Private Label · Exterior

Wheel & Tire Wipes

We manufacture private label wheel cleaning wipes and tire wipes on an 80 gsm needlepunch substrate tough enough to survive a rim — an alkaline degreaser face for brake dust and road film, and a water-based tire dressing face that applies an even satin sidewall with no applicator pad and no sling.

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All Automotive Wipes

ACID-FREE · WATER-BASED DRESSING · NO SLING · MADE IN THE USA

Individually wrapped private label wheel cleaning wipes and tire wipes manufactured by Phoenix Wipes

Base

Alkaline degreaser + tire dressing

Format

Dual-sided, individually sealed

Finish

Clean rim, satin sidewall

Shelf life

24 months

How it works

How to get brake dust off wheels without damaging the finish

Brake dust is not dirt. It is hot metallic iron — particles shed from the pad and the rotor at several hundred degrees, which land on the wheel and partially embed themselves in the clear coat. That single fact explains everything people find confusing about wheel cleaning: why rinsing does nothing, why a wheel that looks clean still has orange specks under bright light, and why the dust on the inside barrel is always worse than on the face. You are not removing a layer; you are removing something that has keyed itself into a surface.

There are two chemistries that actually work on embedded iron and it is worth being straight about both. Acid cleaners — hydrofluoric or ammonium bifluoride — dissolve it fast and will also etch polished, anodised and bare-aluminium finishes permanently, which is why professional shops keep them away from anything they cannot replace. Iron removers use a thioglycolate that reacts selectively with iron, turning visibly purple as it works, and are safe on every wheel finish. They are also slow, smell strongly, and need dwell time and a rinse — which makes them a bay product, not a wipe.

So here is the honest scope of a wheel wipe, and it is the reason ours is built the way it is. It is a maintenance product: an alkaline degreaser face with a scrub-textured 80 gsm needlepunch removes fresh brake dust, road film and rubber residue before any of it bakes in, and it does that anywhere, without water. It will not lift iron that has been embedded for two years — nothing you wipe on and off in thirty seconds will. Used weekly, it means the deep clean is never needed. The second face carries a water-based tire dressing, and water-based matters: solvent and silicone dressings sling onto the paint on the first mile and brown the sidewall over a season by leaching the rubber’s own antiozonant.

At a glance

✓Acid-free — safe on alloy, painted, polished and clear-coated wheels

✓Alkaline degreaser face for fresh brake dust and road film

✓Water-based tire dressing face — no sling, no browning

✓80 gsm needlepunch with a scrub texture that survives a rim

✓Works with no water supply, so it travels to the vehicle

Not for: baked-on embedded iron — that needs a dwell-time iron remover and a rinse. We will say so rather than sell you the wrong thing.

Applications

Where wheel & tire wipes are used

Wheels are the exterior surface that degrades fastest and is judged hardest, and the one job most often done away from a hose.

Mobile and on-site detailing

The core use case. Mobile operators frequently work in car parks with no water supply, where a wipe is the only wheel product that functions at all.

Dealership forecourt presentation

Wheels and tyres are what make a parked car photograph well, and a forecourt is refreshed daily rather than washed.

Rental and car-share turnaround

A satin sidewall reads as “just prepared” to the next renter for the cost of one wipe.

Retail detailing kits

Tire dressing is a top-selling exterior category; delivering it on a wipe removes the applicator pad, the mess and the sling complaint in one move.

Motorcycle and powersports

Small, intricate wheels where a spray-and-rinse product is impractical and overspray onto a disc is a real hazard.

Fleet weekly maintenance

Preventing bake-on is far cheaper than remediating it across a fleet, and a weekly wipe is a task a driver will actually do.

Specifications

Wheel & tire wipe specifications

This is the heaviest substrate in our automotive range, and the only dual-sided product — the two faces are impregnated separately on the line.

Degreaser face	Alkaline surfactant blend, pH 10–11, acid-free
Dressing face	Water-based polymer emulsion, silicone-free option
Alternative actives	pH-neutral thioglycolate iron-remover version (dwell required)
Substrate	Needlepunch nonwoven, 80 gsm, scrub-textured one face
Standard sheet sizes	8″ × 10″ · 10″ × 12″
Saturation	6.0–9.0 g per sheet, adjustable
Coverage	One sheet per wheel and tyre in normal soiling
Wheel compatibility	Alloy, painted, clear-coated, polished, chrome
Sidewall finish	Satin standard; low-gloss and high-gloss options
Sling behaviour	None at recommended saturation — water-based system
Shelf life	24 months unopened
MOQ	Flexible — pilot runs through to container volume

Packaging formats

Single sachet1 wipe per sealed sachet
Sachet carton50 / 100 / 200 per box
Flow-wrap strip10-wipe perforated strip
Canister30–80 wipes, resealable lid
Softpack25–50 wipes, flip-top seal
Bulk caseCustom count, master-carton labelled

Sachet printing is full-colour on both sides with space for your barcode, lot code and any regulatory panel. Artwork proofs come back within 48 hours, and the single-sachet format is the one that travels — it is what dealerships, rental desks and forecourts hand out.

Comparison

Wheel & tire wipes vs. the rest of the automotive range

This is the only product in the range built for a hot, abrasive, heavily soiled surface — which is why it is the only one on an 80 gsm needlepunch rather than a spunlace.

Product	Formula base	Safe on	Leaves	Substrate
Car Interior Cleaning Wipes	Water-based surfactant, alcohol- and bleach-free	Plastic, vinyl, rubber, sealed trim, fabric	Clean matte finish, no film	45 gsm spunlace, embossed
Leather & Vinyl Car Wipes	pH-neutral emulsion cleaner + conditioner	Coated (pigmented) leather, leatherette, vinyl	Satin sheen, never greasy	60 gsm spunlace, soft-embossed
Glass & Windshield Wipes	Fast-flash alcohol blend, ammonia-free	Glass, mirrors, aftermarket tint film	Dry, streak-free, no lint	50 gsm low-lint hydroentangled
Dashboard & Trim Wipes	Water-based + UV absorber, silicone-free	Dashboards, door cards, textured plastic	Factory matte — no gloss, no glare	45 gsm spunlace, embossed
Wheel & Tire WipesThis page	Alkaline degreaser one side, tire dressing the other	Alloy, painted and clear-coated wheels; rubber	Clean rim; even satin sidewall	80 gsm needlepunch, scrub-textured
Screen & Infotainment Wipes	De-ionised water + trace surfactant, no alcohol or ammonia	Touchscreens, instrument clusters, coated displays	No streak, oleophobic coating intact	30 gsm microfibre-blend, ultra-low-lint
Hand Cleaning Wipes	d-limonene degreaser + emollient, no pumice	Skin — hands and forearms	Clean and dry, not tacky	70 gsm dual-texture, scrub side
Waterless Wash Wipes	High-lubricity polymer emulsion, encapsulating	Clear coat, paint, glass, exterior trim	Gloss, dirt encapsulated and lifted	90 gsm large-format, high wet strength

Wheel and tire wipe impregnation and sachet sealing line in the USA

Private Label & OEM

The wipe that is also the applicator

The strongest commercial argument in this category is that a dressing wipe removes the applicator pad from the customer’s hands and the sling from their paintwork — two of the three complaints that drive returns on spray tire products. We build it dual-sided or single-purpose, at the gloss level your market expects, and we will run the degreaser and dressing as separate SKUs if you would rather sell two.

✓Dual-sided, or degreaser and dressing as separate SKUs

✓Sidewall gloss level specified by you, satin through high-gloss

✓Silicone-free dressing option for sling-sensitive customers

✓Heavier 100 gsm substrate available for commercial vehicle wheels

✓FOB, EXW and DDP terms — we handle the paperwork

FAQ

Wheel & tire wipes FAQ

What actually dissolves brake dust?

Only two things reliably. Acid cleaners based on hydrofluoric acid or ammonium bifluoride dissolve embedded iron in seconds and will permanently etch polished, anodised and bare-aluminium wheels — professionals use them narrowly and carefully. Thioglycolate iron removers react selectively with iron, turn purple as they work, and are safe on every finish, but they need several minutes of dwell and a rinse. A surfactant-based wheel cleaner or wipe removes fresh dust and road film very well, and does not remove iron that has already keyed into the clear coat.

Will WD-40 or dish soap remove brake dust?

Dish soap removes the loose surface layer and nothing that is embedded, and used regularly it strips any sealant that was slowing the build-up. WD-40 is a penetrating oil — it will make the wheel look better temporarily by wetting the residue, then attract more dust to the oily film and, worse, it must never reach a brake disc or pad. Neither is a wheel cleaner; both are what people reach for when the actual product is not to hand.

Can a wipe really clean a wheel, or do I need a spray and a brush?

A wipe does maintenance; a spray and brush do remediation. If the wheels are cleaned weekly, brake dust never gets hot enough for long enough to embed, and a degreaser wipe keeps them permanently presentable with no water. If they have been neglected for a season, you need dwell time and a rinse, and we will tell you that rather than sell you a wipe for it. The wipe’s real advantage is that it works in a car park, at a forecourt, or beside a customer’s vehicle.

Why is your tire dressing water-based rather than solvent?

Two reasons a customer notices. Solvent and silicone dressings are thin enough to fling off the tyre in the first mile and land on the paintwork as a stubborn spatter — the single most common complaint about tire shine. And over a season they leach the antiozonant waxes out of the rubber, which is what turns a sidewall brown and cracks it prematurely. Water-based polymer dressings stay where they are put and leave the rubber’s own protection intact. They give slightly less initial gloss, which we consider a fair trade.

Are wheel wipes safe on chrome and polished aluminium?

Ours are, because they are acid-free. That is the whole risk in this category: acid wheel cleaners are what stain chrome and permanently cloud polished and anodised finishes, and the damage is not reversible by polishing. Anything sold as a fast-acting wheel cleaner should be checked for acid content before it goes near a wheel you cannot replace.

Do you make a wipe just for tire shine, without the cleaner?

Yes, and for retail it is often the better SKU. A single-purpose dressing wipe is simpler to explain on a pack, it lets you run a larger sheet for the sidewall, and it targets the buyer looking for tire shine with an applicator rather than for a wheel cleaner. Most of our dealership and rental customers take the dual-sided version, while retail programmes usually split them.