I concur. I use Zaino on the chrome wheels, dust just washes off easily, no pressure at all.
Any wax will probably do
Is there ANYTHING that will easily clean brake dust?
- Thread starter axjohn
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Any wax will probably do
i wonder if that wheel cleaner takes off wax on wheels
Yes, any wheel cleaner or degreaser is going to blow away any coating you have on there. One thing about keeping wheels clean is that you can either use wheel cleaners OR wax them and then just use car shampoo on them, but not both.
If you've never seen "spray on, hose off", you guys are letting it cake on too long!
Bretfraz is right though, if you can stand to do gentler methods of cleaning, they are by default safer. Strong wheel cleaners are for people with PITA to clean wheels (like me), or for the lazy...... like me.
Once I get 17" 5 spokes in the spring though, it's soap and water from then on.
Quite a few years ago, Armor All Wheel Cleaner used to do just that. You sprayed the stuff on a cool wheel, waited 30 seconds and rinsed off. The stuff did smell like battery acid or something, but it worked great. If it came in contact with exposed or bare aluminum, it would react with the metal and turn it white and it would bubble or something. It was strong but didn't harm finishes....just the bare metals. They must have re-formulated this stuff because it never smelled the same and never worked as it used to.
Rick
I used to use Simple Green, but noticed that my rims/wheel covers would fade after prolonged use. Now I just use soap and water. Works just as good and is safer on the paint.
When washing my car, I save the wheels for last, so I don't contaminate the wash rag and rub it all over the car.
When washing my car, I save the wheels for last, so I don't contaminate the wash rag and rub it all over the car.
After thirty years of trying, P21S is the best.
On the other hand -- practically off-topic -- the worst set of alloy wheels I ever had to clean were some 18-year old alloys that had not EVER been cleaned. On son's Jeep. Plenty of elbow grease and a few cleaners got the exterior pretty good. But the interior was something else. Tires and wheels were off of car, so we used some aerosol oven cleaner, let it set 15" or so, and scrubbed the rest of the crud off with a scraper and engine cleaning brushes and then rinsed like **** . The wheels never did look all that good, but his friends were convinced that he'd bought new ones.
On the other hand -- practically off-topic -- the worst set of alloy wheels I ever had to clean were some 18-year old alloys that had not EVER been cleaned. On son's Jeep. Plenty of elbow grease and a few cleaners got the exterior pretty good. But the interior was something else. Tires and wheels were off of car, so we used some aerosol oven cleaner, let it set 15" or so, and scrubbed the rest of the crud off with a scraper and engine cleaning brushes and then rinsed like **** . The wheels never did look all that good, but his friends were convinced that he'd bought new ones.
I use this stuff called Oil Eater from Costco. You can dilute it with water if you think it's too strong. I've been using it full strength for a long time without damage to the clear coat. It's not a spray on and rinse off solution but it does clean the dust easily.
After cleaning the wheel, you must rinse it off quickly if using full strength.
After cleaning the wheel, you must rinse it off quickly if using full strength.
This contraption doesn't even clean off the stuff it's advertised to clean off.
Germany's TUV answer to the elimination of asbestos was to use graphite in pad compounds. This would allow sufficient/effective braking when cold and would provide some "slip" when hot. The newer compounds to handle heat are basically sintered metals in an organic binder. When hot, the metals (usually brass, bronze) will try to "micro-weld" themselves to the iron of the rotor. This produces abundant amounts of adherent friction and where the graphite comes into play. It tempers the adherent friction to reasonable/desirable levels. Unfortunately, this is what ends up all over your nice clean wheels after seemingly a drive around the block.
I have Axxis Deluxe Plus pads in the 330i and would say that they are about 80% less dusty than the OEMs (Pagid, Jurid). Performance is on par or slightly better than those OEMs from my own experience.
waxing wheels are the best preventative. michilin has released a repellent but others i have used are dissapointing. i use acidic wheel cleaners on hubcaps but i would doscourage the usage of them on wheels that are expensive or that you like.
the safe ones that are pretty effective and i reccomend:
prestone
meguiars
gliptone
the safe ones that are pretty effective and i reccomend:
prestone
meguiars
gliptone
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