How to remove baked on brake dust- New ideas?

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Originally Posted By: marty600
"baked on" is really metal...the old pads were asbestos, and this did not occur...
Anyway...the product to get is Phosphoric acid.
It might be found at hardware store...janitors use it to clean EVERYTHING plumbing-related, as it removes rust stains.
My source of the acid is PURE, 100% !! I dilute it about 1/2 with water..I use it to clean out my CNC EDM machine, again, of powdered metals...
IT DOES NOT HURT PAINT OR CLEAR COAT (EPOXIES/POWDERS)
I have used it for years with no ill effects, and it's cheap.
It rules, even on the worst cases, you will be done in 1 minute per wheel!
BTW: Oven cleaner is Alkaline...that is the opposite approach you want to take. In the machine shop, I spray oven cleaner on a CNC mill that uses oil-based mist coolant..this stuff dries, and gets "gummy"...rubbing alky or oven cleaner are the only things that effect it, the acid has no effect. I made our bathtub look like new with strong acid...calcium/rust GONE!


This i will try. Thanks
 
1 more thought..the old "naval jelly", I think it was sold to 'brighten' aluminum, is really just phoshoric acid..thickened somehow. It cannot polish anything, but it removes oxidation.
I will say I never used the acid on raw aluminum...I an fairly certain those rust 'converters' sold at auto stores are, again, phosphoric acid. On raw STEEL, it does no etching, at least when left on for less than 1/2 hour. On Stainless, i've left it to soak overnight, no prob. Just sqeaky clean!
It makes your hands get a funky smell, though.
We had one guy that washed his hands in the 100% stuff, routinely...he said he liked the smell, ha!
 
Originally Posted By: rcy
Did you actually try the Magic Eraser? I found nothing else (didn't try Meguiar's however, which a few have suggested) worked, not even brake cleaner. The Magic Eraser (in combination with any sort of cleaner (I used some rim cleaner I had (forget which one) then just Castrol Super Clean) worked perfectly. Wish I had some before and after pics..


Id probably try the magic eraser as a good attempt. Id be careful with chemicals and abrasives because they will harm the clearcoat. The Magic eraser will likely scrub it away too, to some extent, but I think it is far more controllable and less severe.

Regardless of what you do, put a few good coats of wax on the wheels after.
 
I tried the magic eraser with cleaner on a test area. it seems to help with a lot of elbow grease :). It has been too cold in my unheated garage to do much. Will try various techniques when warmer. However, this heavy cleaning is needed only on the "inside" of both sets of my wheels. The outside is clean of brake dust.
 
If you don't let them go for 3-4 years and clean them detail them better the elbow grease, wire brush, brillo pad & oven cleaner, are not needed. It needed to be scraped with a blade in some areas. It really took far more labor than it was worth to clean those plastic hubcaps. But I got the baked into the paint brake/dust/metallic/buildup out of the nook & crannies and the results were ok. I was surprised that the paint held up that well to a small wire brush. You have to think a good coat of wax or silicone or something would prevent the crud to adhere so tenaciously. The hot dust flying off the rotor kind of bakes onand sticks real well.
 
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I know it's off-topic, but honestly in the case of your BMW the best long-term solution for the appearance of your car is a set of PBR/Axxis Deluxe Plus pads.

I lost an almost imperceptible amount of bite from stock, and lost the dust altogether forever. Best upgrade I ever did on my 02 330ci.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim 5
I know it's off-topic, but honestly in the case of your BMW the best long-term solution for the appearance of your car is a set of PBR/Axxis Deluxe Plus pads.

I lost an almost imperceptible amount of bite from stock, and lost the dust altogether forever. Best upgrade I ever did on my 02 330ci.


I see where you are coming from. However, this is old-old embedded crud on the INSIDE of two sets of wheels. The outside of both sets have no curbing and no embedded dust. BTW, I have cremaic pads on all wheels which have almost no dust and it is very light gray.
 
I have never cleaned the insides of the wheels, but they do get really dirty.

I have read that the brake dust can etch into the paint on the wheels.

Let us know what works best for you!
 
Originally Posted By: Russell

I see where you are coming from. However, this is old-old embedded crud on the INSIDE of two sets of wheels. The outside of both sets have no curbing and no embedded dust. BTW, I have cremaic pads on all wheels which have almost no dust and it is very light gray.

I have tried those ceramic /hi-po pads also, various brands.
In my case, the rotors were warped in 2 months. On 1 rotor set, the metal was actually cooked, it was blue and pieces were coming off the parent material in large 'flakes'...however, under the flaked area was intense rust. That may have been cheap rotor syndrome, not sure.
For me, I've found it's easier to clean the stupid things than to replace them, so i've quit buying really expensive pads.
 
Originally Posted By: marty600
Originally Posted By: Russell

I see where you are coming from. However, this is old-old embedded crud on the INSIDE of two sets of wheels. The outside of both sets have no curbing and no embedded dust. BTW, I have cremaic pads on all wheels which have almost no dust and it is very light gray.

I have tried those ceramic /hi-po pads also, various brands.
In my case, the rotors were warped in 2 months. On 1 rotor set, the metal was actually cooked, it was blue and pieces were coming off the parent material in large 'flakes'...however, under the flaked area was intense rust. That may have been cheap rotor syndrome, not sure.
For me, I've found it's easier to clean the stupid things than to replace them, so i've quit buying really expensive pads.


I had a set of front ATE rotors warp. Replaced with Brembo rotos and no problems. Have about 55,000 on the raybestos ceramic pads. Apparenlty rotors must be matched to the pads.
 
Originally Posted By: Russell

I had a set of front ATE rotors warp. Replaced with Brembo rotos and no problems. Have about 55,000 on the raybestos ceramic pads. Apparenlty rotors must be matched to the pads.

Are ATE an expensive brand? Certainly, Brembo is upscale, but then your ride would warrant that...
 
Originally Posted By: marty600
Originally Posted By: Russell

I had a set of front ATE rotors warp. Replaced with Brembo rotos and no problems. Have about 55,000 on the raybestos ceramic pads. Apparenlty rotors must be matched to the pads.

Are ATE an expensive brand? Certainly, Brembo is upscale, but then your ride would warrant that...


Not really, I think the front ATE(OE supplier) rotors were about $90 through BMA on-line and the front Brembos were $110 through O'Reillys. I know some rotors are 1/2 that but others are much more.
 
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All you need an acidic (Non HF) wheel cleaner. Mothers FX wheel cleaner, or TW Ice Wheel/Tire cleaner work very well for this sort of thing.
 
Originally Posted By: ionbeam22
All you need an acidic (Non HF) wheel cleaner. Mothers FX wheel cleaner, or TW Ice Wheel/Tire cleaner work very well for this sort of thing.


Ok will try one of these brands. However, this stuff has been on the back side of the wheels for up to 15 years. Other wheel cleaners I tried did nothing.
 
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