While acid-based cleaners pack the greatest cleaning punch they can easily etch the surface of your wheel if allowed to dry. Care must be taken not to use acid cleaners on wheels with pitted or chipped surfaces. The acid will migrate into any fissures and accentuate flaking and peeling of surface coatings. These are mild solutions of alkaline solvent, usually ethylene glycol, with a wetting agent. These solutions creep under the dirt and brake dust, loosening and lifting surface grime.
Water washes away the natural oils in rubber that keep it elastic.
Formaldehyde and petroleum distillates act as a solvent, eating rubber on contact. To protect against ozone and UV damage, a stabilizer molecule called a competitive absorber is blended with the tire polymer. Competitive absorbers work by capturing and absorbing UV radiation and converting it to heat which is dissipated harmlessly. All tire manufacturers use the same competitive absorber, called carbon black . This is why all tires are black.