Help with brake dust on wheels

A

Allnitro

New member
My wife's daily driver is a '05 Honda CRV. I'm not sure if the wheels are steel or an aluminum alloy. I'm going to guess steel, they have a rough texture and don't shine like chrome, more subtle.



There is a brown substance around most of the spokes that I'm having trouble getting out. I've tried scrubbing with quite a few wheel cleaners now with little success. Agressive scrubbing, pressure washer, nothing seems to budge it.



Any suggestions? Is this a lost cause? The car is in pretty good shape until you look down.
 
I just had this problem on a 08 Mustang GT. I used “Never Dull� and it worked great. It’s time consuming using this in the fact you’re cleaning the rims with small swatches of cotton by hand/fingers. Make sure you wear protective gloves; the chemical will make your nails very dry and brittle.
 
Here's a picture of what I'm up against. The face of the spokes are polished and come clean, but the rough texture on the sides has me stumped. Any suggestions? I could buy new wheels, but this is good experience for me to try and whip this. Thanks.



hondawheel005.jpg
 
If a 50/50 mix of pure simple green and dishwashing soap can't remove it, you probably need to polish it. Use a good paint polish like scratch-x or M105 if you need some tough cleaning ability and it should polish off those wheels great. Those wheels are clear coated so you don't want to use harsh metal polishes. Those don't look that bad really.
 
Based on what I can see on your rotors and esp. the calipers, your car has a ton of rust. I wonder if that discoloration is not brake dust, grease/film/tar, but rather rust? That said, I don't see wheel cleaner helping if that is the case.



Would various grades of polish help?
 
That looks like rust stains from the rotors. I've seen rusty water leave stains like that on unprotected paint. Rusty water meaning rain dripping from rusty metal. Place I used to live at had a shared carport with a rusty roof that leaked. The rain water that leaked down from the roof would stain my neighbor's Maxima. My neighbor would always ask me why his car got stained brown and not mine. Simply answered, my vehicle always had wax on it.
 
I want to both thank and curse those that offered help. To the guys that suggested it was rust, I think you nailed it. Paint polish has been the only thing that would budge this. I went at it with Menz IP followed with 805rd all by hand. It worked pretty well and I learned something here, but what a chore. I shut it down after 2.5 hours, that was enough for today.



I would say I got them at about 80% and I'll post pics when the rest of the vehicle is done. I don't plan to do it right now, but the only way to really do this right is to take each wheel off, scrape down the rotors and calipers, and do the same process to the backs of the wheels. Why do I have this niggling feeling that I will end up doing this once the rest of the car is loking good because my eyes will find it every time I look at them.



Anyway, thanks for the education, as arduous as it was.
 
Allnitro said:
I want to both thank and curse those that offered help. To the guys that suggested it was rust, I think you nailed it. Paint polish has been the only thing that would budge this. I went at it with Menz IP followed with 805rd all by hand. It worked pretty well and I learned something here, but what a chore. I shut it down after 2.5 hours, that was enough for today.



I would say I got them at about 80% and I'll post pics when the rest of the vehicle is done. I don't plan to do it right now, but the only way to really do this right is to take each wheel off, scrape down the rotors and calipers, and do the same process to the backs of the wheels. Why do I have this niggling feeling that I will end up doing this once the rest of the car is loking good because my eyes will find it every time I look at them.



Anyway, thanks for the education, as arduous as it was.
Click to expand...





I am sorry I was right lol :(. I guessed it might be rust since your rotors and calipers were extrmeley rusty, substantially more rusty than mine. Out of curiosity, what state do you live in and are you doing something to remove the rust off the calipers?



I am shocked that an 05 could pick up surface rust like that so fast. Good new is I bet you could get most of it off with hard work as you appear to be finding out...
 
From what i see on the pictures you got some aluminum alloy wheels there in it does look like the rust is settling onto the clear coat. The wheels are not at any danger just the paint. At least I'm pretty sure bout that due to aluminum doesn't rust.



Like the others that stated you might need to polish that out. But do it whenever you get a chance to take the wheels off for a few days. Once you polish them put some sealant or wax on them so keep them protected so next time you clean the grime and brake dust from the wheels its less work on you.
 
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