The Gloss Fuel Wheel & Tyre Cleaner is ready to use, like the Sam's product, comes with a foaming trigger, like the Sam's product, and slays the dirt and brake dust, like the Sam's product. However, unlike the Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner, the one from Gloss Fuel is non-caustic and safe to use on all wheel types.
Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner 'vs' Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
Sam's Detailing
Founded in 2013 by the titular Sam, Sam’s Detailing is a UK based manufacturer of premium car detailing products. From their base in Sheffield, they offer a range of high quality, affordable and accessible detailing products and accessories which are easy to use for both novices and professional detailers alike.
Cars and driving is clearly a passion for founder Sam, who states that: “Everyday I push forward to bring my vision of inclusive, easy to use car care to life. By creating high quality products at a reasonable price, with simple instructions, I aim to create a community of both novice and expert detailers alike.”
The Sam’s Car Detailing brand has amassed a large, dedicated following on social media, including Instagram and TikTok.
Gloss Fuel: Driven by Passion, Built for Performance
Gloss Fuel was founded by two lifelong friends united by their love of rallying - the fast-paced, high-adrenaline motorsport where cars tear down gravel and dirt roads. That same passion extended beyond the track to car care and detailing, both for their own vehicles and for rally cars.
Bertie brings deep technical expertise from his background in Automotive Engineering. Quentin contributes over 25 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, with a specialty in motorsport - having worked with an F1 team and multiple rallies, teams, and championships.
Both founders are car care enthusiasts who saw a major gap in the industry: sustainability. While many sectors have embraced eco-friendly practices, car detailing has lagged behind. Gloss Fuel aims to change that with innovative, low-waste solutions like our eco-conscious 'Refuel Packs', designed to reduce plastic waste.
In a market flooded with generic, white-label products from a few chemical giants, Gloss Fuel chose a different path. They partnered with a family-run chemical manufacturer with decades of experience crafting premium cleaning products. Together with their lead chemist, a fellow detailing enthusiast they’ve developed a custom range of high-performance products made specifically for passionate drivers.
Whether you're a weekend warrior, a driveway detailer, or a seasoned pro, Gloss Fuel delivers effective, authentic car care solutions with sustainability at the core. Try the range - and when you’re ready - refill, reuse, and refuel with the eco-friendly refuel packs.
Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner Overview
Ease of use of Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner is a super simple product to use. The RTU (Ready To Use) formula comes in a stout 500ml bottle with clear instructions and a high quality, foaming trigger. For maximum effectiveness, simply spray on to a cool, wheel and/or tyre, then allow the citrus foam to dwell for a couple of minutes. Agitate with brushes and/or a microfibre wheel mitt for the maximum deep-clean.
Benefits of Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
This Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner is non-acidic, non-caustic and safe to use on all wheel types, including delicate diamond cut alloys, chrome wheels and even wheels housing expensive carbon ceramic brake rotors.
It's also an effective tyre cleaner which starts working on contact, to cleanse and restore your tyre sidewalls to a clean, fresh, OEM like finish.
Value for Money of Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyres Cleaner is a ready to use product. This means that it's pre-diluted to the correct strength. A 500ml bottle with a foaming trigger costs £10.00. The foaming trigger means less of the product is required and it has a longer cling/working time.
To clean the alloy wheels of the average sized car, you would likely use approximately 55ml-75ml of product. This puts the cost per application at just £1.50 which is about average for a ready to use product in this category. Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner is also available in a 5 litre container for a cost of £40.00 putting the cost per application at just £0.60.
Cons of Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
If your wheels are already in really bad condition, are in need of a refurb and caked in years long baked on brake dust, then this wheel cleaner might not be strong enough for your needs. For everyone else, this could be the perfect, safe, go-to wheel and tyre cleaner.
Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner Overview
Ease of use of Sam’s Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
Sam’s Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner is extremely easy to use. Simply spray the ready to use formula on to your dirty alloy wheel and dirty tyre sidewall. Allow the product to dwell for a few minutes. As the product dwells, you should notice it change colour from a lime green foamy liquid to a brown foam. This indicates that the chemicals in the wheel and tyre cleaner is dissolving and lifting the dirt and grime.
After a couple of minutes, agitate the product and begin the contact clean. Make sure to clean both the wheel face and inner barrel. Use appropriate wheel woollies, brushes and microfibre mitts for the contact clean stage.
Benefits of Using Sam's Detailing Wheel Cleaner
The main benefit of using Sam's Detailing Wheel Cleaner is its raw cleaning power. This power enables it to thoroughly clean both steel or alloy wheels and tires equally well.
The typical way to thoroughly clean wheels would be to use a citrus degreaser or pre-wash first, then undertake a contact wash using a dedicated wheel cleaner or special wheel soap. Finally, the wheel would be decontaminated with an iron fallout remover and then rinsed clean.
Sam’s Detailing Wheel Cleaner Spray allows you to dispense with the pre-wash and wheel soap if you prefer. Just hit your grubby wheels with this powerful wheel cleaner, dwell, agitate, rinse and apply your favourite fallout remover if needed. Then a final rinse and you’re ready to dry and apply protection.
Value for Money of Sam’s Detailing Wheel Cleaner
A 500ml bottle of Sam’s Detailing costs £12.00. To clean four large alloy wheels (faces and inner barrels) and tire sidewalls takes approximately 60-80ml of product. The product is applied using a foaming trigger spray meaning less wheel cleaner is required for each wheel. This puts the cost per application at around £1.90 which represents decent value per use.
Cons of Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
This wheel cleaner is BRUTAL! Whilst it’s brutal on brake dust, brutal on road grime, and shifts dirt from tires like I’ve never seen before - be warned – it will eat through lightweight last stage protection products like waxes, glazes, detail sprays and even ceramic infused detailers. It's highly caustic and can easily damage delicate wheels, particularly diamond cut alloys where the clear coat is damaged.
Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner or Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner: Which should you choose?
The cleaning ability of Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner may look impressive on TikTok and Instagram but the reality can be quite alarming. If your wheels have any kerb damage, gutter rash or rock chips, then the caustic nature of this cleaner will react with the metal alloy of your wheel and the damage cannot be undone. Yes, it cleans. No, it's not safe to use in all circumstances. Buyer BEWARE!
In contrast, the Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner is non-acidic, non-caustic, and safe to use on all wheel types, even wheels sporting some battle damage. It's even safe enough to use on cars with carbon ceramic brakes. It's powerful, safe and has real cleaning ability on both wheels and tyres. don't believe us, then read what Pro-Detailer Magazine had to say when they put it on test.
Our Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner was tested on various wheels and tyres. The reviewers at Pro Detailer Magazine liked the lime scent, the non-caustic formula which is safe to use on all wheel types, including polished and diamond cut alloy wheels. Their verdict: "We tried it on various wheels and tyres, both with and without agitation, and it did a very good job. Real cleaning power, no sign of damage, and well-presented instructions and safety information."
"A five litre concentrate with a decent bottle to decant into would be nice to offer regular users a bit more value, but in 500ml form it is broadly competitive pricewise. We feel the aforementioned Kamitore edges it on performance, but that's twice the price and can't be used on delicate wheels, so Gloss Fuel have it on value and flexibility."
The best alternative to Sam's Detailing Wheel & Tyre Cleaner must be the Gloss Fuel Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner!
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Disclaimer: Both products tested were purchased and tested back-to-back by the reviewer. The review published here is the honest opinion of the product reviewer. All information and prices quoted were deemed to be correct at the time of publication. To notify us of any updates and/or corrections, please contact Gloss Fuel.
