Getting brake dust off of rims.

[liquidtiger720]

How do you guys go about getting the brake dust off your rims? - the baked in ones. I tried claybar, and it got some off, but some of it is stubborn.

~ Is it okay if i just go about and use PB wheel sealant on top of these and hope more do not accumulate?

[GregCavi]

your going to want to look into an acidic wheel cleaner. I woudl start with meguiars hot rims. Try a couple tries with that and if that doesnt work then try something with a little more balls. I use meguiars wheel brightener diluted 3:1 and have no trouble getting all the gunk off. I think that would do the trick and then you can polish and seal up the wheels. I wouldnt reccomend sealing over the brake dust.

Greg

[Brenton]

I use commercial grade Zep Alum E, I believe it is a HydroFlouric acid. I use it at about 1:4 keeping everything wet. It is recommended at max 1:5, and probably 1:10 would do the home user.
There are other things out there, but acid works.
I`m a little unsure about acid on alloy, so I use a commercial degreaser at 1:2.

[JeffM]

What kind of rims are they?

[joyriide1113]

if acid doesnt work dont quit there. it might just be that the clay bar mostlikely doesnt have enough bite. most claybars at stores are "fine grade". try looking for a medium grade claybar. they`re more aggressive but tend to marr the finish a bit. but since they`re going to be on u`re rims, maybe that really wont be a problem.

[liquidtiger720]

What kind of rims are they?

The are the wheels seen here. Racing Dyanamics RD2`s 18x8.5 front and 18x9.5 rear.




Its not so much the bulk of brake dust...its just little specks of brake dust that I can`t seem to have embedded and baked themselves in.

I`m trying to stay away from acid, as these wheels are painted, and...well, I`ll be cleaning them at least 1 every week. The brake dust still likes to get embedded into the paint.

What brand/type of claybar do you reccomend? I currently have pinnicle poly-clay bars.

I`ll try a light polish on it the next time around.

thanks for the help so far.


Oh yea. last thing. What would you rather use- a towel and spraying water on the wheel, or some sort of wheel brush- for general cleaning of the wheel.

[joyriide1113]

wheel acid is safe on painted rims. just keep the wheel wet, dwell for 30 seconds. rinse. repeat if nessecary. just makesure its wet before.

go down to your advance or w/e and pick up meguiars hot rims.

[top detailer]

A few things one needs to remember when using acid.
1. use a dergreaser with the acid cleaner. The degreaser neutralizes the acid.
2. Acid can be very dangerous to your health, please be careful.
3. Acid will not harm chrome rims, however, it can damage aluminum coated rims. Remember to keep them wet, don`t let the acid sat longer than 10 seconds

I use a non acid wheel cleaner for brake dust call MAGnificant. Works really great.

[Miami_Sunset]

i recommend the SPray N Rinse full blast. but first wet your rims and the spray onto the rim let the S&R do the magic for 30-60 secs. then pressure hoze it down and just wipe off with a cloth. :punk:

[liquidtiger720]

and these products will actually get the imbedded brake dust out?

Ok, im gonna give them a try anyhow. Thanks for the help guys.

[Brenton]

Are these "repainted" rims? If so, it could be that the brake dust has been sealed in behind the paint.

[liquidtiger720]

Are these "repainted" rims? If so, it could be that the brake dust has been sealed in behind the paint.

Nope. Brand new.

[Brenton]

Nope. Brand new.

It was just a thought. Too bad brand new rims aren`t, well, brand new. :down:

[liquidtiger720]

woah. that hot rims stuff really gets the brake dust off easy. Embedded stuff is still there of course. I hope this stuff dosn`t fade the rims in the future- these suckers get cleaned weekly.

[SA Detailer]

I just use Simple Green.