keeping the inside of my wheels clean...

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Dinzdale40

New member
I'm preparing my car for a meet next week. I have cleaned everything i can think of but I have seen the amount of brake dust that my wheels will produce from just one trip. I don't mind cleaning the face of the wheels, but the insides are almost impossible to clean on site. I was thinking of taking the wheels off and lining them with painters tape so that when i got there i could just take the tape off and they would be perfect except for wiping the face of them off. I can reach my hand all the way to the back of the rim to take it off, would this be good...any tips or pointers?
 

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Personally I would install ceramic pads if you have a brake dust problem. But for a car show go to your local artist or pottery store and buy a sponge stick and/or spongette and you should be able to clean up your wheels fairly quickly and easily. They come in different sizes/lengths. Pictures of what they look like below:



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Changing to the more expensive brake pads has saved me $$.

I can now clean the wheels w/car wash soap instead of the expensive p21 stuff. I do still need some wheel cleaner once a month or so but I can get by w/Eagle.
 
Sci-Fi said:
go to your local artist or pottery store and buy a sponge stick and/or spongette and you should be able to clean up your wheels fairly quickly and easily. They come in different sizes/lengths.
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Sci-Fi



How long to these last? I've been using a cheap Wally Word dish sponge on a handle. It works well but it's to large to fit between the brake caliper and rim. At least on the front.
 
i'll try and find some more ways to get the wheels clean too, def. search out the pottery places for the sponges on sticks. I'm gonna put the painters tape on the inside of one rim tomorrow, then try to get it off with the wheel remounted, if it works good, i'll report back after doing it to the rest of my wheels..........
 
PAW said:
Sci-Fi



How long to these last? I've been using a cheap Wally Word dish sponge on a handle. It works well but it's to large to fit between the brake caliper and rim. At least on the front.
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Well, we're not talking about a lot of money buying these pottery tools. $1.00-3.00 at most for the handle and sponge. At a car show, these tools are handy for a last minute cleanup of your rims and cleaning/dressing wheelwells. Longevity of the sponge depends on how dirty the wheels are. But you can mount or make the sponge any size you want and since they don't cost a lot, you can consider them disposable. A foam paint brush works as well but the reach and width/thickness of the handle may be a problem. The 1"X1"X3-4"L sponge works well on BBS GT2 spider pattern like rims, especially if the owner is wary about scratches on the finish from a brush. If the clearance between the caliper and rim is that tight, just move the car forward/backward a foot or 2 to clear the area covered by the caliper to clean the rest of the rim.



IMHO, rims should be removed at least once a year to properly clean the back/inside of brake dust and dirt. Before a car show, I would schedule a cleaning at least week beforehand, just in case you need to claybar the rims and polish&wax, clean the caliper or find other problems that need extra time to correct. For you last minute folks, wear some dish washing gloves/mechanic gloves to keep your hands clean. Last thing you want is your hands to look like a 24/7 garage mechanic (no offense intended) at a car show or even for a regular customer.
 
the painters tape didn't work all that well, the tape just wouldn't stick to the inside of the rims while i was installing it. so i guess i'll take my chances going to the show, it's only 15 miles or so of driving.....



Here's some pics of the wheel wells I did today........
 

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Some suggestions:



You need to have a sealant or wax on the alloys. Not only will the alloy look great, but you will pick up less brake dust and removing what is there, will be a lot easier.



I then clean my wheels inside and out at events using Final Inspection, a Griots 3 Finger Sponge and for the hard to reach areas some Griots Foam Swobs . I then finish by wiping the wheel down with a micro fiber cloth.



If the wheel is very inaccessable then you can try some Griots Micro Fiber Dusting Gloves . Use a set wet with Final Inspection and a set dry for drying.



Finally cans of compressed air are great for drying.
 
I have very wide spoke 17" wheels on my Audi, I got them specifically so they will be easy to clean :D. I use a sheepskin mitt reserved especially for the wheels and wipe them downafter every drive. It goes by very quickly :D :up
 
Those sponges on a stick just gave me an idea to do an easier job dressing the back sides of my tires :D
 
I cant put into words just how well Klasse SG ( 4x) has kept the insides of my wheels clean this winter.....



If you have the chance with new wheels or can take your wheels off to apply I highly recomend it
 
This is one reason when i try to pick wheels that are easy to clean. Like other have said you can try better brake pads or waxing them. I use Axxis Ultimates on my cars and like them. Other then that you're just going to have to come up with a way of cleaning them.
 
Nice job on the wheel wells:up



I agree with JB that a good sealant wax will make cleanup significantly easier.



I know I'll get flamed for this but......a can of compressed air will blow a good deal of brake dust off of your wheels before you even start wiping. Then use a dedicated MF and a detail spray to clean the remainder of dust.



When it's time to change the brake pads definitely consider a set of ceramic low dust pads. Good luck at the show.
 
Dinzdale40- Yeah, good job :xyxthumbs



I'm with JB in Irvine on this, this is one time Griot's products are well worth the cost (and I've seen some of this stuff elsewhere, too).



The Griot's swabs that he linked to are how I clean the back/inside of my wheels. They (just) fit between the calipers and the wheels on all of *MY* current cars. It's easy enough to do after a few weeks of driving, so doing a quick cleanup at the show should be a piece of cake.
 
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