Really persistent brake dust?

2StepsAhead

New member
I've been searching for an hour now, I keep seeing people fighting brake dust but I haven't seen anything like what I fought with yesterday. Car was a 2005 STi, factory silver BBS wheels...I sprayed on my wheel cleaner, started cleaning off the rest of the car...sprayed off the wheels after some light scrubbing and there were still little pieces of it stuck to the wheel...so I tried take a light brush and scrubbing more, didn't budge..so then I tried scraping it with my nails and it wouldn't budge. I was about to try steel wool but they're factory painted and didn't want to ruin anything...anyone have any suggestions?
 
Are you sure it's brake dust and not tar dots/speckles ...I'd try some Kerosene or WD-40 and see if that wipes/scrubs it off
 
The most aggressive, and effective, wheel cleaner I've ever used is the Meguiar's Wheel Brightner from their Detailer line. IMHO, if this stuff wont remove it nothing will.
 
I thought it was tar honestly because his fender was lined with it, but I put a little apc on a microfiber and rubbed the tar off the paint and it came off, tried the same for the wheel and it wouldn't budge. The tar was gummy/oily, this stuff was rock solid...seems to be like baked on there.
 
2StepsAhead said:
I thought it was tar honestly because his fender was lined with it, but I put a little apc on a microfiber and rubbed the tar off the paint and it came off, tried the same for the wheel and it wouldn't budge. The tar was gummy/oily, this stuff was rock solid...seems to be like baked on there.



I know EXACTLY the crap you're talking about...I'm pretty sure it's tar, it just bakes itself into wheels. Honestly the only way to get this stuff out is your fingernail...you say you already tried it, but how hard did you scrape? This stuff puts up a fight; you have to really scrape each speck off, then follow up with clay and/or APC. I'd advise against any steel wool on the wheels...fingernail takes awhile, but it works without too much damage.
 
hmm i have the same little dots on my rims. i thought it was because the previous owner didnt take care of them? ill have to try my tar remover and if that doesnt work... fingernail.
 
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