I picked up an 07 Subaru legacy this month as a daily and the stock wheels were curbed and ugly as hell so I snagged a set of 2013 WRX wheels and tires. The one back wheel is pretty covered in heavy/ baked on brake dust from a bad caliper that will not just scrub off.
Do you guys have any idea on what would clean it up to look somewhat respectable again? Ive heard oven cleaner would work and then wheel cleaner but I don’t think it would be strong enough. Any ideas?
Thanks!
-Mike
SONAX Wheel Cleaner Full Effect
I had some bad dust with old pad rust built up on my old truck’s wheels. The only way I could get it off was with a stiff bristle brush. Sometimes chemicals are not enough and you need some mechanical action to remove it.
Oh I thought using a brush with that was implied :lol:
Ill check that one out. Thanks!
Thats how these are pretty much. Ill try some of the stuff LZ mentioned with a decent bristled brush and check back I guess. Thanks!
It’s amazing how this trivial bullshit doesn’t even cross your mind when you say “Fuck cars!” Does it make the car have any adverse issues? No you say? Fuck it then. Does it look dirty? Fuck it. Don’t worry, soon the salty road spray will get it off.
Salty.
A good strength Wheel acid will take a lot of it off if not all of it
Oh the wheel doesnt look this way because of me. The jackass hipster I bought them from decided to not replace a bad caliper all last summer and it was shooting dust all over it and he must not have cared too much haha. The will probably be my summer wheels so Im going to try and clean them up as best I can.
Any recommendation of a brand or where to get it?
CarPro TRIX or CarPro IronX paste.
On a wheel Id probably recommend the paste so it stays in one place longer. It may take a couple applications but it will take it all off and its acid-free pH neutral so it will not hurt the wheels finish.
Dan
Interesting that is exactly what I need. Any idea where to get that from off hand?
Thanks!
Amazon might be easiest. I think I saw it there, and on Prime.
EDIT2: it smells fucking disgusting. You’ll def want to use it outside.
Dan
I believe it’s called Brake Off by malco. Oddly enough it’s a non acid wheel cleaner, but this stuff will burn you if you get it on you, so using gloves is 100% a must with this stuff. I’ve literally taken YEARS worth of accumulated brake dust off of wheels with it. You may have to scrub with it for best results (I reccomend a brush instead of a rag bc brake dust is abrasive and will scratch the wheel finish) but this stuff really works when nothing else will. If you rinse the wheels off on concrete, rinse well bc it can stain the concrete with the dissolved brake dust particulates if left to dry.
That sounds like exactly what I need. Any idea where I can snag this stuff?
Sometimes the brake dust will oxidize and corrode the wheel. I’ve had that happen to a set of alloys once. I ended up sanding them down and repainting.
I use carpro ironx… very safe.