Best Brake Dust remover?

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tonygxp

New member
Guys, I picked up an '89 Trans Am with the gold cross laced 16" wheels. 2 owner car with only 67k miles on it. sent the leather seats out to get new leather and am putting all spohn suspension components in (weld-in subframe connectors, tubular chrome-moly tubular lower control arms front and rear, wonderbar, etc.etc.) I used aircraft stripper to pulled the 23yo clear off the wheels but i cannotget anything to take the caked on brake dust off the them...



I read some things about a product called "Iron X" but is this my only option? I've used brake cleaner, gas, compounds, degreasers, etc. and it only removed some (this is from the gold cross laced portion)..



any help would be appreciated.. I have access to a pressure washer but not a steam one, a regular gas 2600psi... is that too much? i believe they are "anodized" if that matters any?

thanks again

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tonygxp said:
I used aircraft stripper to pulled the 23yo clear off the wheels but i cannotget anything to take the caked on brake dust off the them...
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If aircraft stripper didn't pull the brake dust off along with the clear, I would probably just send the wheels off to be professionally refurbished/refinished.
 
didnt use the stripper on the gold cross lace section. does anyone know if i use the stripper on the anodized section if it will pull anything important (eg paint) off them or should i give that a shot next? was afraid to get the stripper on the gold fearing it may wreck them but maybe it won't pull the color off ??
 
tonygxp said:
didnt use the stripper on the gold cross lace section. does anyone know if i use the stripper on the anodized section if it will pull anything important (eg paint) off them or should i give that a shot next? was afraid to get the stripper on the gold fearing it may wreck them but maybe it won't pull the color off ??
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I was under the impression you already had done that based on your post, and frankly I was shocked it hadn't caused damage to the gold. If you haven't actually done that, then absolutely don't do it.



That being the case I would say go ahead with the IronX or something like Sonax FE to try eating through the brake dust.



Even still, I'd still consider just having the wheels professionally redone since you said you've stripped the finish off some portion of them.
 
I was able to isolate the stripper (aerosol can and foams up). I dismounted the tire, pulled the valve stem, etc. only issue remaining is the brake dust on the smaller cross laced areas. I can buy a new set but at over $800 it's a waist if i am just missing the right product. I still want to replace the windshield (starting to deliminated on the corners) and all the weatherstripping ($480 or so) the originals are obviously deteriorated. thanks



I fixed any imperfections on the polished lip once the clear was stripped (using 320 then 800, 1000, 1500 grit) some deep "nicks" were a PITA.. The wheels look incredible know except for the brake dust remnants lol
 
I got my wheels refinished inside and out (had bends, scratches, chips, etc.) and they look brand new, for only $125 per wheel. Here's some after shots (any spots are from the rain that day):



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i appreciate the effort but those wheels aren't anywhere near as time consuming as the cross laced GTA wheels lol. I am ordering the iron x and will attempt to clean them with it. if it fails then i will be out another $800+ for wheels.. the rear two are actually fine, its the front two causing all the issues. but replacing just the two front will look like crap unless i clear the old rears... just a PITA...
 
Iron x is great but Flash Brown Royal works great also. There are some really cool videos on you tube showing FBR at work. Good luck
 
got the iron x and it worked after about 7 or 8 applications (on one wheel) now i have to just use the iron x once every few days on the rest as it ran me down.. these little pockets in the wheels are a killer... thanks, again, 23 year old brake dust is broken up by iron x and a toothbrush. and yes, i tried EVERYTHING on earth with a toothbrush and it didn't do a thing including aerosol brake cleaner. I've never seen "brake cleaner" NOT take something out...
 
I recently picked up some Flash Brown Royal, and Sonax full effect. I havent tried the sonax yet because the FBR worked so well. If you can find it try it, its dirt cheap compared to other products. Its $20/1gal near me and im using it diluted 1:2. Even diluted it cleared up baked up dust on the inner surface of the wheel with almost no effort.
 
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