JML Mantis Perfect Wheels and Wheel Brush

September 2011

Price: £9.99 (cleaner); £7.99 (brush)
Contact: www.mantis-performance.com

Before you use a wheel wax from our group test, you’ll need to give your wheels a thorough clean. And if you don’t have a hosepipe, the new Mantis Perfect Wheels waterless cleaner from JML could be just the answer.

Each squirt of the 500ml spray bottle delivers a small amount of foam. But as there’s no way to adjust the flow or shut off the cap when not in use, it could leak if left in the boot.

Application is simple, though. We sprayed a liberal amount of cleaner on to our alloys, and left it to soak. The foam worked instantly, lifting grime.

We then dried the rim with a microfibre cloth, and checked which areas needed more work with the Mantis Wheel Brush.

This large-handled tool has big yellow bristles and cleaned our alloy without damaging the lacquer. Yet the large tip will struggle to fit into tight gaps between spokes.

The non-acidic formula left a good shine, and our dirty cloth showed how much grime it had shifted. But the Mantis products aren’t great value.

Our current Best Buy, Wonder Wheels, offers double the formula and a small brush for the same price as the Perfect Wheels cleaner alone.