Caked on brake dust.....

C

chris03tl

New member
The alloy wheels on my I30 have a ton of brake dust caked (and probably baked) onto them (they were bought used so it wasnt my fault, I promise :) ). The faces of the wheels are great, but the insides of the wheels are pretty bad. Ive tried everything I could think of (clay, SSR1, SSR2.5, diluted SuperClean, etc) and the stuff just wont come off. When you run an applicator over it, you can "hear" the dryness.....almost like they werent clearcoated from the factory (very possible).



Since the rest of the wheels are already painted (argent silver), I was wondering if there is any way to just paint over the brake dust (I know, its not the true Autopia way, but paying to get the wheels refinished wouldnt be worth it). I assume Id need a pretty good primer to go over the dust thats already there, does such a thing exist? Its pretty trivial to do once its primed I suppose (Ive clearcoated the insides of wheels before to prevent this such thing from happening).



Thanks in advance!

-Chris
 
Chris, have you tried a dedicated wheel cleaner? Something strong like P21S gel or Meg's Wheel Brightener?
 
Ive tried both the new and old A2Z wheel cleaners, but I believe those arent acidic. Perhaps Ill try using an acidic cleaner first. I figured diluted Super Clean would be stronger, but maybe not. Ive also tried the green scotch brite pads and that didnt put a dent in it.



-Chris
 
The brakedust is metal. A strong acidic cleaner like Megs Wheel Brightner will literally melt away the brakedust in little as maybe 2 applications... No need to make a mess of your wheel with painting over it.
 
Get some fine grit Scotchbrite (white pad, i think).





New wheels are lacquered and are very strong against abrasions. It should work fine coupled with a strong wheel cleaner.
 
Read some past threads and it looks like Megs Wheel Brightener (and a little patience/elbow grease) might do the job.



One more question - since the front of my wheels are painted, I assume the acid is not so good for the paint? Any suggestions how to keep it from ruining the whole thing?



-Chris
 
Picked up a bottle of Eagle One "Etching Mag Wheel Cleaner". Bottle shows the ingredients as 3 different acids.



Should this work OK in place of Megs? I dont need a gallon of the stuff (once *if* it works, I plan on taking immaculate care of the wheels).



Thanks!

-Chris
 
I went at the inside with a scotchbrite pad with EO all-wheel-and-tire cleaner before hand. It's still a nice workout, but I got it looking very nice. Who cares about 'swirls' on the back of a wheel anyway?
 
I spent some time on my wife's 2000 Sentra, cleaning the brake dust out from the inside of the wheel. She bought the car new back in '99, and we have never once cleaned out the insides before.

I found I had excellent results with the CG wheel cleaner through a process of spritz-scrub-repeat. It wasn't a spray on & rinse off miracle product, but with a nylon bristle brush it actually came off with very little effort.



The hardest part was just reaching the surface well with the brush. I have all four wheels off today for getting the rotors turned, so I'm going to finish up the job and put some sealant on while they're off :)
 
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