i have been using turtle wax wheels cleaner, suppose spray on, and hose off all the crap. well it doesn't quite work that well. in fact it doesn't do anything in my opinion. does anyone have suggestions for a good cleaner that will remove at least most of the brake dust? i am running metal master pads and they are a little dusty. thankfully my mille miglia mm11's have a pretty wide open spoke pattern, so getting inside the wheel isn't too bad.

-PJ

 

Unfortunately our buddies at the EPA have made it harder to have products that'll actually remove brake dust and not kill the finish on your rims. I recomend that Meguirs stuff and if you get them spotless, try waxing them with Mirrorglaze, I know it sounds strange and time consuming, but it works!

 

are you suppose to put polish on clear coated wheels? i can't remember. like dexter said, water and soap works well. thats all i had the other day, and it worked well.

 

Please excuse my super n00b question, but what does brake dust look like and does brake dust have anything to do with the rust coloring on my brakes?

 

IntraWRX,
smoke a cigarette, (I know its bad!), but thats about the color of brake dust-the ash part! as for the rust on your rotors-that comes from the iron in the rotors, its natural and you sshouldnt worry about it unles large chunks of rust start falling off!

 

alright, thanks, i'll keep it in mind

 

I'll second scoobsport98s recommendation of Meguire wheel cleaner. When I wash my car, the first thing I do is spray it on all four wheel. Then I clean all the tires with Eagle One Tire Wet while the wheel cleaner does its thing. Then I spray off all the wheels and wet down the car for its bath.

99% of the brake dust comes off during the spray. I never touch the wheels during the whole rest of the car wash. When I'm done washing/drying, I slowly pull the car into the garage for the wheels and tires to somewhat airdry.

A little bit later I come back and wipe them down with a terry-cloth towell to get off the persistent yuck. No elbow grease needed, it just wipes off.

Mike

 

I've been very happy with the Eagle 1 wheel cleaner. It comes in an orange bottle. Considering my BMW kicks up so much brake dust that practically cakes on the wheels, nothing has worked as well so far. I use a wet sponge, like the ones used on the paint, to wipe off the dust after applying the cleaner. Not too harsh, but certainly effective.