your frustrations in getting support from Autoglym.

JRP (in Mississauga) is a now carrying a wheel cleaner from Sonax that might (?) help restore the wheels. I can ask my friend Carson about this - or contact JRP yourself and ask for him. You might also contact Carcone's in Aurora as they refinish wheels regularly and might have some insight on how to restore the anodized finish, if this is possible.

Best of luck!

GiggityGiggity

Yeah, apparently its endorsed by the royal family and the go to product for Jaguar. Whatever. Their whole line up is garbage. I used their top of the line wax top coat for the vette before I put it in storage last year, wasnt impressed with the results. When I pulled the car out in the spring and gave it wash, there was no wax left on the car, it denigrated by itself. Shows how well it stands up to the elements if it cant stand up to being parked under a car cover for 5-6 mos.

Their leather vinyl citrus protectant last about 2 days on my tires before they become dull. Also garbage.

Their car wash is average. Megs gold class is much better.

You know how I feel about their "safe for anodized" wheel cleaner.

From now on I'm sticking with soap and water even tho CCW says I can use anything approved for anodized wheels, didnt go so well for me last time so lesson learned.

GiggityGiggity

I talked to CCW, they basically told me they need to strip the wheels down, anodize, machine, and then anodize again to try to bring it back. They wont guarantee that it will be 100% like new but they think it could be worth a shot if Autoglym doesnt replace them.

A buddy of mine said he used to use a polish on a set of anodized wheels he had years ago. He's going to look into getting me some to try out, thinks it might work. I have serious doubts. I'll check Sonax's website and see what I find. If there is anything I think I could try I will let you know. thanks man.

Polar Jet

Sorry to hear about the issue Frank. Hope things get resolved in your favour... and quickly. Good luck buddy!

GiggityGiggity

thanks Robby. I'm hella disappointed. This ruined the rest of my vette season for sure. Gotta drive around with garbage looking wheels.

VETFEVER

Yikes GG - what a load of ****...

Problem is, I doubt a comapny like that is going to pay for a new set of wheels because of what a cleaning product might have done to them - they will fall back on some argument like "you should have tested the product on an inconspicuous area first to see if it was safe"

Hopefully you can get some reimbursement of a polishing or re-finishing cost...

GiggityGiggity

we'll see what happens. been relentless with them so far, I aint letting this go. Their labels have no warnings or recommendations to test in inconspicuous areas, they make no claims of "potential mishaps" or precautions you should take with your wheels. Everything the lady who called me about today to try and convince me of I shot down. Their labels are misleading and false. Thats why I made a formal complaint to have them issue a product recall and change their labels. False Advertising.

If their label said "use caution when applying during first time use" or "test in an inconspicuous area before use" then i'd say "shiet! I messed up!" But I didnt mess up, they did and they will pay for the damages. If they dont, I will go viral with this and at the end they will loose more money in damages due this story going viral then would have if they replaced my wheels. Either way they will loose. Just depends how much they want to loose. I aint poosay footing around with these people.

LT1*C4

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Autoglym, but with all due respect, to outright trash a company and it's entire product line and urging others to boycott the company because of your misfortune is getting a little carried away I think...

No, I don't work for Autoglym, but have many of their products sitting on my shelf, along with just about every other name brand you can think of and have never had an issue with any of Autoglym's products.

As a matter of fact, I just washed the car yesterday and cleaned up the wheels using the very same Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner you're referring to and had no issues. Neither my wheels, tires, or powdercoated brake calipers have been damaged in any way, even after numerous uses of this cleaner. The stuff works just about the same as any other wheel cleaner I've tried. No better, not worse...


Not that it changes anything now, but a word of advise for future reference...

If you're going to try out a new cleaning product you've never used before, you should ALWAYS test the product first on a small area to see if any negative effects occur as a result of using that product. ESPECIALLY something like a wheel cleaner on expensive wheels like yours. Don't just spray the hell out of your wheels with an untested product and hope for the best.


In my entire life I've only seen two cars get their wheels damaged from cleaning products. One was a guy who left the cleaner on his wheels longer than what was recommended on the bottle, the other was from a guy who applied a cleaner to his wheels while they were still hot to the touch.

Aside from those two instances, I've never seen wheel damage as a result of an "off-the-shelf" wheel cleaner. The stuff you buy at places like Crappy Tire and/or Walmart are generally low-end consumer grade cleaners. These products are made for every day average do-it-yourselfers, not professional detailers. They are designed to be as safe and idiot proof as possible, so average people don't damage their vehicles finish with overly aggressive cleaning/detailing products. This is why I don't understand how you somehow managed to destroy the finish on your wheels if you really did follow the instructions.

Something's just not adding up here...

I did a quick search and couldn't find any complaints in regards to Autoglym wheel cleaner destroying wheels, so I'm going to assume your unfortunate accident is the exception rather than the rule. You're not the only one with anodized wheels I should think, so if Autoglym cleaner really was dangerous to that kind of finish, we would surely have heard more complaints by now...

Hopefully you can work something out and get your wheels fixed without them costing you too much more money...

Oh, and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Autoglym to buy you new wheels. From now on, just use regular soap and water. Works just as good as any wheel cleaner I've ever used and there's no risk of damage to the wheels.

GiggityGiggity

its not just 1 product that I dont like or have had bad experiences with, see post #4, its that they have 1 product that ruined my wheels. As I said, I know there are people who say how much they love autoglym. I'm glad you do.

I'm no noob to car detailing, I dont wash my wheels when they are hot and I dont wash my car in the sun. When a product is advertised to work a certain way you expect it too. I bet there arent many people with anodized wheels to start with therefore its likely those who would use a product like this on that finish is less likely meaning there is less likely an opportunity to find a horror story about it. Stuff was on there for 30 second max. when I hosed it off the whole wheel was left with a white residue so I grabbed the wash mitt that I had on stand by in soapy water and washed it down and rinsed it again. The photo is what you see as a result of that afterwards.

I've learned my lesson but to suggest that their product is not dangerous to anodized wheels based on your google search is ignorant considering I've proved it is. Its like denying the holocaust ever happened cause you never heard about it before. Keep using their products if you like them. They are low class compared to other manufacturers I have used like Meguiars, Zymol, Zaino and Poor Boys. If you dont have one of those guys products on your shelf as part your arsenal of 25 I'd look into them and would wager you would likely replace all of those with any of the 4 i have mentioned.

lionelhutz

That sucks. I wish you luck getting any satisfaction.

As for the bigger picture, you just don't use harsh cleaners on anodized aluminum. Anything that sprays on is most likely a bad idea.

Peter

87gtNOS

sorry about your wheels, they were really nice.

Let me ask though, what was the purpose of using this product? (I use spray 9 on all of my rims over the years)

Is it supposed to clean brake dust?

With rims like yours, I'd be using some light dish soap or something and cleaning them. Hmm..I'd probably spray9 them (to loosen up the brake dust) just after I got the car wet when washing the car, then use my 2nd wash mitt with car wash soap and clean em up.

I've seen lots of those mag wheel cleaner products dull clear coated wheels!

Still pretty crappy for you.

I hope Autoglym backs you up. Good luck.

gdh

Sorry to hear this as you were so excited about getting these rims and they looked fantastic on your vette. I hope that it works out for you and soon - you must feel I'll over it!

Cdn Z06 Mike

Sorry to hear about your frustration. Paul is on to something that perhaps JRP might have that can assist with the Sonax line. I have many different products that are not for the average joe but professional detailers only. I am happy to offer up what help I can. The likelyhood of success against autoglym however will be an uphill battle for certain.

JPEAK

from past experience, I have used PS21 wheel cleaner on anodized wheels without any issues. Good luck on getting a favourable resolution.

hyp3r3xt3nsion

You're at fault here, sorry.

Any adult with half a brain knows that if you're using a cleaning product you've never used before to try it on a small area before going gung-ho with it.

Would you next like to sue oven manufacturers for not putting gigantic red stickers on the oven door saying "VERY HOT - DO NOT STICK CHILDREN INSIDE AND LOCK DOOR"

Also, you never explained why after it damaged 1 wheel you continued to use it on the other 3.

Racer

Law suit?? Are you serious?
Sorry, I only see user error, if it wasn't user error, then there would be a TON of these posts everywhere, BUT THERE ISIN"T ANY POSTS OF YOUR KIND ANYWHERE.

GiggityGiggity

CCW says you can use any cleaner advertised as safe for anodized wheels. The reason I used this product is cause the manufacturer believes these products are safe AND the spray allows me to get into the barrels and the brake work. Regular soap and water would do a nice job on the wheel face and lip but I would not be able to get to the barrels or brakes with a sponge or wash mitt.

Thanks, hope autoglym does step up like they should.

GiggityGiggity

let me know what you think might help. I was on the sonax site and didnt see anything that I thought would help the situation.