CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

[joebeadg]

Hi guys, I hope someone has an answer. 2004 mach 1 mustang, 2 wheels have caked on brake dust, haven't been cleaned in a long time. How can I get it off? I've tried clay, it will do it, if I spend MANY hours per wheel, a meguires guy told me to try swirlX, didn't touch it. Anyone have any ideas, thank you in advance, Joe

[Calais]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

Hi guys, I hope someone has an answer. 2004 mach 1 mustang, 2 wheels have caked on brake dust, haven't been cleaned in a long time. How can I get it off? I've tried clay, it will do it, if I spend MANY hours per wheel, a meguires guy told me to try swirlX, didn't touch it. Anyone have any ideas, thank you in advance, Joe

Are the aluminum? Chrome? Clear-coated?

If they are not aluminum get ahold of some Wheel Brightener from the detailer line. Or go with All Wheel Cleaner, Aluminum Wheel Cleaner or Chrome Wheel Cleaner depending on which one suits your wheel type. You can get any of those at your local auto accessory store.

[ColonelCash]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

If it's that bad, have you tried taking it to a coin-op car wash and spraying it down with the wheel / engine cleaner they have? That stuff is pretty strong, would clean a considerable amount with minimal investment. My Volvo is really bad about brake dust and I have to do this every other week (when I'm not washing it)

Also, the Hot Rims Cleaner is a good product. If you have a Big Lots near you, its usually pretty cheap for a bottle.

[joebeadg]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

Sorry, I should have said the're clearecoated alum.

[Steve@HB]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

What kind of wheels do you have? It makes a difference because you can easily make a mess out of your wheels if you use the wrong product or item. So, do you have:

1. Polished Chrome
2. Polished Aluminum
3. Non-polished (bright) Aluminum
4. Painted
5. Factory Clear-coated (Think Corvette's Competition Silver wheels)

Once you know the above, you can begin by reading the product description for Meguiar's wheel cleaners. They have cleaners for specific types of wheels (r.e. above) or for all types of wheels. In the past I have been successful with the following on polished chrome wheels as well as light-polished aluminum wheels that were "caked" with brake dust. However, I do not recommend the following it is just something that I was successful with.

I bought a box of dishwashing Brillo soap pads. Soaked one in warm water while applying light coat of Meguiar's all-wheel cleaner. Then took the soap pad and lightly agitated the brake dust until it simply disappeared. If you go here, be careful! Test a very small section before continuing and then be patient. I did not scar, scratch, or otherwise damage my wheels. Perhaps I was lucky. I don't know. I do know this: don't even think about using this procedure on painted or clear-coated wheels. You'll be crying for a month!

Good luck.

[james0509]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

Try to find a "wheel polish" that is for your wheels. It should say on the product label what type of wheels the polish is for. I don't recommend Black Magic Wheel polish though, didn't do much to my rims

[joebeadg]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

Problem is, almost all these cleaners say good for all wheels, then you read the fine print, and find out not for this wheel and not for that wheel. I have a megiars product that says OK for clearcoated wheels, but one of their techs told me he wouldln't recomend using it. So, are my wheels shot from having brake dust on them?

[Murr1525]

Re: CAKED ON brake dust HELP!

The All Wheel Cleaner or the Aluminum Wheel Cleaner would be fine, the All Wheel being stronger.

I would also second the idea of the coin-op place, and giving them a good blasting with their strong soaps. Even take along the Meguiars wheel cleaner, and a brush, and spray and scrub some more, etc.

I have used #105 on my wheels, similar to Ultimate Compound, for a little heavy duty cleaning every year or two.