Removing brake dust?

I have a chunk of buildup of brake dust on my front wheels. It is baked on to the wheel.

I had someone tell me with an abrasive compound and a toothbrush, I can get maybe 75% of it off with a lot of time and patience.
Another person told me, there is a heavy duty acetone, that you put on the brake dust, and it scrubs right off with a tooth brush. Acetone sounds dangerous for paint to me.

Any insights?

My 2nd option would be to plasti-dip my wheels to cover up the nasty brake dust. Would the brake dust affect the outcome of the look of the wheels after being pasti-dipped?

Have you tried heavy duty wheel cleaners?

You mind giving a name brand? And a possible example of a before/after?

The acid type wheel cleaner that big dealerships use to clean "serviced" cars. It is heavy duty stuff. You spray it all over the wheel, rinse it off, and VOILA, its clean. But didnt get brake dust off

a clay bar works surprisingly well.

Originally Posted by E46tknv

You mind giving a name brand? And a possible example of a before/after?

The acid type wheel cleaner that big dealerships use to clean "serviced" cars. It is heavy duty stuff. You spray it all over the wheel, rinse it off, and VOILA, its clean. But didnt get brake dust off

Sonax Full Effect does a good job. Megs Wheel Brightner is an acid based one so be careful with that. If it doesn't get it all off the first time, reapply it a couple more times. If those don't work, try to clay it off. If that doesn't work, get a microfiber towel and some aggressive compound and buff it off. It will take a while to get it all out by hand with compound so don't get discouraged.

Your other option is to wet sand the area with some 1000-1500 grit paper, then 2000 grit paper, and then buff it off with compound and polish. Use this as a last resort though.

Before and afters for example:
http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/7967...wheel-cleaner/

Well, the person who told me about the abrasive compound and toothbrush, also said that sonax will NOT get this off. This brake dust is baked on hard.

The before/after you sent, is not what I have. What that picture shows me, is someone with a couple day of brake dust that came off with chemicals. Brake dust comes off with soap and water. Baked on/Build up of brake dust, is what my wheels have.

Originally Posted by E46tknv

Well, the person who told me about the abrasive compound and toothbrush, also said that sonax will NOT get this off. This brake dust is baked on hard.

The before/after you sent, is not what I have. What that picture shows me, is someone with a couple day of brake dust that came off with chemicals. Brake dust comes off with soap and water. Baked on/Build up of brake dust, is what my wheels have.

Then head for the clay/compound/wet sand.

Originally Posted by E46tknv

Well, the person who told me about the abrasive compound and toothbrush, also said that sonax will NOT get this off. This brake dust is baked on hard.

The before/after you sent, is not what I have. What that picture shows me, is someone with a couple day of brake dust that came off with chemicals. Brake dust comes off with soap and water. Baked on/Build up of brake dust, is what my wheels have.

It would probably help everyone here is you posted up a pic or two of the baked on dust. There are a number of great products that do fantastic work on baked on brake dust on wheels without being aggressive to the wheel finish. Sonax and P21S are both great products and all you might need to do is let it soak in and use a "hard" toothbrush or wheel brush to break it up, soak it again and scrub it off.

Either way, post up a picture so everyone here can give you a good recommendation.

I hope everyone likes a big picture But this is the worst of 4 wheels. This chunk of gunk

I have the same problem on my polished iForged wheels...
That Sonax product looks pretty good!

bump

Originally Posted by E46tknv

I hope everyone likes a big picture But this is the worst of 4 wheels. This chunk of gunk

I think I would do the following:

1. Spray the Sonax and let it pool at the bottom in as large an area as you can.
2. After letting it sit for twice as long as the recommended time (I think the recommended is like 3-5 minutes), agitate it with a toothbrush
3. Let it sit again for a few minutes and agitate it again
4. Rinse
5. Turn the wheel so you can get another area where the Sonax can pool and sit and repeat 1-4

Let us know how it turns out.

Any local stores sell them? Or it has to be ordered online.

Originally Posted by E46tknv

Any local stores sell them? Or it has to be ordered online.

Amazon. I have yet to find it in stores.

Iron X and Iron X gel. It is basically a stronger version of Sonax, made not for regular wheel cleaning but removing baked on contamination without removing the finish. I think if you hit that area with a toothbrush and metal polish the finish would start to come off.

Detailed Image and Autogeek sell it. The gel will stay in the area for longer, the Iron X spray will hit the whole wheel. Sonax is good for maintenance.

So what your saying is I have iron stock on my wheel finish? and will definently take off this baked on contaminents?
I would just apply the gel and rinse?


If only there was a before/after of the situation similar to mine.

You will need to agitate with a brush or something, just follow the instructions. Also it may require more than one application- but it still is more conecntrated and better at removing Iron build up than the best of wheel cleaners (such as Sonax).

Results on the barrels of M68s...

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...MW-Brake-Dust!

Originally Posted by zhp43867

Results on the barrels of M68s...

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...MW-Brake-Dust!

Damnit he used it on the inside of the wheels. I dont understand why.

I will look into this Iron X Gel.
Should I get the gel OR spray

That was me- and it was because I did it on the outside of the wheels first, but didn't think to take pictures. The gel will work if you just have those spots- it is more concentrated and sticks better. The spray will be a better fit if the majority of the wheel is covered in brake dust staining.

can someone post up links on where to buy sonax and iron x products?