Removing heavy brake dust

L

Lowejackson

New member
The plastic covered foglights on my Alfa are covered in stone chips, can plastic be polished in some way to remove or reduce these marks.



I have tried using a paint polish but with no joy, could wet & dry sanding help or would this make things worse.



Steven

Alfa 164
 
You cannot fix chips but hazing and scratches can be removed by buffing (electric makes it faster and better) with a fine abrasive. I use 3M Finesse It II on all plastic lenses front and back. It makes a huge difference.
 
hey gimp,

wow that brings back some memories. i remember when huy detailed that supra and posted pics on autopia a while back. that is an excellent article btw. huy definately knows his stuff.
 
I've had pretty good luck wet sanding plastic lenses, starting with 400 grit and working up to 2000 grit, then re-polishing with a good polish. That said, I just plunked down $300 for new lenses for the 911 (ouch!). Doing the M3 last year was even worse.
 
Sidebar:



If you were to install the Xpel can it be removed when it gets all funky or does it not get funky and if it does not get funky can they make it into a liquid clearcoat?



Just something to think about. Like unobtainium materials!
 
I am going to be working on this 5 series next weekend. The owner stopped over last night and as you can see the wheels are covered in brake dust. I decided to clean one of the wheels to get an idea what I was up against. The top layer of dust came off pretty easy but between the spoke there is a lot of caked on brake dust that going to be difficult to remove not to mention what is on the inside of the wheel. I need some suggestions on what to use to remove the heavy caked on stuff. I tried some mild clay on the problem areas but it is not going to touch it. I should have taken some pics of the wheel after I did the first cleaning.
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Thanks for the help
 
Those are some of the worst rims I have seen in years. Try Optimum Power Clean, Eimann Fabrik Hi-Intensity Cleaner or Meguiar's D140 Wheel Brightener. One of these should do the trick. Man those are some nasty rims!:wizard:
 
That's some caked on dust!!! Unfortunately, many Beemers look like that.

I really like Purple Power (4:1 with water) for brake dust. Spray, let dwell for a couple minutes, scrub with a wheel brush, rinse, scrub with car wash soap, rinse. Then claybar.
 
Your going to need to remove those wheels from the car to get them back right. On top of that, you could spend at least an hour per wheel to clean them. I wouldn't do it unless I was being paid by the hour

I usually talk a client out of doing this unless they have purchased it used and promise me they will not let them get in this condition again. Its just a total waste of time, money and effort if they are not going to keep them looking right. Not to mention the health hazard you will be facing using multiple chemicals

Hope this response brings you comfort :biggrin:
 
Oh yeah, I am already prepared to take the wheels off. Any good tips on using Meg's wheel brightener. I understand that it is some pretty stong stuff.

Thanks for the help I will keep you posted. Oddly the paint does not look that bad considering. I guess that is one of the upsides of "not" washing a car.
 
I have used gallons of Wheel Brightener, its good stuff.

Fill up a five gallon bucket with hot soapy water and toss all your brushes in there, then spray the wheel with water, spray a liberal amount of Wheel Brightener on the wheels and let it dwell.

Then be prepared to agitate and repeat the process several times.
 
broker99 said:
Oh yeah, I am already prepared to take the wheels off. Any good tips on using Meg's wheel brightener. I understand that it is some pretty stong stuff.

Thanks for the help I will keep you posted. Oddly the paint does not look that bad considering. I guess that is one of the upsides of "not" washing a car.
Click to expand...
Be very careful working with MWB...strong acid. Wear eye protection and gloves.
 
Sonax Wheel Cleaner full effect

The best of both worlds; the cleaning power of an acid wheel cleaner with a (safe) pH of 7.5 by using a neutralised acid salt; neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base (alkaline) producing a salt and neutralized base; common examples include acetic acid and sulphuric acid (hence the red colour, which is a chemical reaction (oxidisation) with the metal particles) forming a miscible emulsion that can be rinsed away and the smell (sulphur) It starts off green, then red and then to blood red, leave it on for a minute, agitate and rinse.
 
TOGWT said:
Sonax Wheel Cleaner full effect

The best of both worlds; the cleaning power of an acid wheel cleaner with a (safe) pH of 7.5 by using a neutralised acid salt; neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base (alkaline) producing a salt and neutralized base; common examples include acetic acid and sulphuric acid (hence the red colour, which is a chemical reaction (oxidisation) with the metal particles) forming a miscible emulsion that can be rinsed away and the smell (sulphur) It starts off green, then red and then to blood red, leave it on for a minute, agitate and rinse.
Click to expand...

I have seen this stuff in action. It really is an amazing product.
 
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