The way to clean brake dust off your wheels
10-15-2018, 07:50 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
The way to clean brake dust off your wheels
I値l start by saying - I知 a driver not a cleaner...
im also not a fan of the dust the pads on my 19 z make - mostly because it seems to coat the whole car.
so I have been spraying McGuires wheel cleaner on my black wheels every 400 miles or so and then hosing it off... fair results...
Well - I just received a free 1800 psi electric pressure washer.
Wow. hit the dirty wheels with the sprayer. Spray with dust remover. Let it sit as you repeat going around the car. Go back with pressure washer to spray off cleaner.
Touching the wheel with a microfiber after yields no dust at all. They are completely clean with almost 0 effort.
Said differently- I can completely de-brake dust my wheels in like 6 minutes with no effort. And keep the stopping power of the stock pads. Friggin amazing. Less time making the car look nice and more time for driving it!!!
im also not a fan of the dust the pads on my 19 z make - mostly because it seems to coat the whole car.
so I have been spraying McGuires wheel cleaner on my black wheels every 400 miles or so and then hosing it off... fair results...
Well - I just received a free 1800 psi electric pressure washer.
Wow. hit the dirty wheels with the sprayer. Spray with dust remover. Let it sit as you repeat going around the car. Go back with pressure washer to spray off cleaner.
Touching the wheel with a microfiber after yields no dust at all. They are completely clean with almost 0 effort.
Said differently- I can completely de-brake dust my wheels in like 6 minutes with no effort. And keep the stopping power of the stock pads. Friggin amazing. Less time making the car look nice and more time for driving it!!!
The following users liked this post:
Drive-C7 (10-17-2018)
10-15-2018, 08:32 PM
#2
Team Owner
Member Since: Oct 2013
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Posts: 25,362
Received 7,752 Likes
on
4,181 Posts
CORVETTE TODAY Host
St. Jude Donor'15
I regularly go to the hand wand Car Wash to clean my wheels. But I also got the low dust brake pads....one of the best mods I've ever added to my Stingray.
10-16-2018, 01:13 AM
#3
Intermediate
High pressure washers often come with different nozzles that are color coded. If your high pressure washer is like this, what color nozzle did you use?
Last edited by DennisAZ; 10-16-2018 at 01:14 AM.
10-16-2018, 03:23 AM
#4
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...30.qR6hVK6JXzQ
Get the iron remover for rims, and it works great.
Get the cheapest one is fine.
Get the iron remover for rims, and it works great.
Get the cheapest one is fine.
The following users liked this post:
MMD (10-16-2018)
10-16-2018, 08:53 AM
#6
I have been doing the same on my vehicles for years. It's quite effective. The past year I found the SONAX Wheel Cleaner Full Effect product to be one of the best wheel cleaners I have ever tested. So what I do now is use the cleaner first and then follow up with the pressure washer. I then use my trusty leaf blower to dry everything off. This process works great. I think next year I might try ceramic coating the wheels. I have heard this might be the very best possible treatment to minimze the amount of time we spend cleaning wheels and make your wheels look great all the time.
10-16-2018, 09:14 AM
#8
Instructor
Thread Starter
@MMD I was thinking about doing the same - but this works so well and has like 0 overspray onto the car - and is so simple... I think I may just do this! If I was a "car show guy" - I would 100% ceramic coat them... but - I'm not... and this is about the max capacity of my cleaning abilities
@ZEN357 - agreed - that's why when I got this 1800psi one for free I was thrilled to try it... I have a 2800PSI gas one in the barn I almost never use because you have to stand back like 4' from anything lest you cut it in two!!! (well I use it on farm equipment - but it's a great paint remover!)
The following users liked this post:
MMD (10-16-2018)
10-16-2018, 10:08 AM
#9
Team Owner
I just hit them with some detail spray and wipe them off with a towel.
The following users liked this post:
JDMilw (10-17-2018)
10-16-2018, 10:17 AM
#10
Burning Brakes
I use a swiffer after each ride if they are just dusty. The one I use is about a foot long with a thin flat blade (it usually comes with the pack of refills for free). It will even fit around the front calipers. Occasionally I'll spray a little QD on the swiffer for some added shine. I can clean the dust off of the outside and barrels of all 4 wheels in 5 minutes or less. My wheels are coated which probably makes removing the dust a little easier.
Last edited by George_L; 10-16-2018 at 10:17 AM.
10-16-2018, 10:20 AM
#11
Instructor
Thread Starter
Way too much effort for me - and that only works if you keep up on it. I wait until the wheels look "'bronze" - and this technique seems to make them black and shiny again in 5 minutes.
Everyone does their own thing and that's cool - I'm just lazy and not a detailer - so this works for me to get the dust off with minimal effort.
Everyone does their own thing and that's cool - I'm just lazy and not a detailer - so this works for me to get the dust off with minimal effort.
10-16-2018, 12:33 PM
#14
Safety Car
Same here. My pressure washer is a low powered electric one - 1800 PSI (I think). GreenWorks brand picked up Lowes and I love it. I use the widest spray nozzle.
The following users liked this post:
fishpick (10-16-2018)
10-16-2018, 12:36 PM
#15
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Aug 2004
Location: NE OH
Posts: 6,681
Received 1,031 Likes
on
608 Posts
St. Jude Donor '09-'10
Can coat your wheels with something like Kamikaze Stance or Gyeon Rim; little bit of work up front to clean/decon/coat but after that a spray with a hose and good to go.
10-16-2018, 01:34 PM
#16
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Jan 2015
Location: Darien, IL
Posts: 2,057
Received 526 Likes
on
354 Posts
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
I use a swiffer after each ride if they are just dusty. The one I use is about a foot long with a thin flat blade (it usually comes with the pack of refills for free). It will even fit around the front calipers. Occasionally I'll spray a little QD on the swiffer for some added shine. I can clean the dust off of the outside and barrels of all 4 wheels in 5 minutes or less. My wheels are coated which probably makes removing the dust a little easier.
10-16-2018, 03:33 PM
#17
Burning Brakes
Last edited by George_L; 10-16-2018 at 03:34 PM.
The following users liked this post:
Vegas1500 (10-16-2018)
10-17-2018, 08:06 AM
#20
Melting Slicks
Swiffer duster on the chrome wheels after driving. Takes 5 minutes. If the wheels are still a bit dirty from rain or long distance driving, I use a bit of Invisible Glass glass cleaner and a paper towel. Perfect shine and protects from the corrosive brake dust. I've used this method for over 10 years on my 2008 Z06 before trading for my '19 Grand Sport and had not a single pit on the chrome wheels.