stupid brake dust goo problem

[vizwiz]

Shortly after I brought home my new Volvo S60R, I was trying different ways to keep the alloy wheels clean. I tried hosing a wheel off with water, followed by a wheel brush (with no detergent). Big mistake!



The brake dust collected up into some sort of sludge goo, and got wedged in the indented "R" on the wheel. I cannot find a way to get rid of this goo. I tried digging at it with a tooth brush, with multiple treatments of p21s wheel cleaner, and bug and tar remover. After several months of trying I`ve managed to get rid of some of the main goo, but the "R" still looks black instead of the desired silver.



I tried searching this forum for suggestions, but "brake dust goo" didn`t turn up anything. Does anyone have a suggestion for what to try for removing this completely?



TIA.

[37buckeye]

Welcome!



You may need to try something stronger on the wheels. As wheel cleaners go, P21S is fairly mild. I`ve had success with using Eagle One A2Z Wheel Cleaner and 2:1 diluted EF Hi-Intensity cleaner.



The key to these products is to apply them, agitate, and then rinse it out as soon as possible. Avoid having the wheel cleaners dry on the wheel surface.



Once you get the wheels nice and clean, try applying a good sealant on them. It makes future clean-up much easier. I use Klasse AIO and SG on my wheels. For the most part, I can use water with a bit of car wash shampoo to clean the wheels.



One more tip: if you click on the "Learn" link up top, David`s eBook has a chapter on detailing tires and wheels.



Good luck!

[Accumulator]

Use clay. If the goo is really tenacious you can use the wheel cleaner or EFHI (undiluted) as the clay-lube, but it`ll probably dissolve the clay pretty fast.

[togwt]

~One man’s opinion / observations ~



I usually use a citrus-based cleaner (P21S Total Auto Wash) and let it soak on the wheel surface, agitate with a soft brush and hose thoroughly, clay the wheel surface, then apply P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner(seems to be the stonger of the two) agitate and hose off.



~Hope this helps ~



* justadumbarchitect so I question everything *

Experience unshared is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

[armoredsaint]

Here is a great time saver and lessens your brake dusting too. Use a sealant/syn wax like Klasse AIO and SG, it resist heat and it protects those wheels too, but if you clean it just use car shampoo, because wheel cleaner will kill the sealant!

[Lowejackson]

If the clay does not work, try some brake cleaner and then try again with the clay. The brake cleaner will remove any sealent so you will need to reapply some.

[vizwiz]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I`ll give these a shot and, I am sure, eliminate the problem.

[vizwiz]

Thanks for the suggestions! I started with Accumulators suggestion of using clay since it seemed the least drastic and least "chemically". It worked great, took a little time, but the brake dust goo eventually flaked off nicely.



Autopians rule! :bow

[kempie]

I spent a bunch of money on wheel cleaners (A to Z w/Dawn battery powered scrubber brush worked best.) finally to realize that if I put on some good ceramic pads I would get rid of the dust problem. I did the pads and have saved almost enough in wheel cleaner to pay for the pads.

[4get gto]

I agree with kempie. I would sooner put my feet down like Fred Flintstone than to deal with brake dust......