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Pretty good way to clean brake dust from inside of wheels.

Flood

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Messages
339
Location
Somerset County, Pennsylvania
I was cleaning the insides of my wheels yesterday to try to remove the brake dust. After several tries with heavy duty degreasers and brushes, brake cleaner, and everything else I could think of, I decided to give something more interesting a try. Comet cleanser and a stiff bristled brush with a small amount of water turned out to be the winner. It takes buildups right off and makes the rims look like new again inside. I probably wouldn't use it on the outside though, since comet contains a moderate amount of bleach and could be damaging to the wheel's finish. There was barely any clear coat left on the inside of my rims, so with the worry of damaging the clearcoat out of the way, I used a scouring pad a bit to remove bits of tar and stubborn buildups the brush wouldn't take off.

Hope this helps anyone trying to clean up their wheels!
 
thanks for the heads up i'm sure this will come in handy real soon...now if i could only find a good cleaner to get some tar of the front of the wheels on the spokes!
 
...now if i could only find a good cleaner to get some tar of the front of the wheels on the spokes!
Mineral spirits, sometimes sold as deoderized mineral spirits will remove road tar without harming the underlying finish. Any place that sells paint will have mineral spirits. Bug and Tar Remover is just mineral spirits at 10X the price.
 
Mineral spirits, sometimes sold as deoderized mineral spirits will remove road tar without harming the underlying finish. Any place that sells paint will have mineral spirits. Bug and Tar Remover is just mineral spirits at 10X the price.

yea i tried bug and tar removal...it didn't even put a dent in the tar. thank you for the advice tho i'm going to look into it. also i looked at my stock wheels again last night and i think the tar isn't coming off my wheels because its actually embedded in the wheel, or it appears that way. i will try the mineral spirits tho this weekend. thank you!
 
+1.

BrApple would chime in and say the same thing, BTW.

lmao! yeah I posted about that years ago. it says its for automotive use on the back of the container. my father took brake dust stained winter wheels and made them look new again. then hit with coat of wax. and I'm taking about winter wheels that really didn't get cleaned all winter.
 
I'll have to pick some of that stuff up. Comet works fine for now. I won't be owning my SVT much longer though, V8's are calling my name.

It's only $2 so pick it up when you can. It's less abrasive than Comet which is a good thing on soft aluminum wheels.
 
It's only $2 so pick it up when you can. It's less abrasive than Comet which is a good thing on soft aluminum wheels.
I picked up the BKF today and I must admit that it is a SUPERIOR cleaner. Almost effortlessly stripped the brake dust and road dirt off my wheels and made them shine like new. Definitely worth the $1.75 I paid! Also, for engine bay detailing, I've found that AWESOME all purpose cleaner degreaser is the best thing to use. It strips dirt and grease without leaving white spots or lightening the plastic. Plus its cheap, only $4 for a jug that when diluted properly will probably do 100 engine bays effectively.
 
Also, for engine bay detailing, I've found that AWESOME all purpose cleaner degreaser is the best thing to use. It strips dirt and grease without leaving white spots or lightening the plastic. Plus its cheap, only $4 for a jug that when diluted properly will probably do 100 engine bays effectively.
Never heard of that. Where did you get it? I've always just used Simple Green when I had to clean a dirty engine. Usually only happens when I buy a car, as I wash the engine bay every time I wash the exterior of my cars. The engine in my SE looks almost as clean as it did when I bought the car in '98.
 
You may have gotten the rim clean, but you probably damaged the finish using brake cleaner, a bristle brush, and scrubbing with Comet. :nonono:

I trusted my idiot friend to do something like that with my 00 SVT when I bought it. The front rims were turning orange from rotor rust. They were spotless after, but dull as heck and now don't clean easily at all since the finish is gone on it. Brake dust sets right into the wheel now since the clear coat is gone in most areas.
 
Comet is abrasive. BKF is a mild abrasive. As long as you don't use anything abrasive to scrub the wheel with (like a steel wool pad, lol), then you shouldn't have any problems with the clear coat.
 
You may have gotten the rim clean, but you probably damaged the finish using brake cleaner, a bristle brush, and scrubbing with Comet. :nonono:

I trusted my idiot friend to do something like that with my 00 SVT when I bought it. The front rims were turning orange from rotor rust. They were spotless after, but dull as heck and now don't clean easily at all since the finish is gone on it. Brake dust sets right into the wheel now since the clear coat is gone in most areas.

Brake cleaner- Only used on the INSIDE of the rim where there was NO finish left, i.e. it all peeled off. Bristle brushes are fine as long as they're not really stiff, and the comet, again, was only used on the inside of the rim where there was no finish.
 
If there was no finish to begin with, then go for it. If you have clear coat, not recommended at all. Always treat your wheels just as you would paint.
 
Meguires Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner. No scrubbing, no muss and no fuss. Spray it on wait 2 minutes and hose it off. If there is a few year build up (like my wifes car did) I used a plastic brush to loosen up the thick crud. Looks like they are brand new now.
 
Wash 'em with Dawn! :D

I was going to go to a benefit car wash for my girlfriend's church last weekend until I jokingly asked if they were using dish soap. They were so I drove back home and apparently enough people asked that they went and bought a jug of car wash soap for a buck after I was already home.
 
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