Brake dust help.....

Southern Stang

Southern Stang

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Hey guys, need some help on some wheels with serious dust on it. I worked on a customers vehicle which was an 03 thunderbird. She says the brake dust has been on there a while, which it's been there long enough for the build up to "cake" up bake into the finish and I'm at a loss with it. OPC and purple power won't touch it at full strength, mag and aluminum polish works slightly, and I've also tried M105 via PC and rotary with little to no headway. It took me over an hour to get one little spot in between the spokes to somewhat bareable, and I forsee it taking a very long time to get this done. Any idea's guys, and girls? I had to tell the customer I will meet back with her later in the week to finish this. Would steam work? Or maybe an acid? Anything to try guys? Thanks for the help, pic below......:buffing:
IMG_0081.jpg
 
if those are chrome im pretty sure any acid based cleaner would work and be safe
 
Have you tried Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner or Meg's Wheel Brightener?
 
Cobalt: I thought about grabbing some muratic acid. No I haven't tried sonax or megs yet, but considering picking some up on the next order. Any other suggestions or ideas?
 
while pics dont always tell the whole story, it appears that brake dust is etching into the surface. Perhaps something like the FK decon kit might help with surface but I gotta wonder how deep the marks go.
 
I'd try Sonax first, Aquartz Iron Cut second (not sold on AG), and wheel brightener third. Sonax and Iron Cut are PH Neutral and you'll have the least chance of damage with them. Wheel brightener is acid-based and you'll have a greater chance of damaging the wheels. I'm not a fan of the FK Decontamination Kit but if you feel it's necessary I can send you whats left of mine. It didn't work very well for me. Compounding/sanding is obviously a last resort IMO.
 
I'm sorry to say but it almost looks like the chrome is pitted beyond restoration. Maybe rechroming is the only option.

I hope this isn't the case. Good luck and let us know how the other suggestions turn out.
 
There are a few ideas buzzing around in my head that I may give a shot, but more than likely the wheels are shot and fubar'd. But hey, it's worth a try!
 
If they are chrome go get mothers chrome wheel cleaner... It's an acid and you wont want to inhale the fumes when you spray it but it's worked for me in the past. Also I don't think WB will hurt chrome either but ask around on that one

Chris
 
Most if not all wheels come with a clear coating similar to the clear coat on your car. I think whats happened here is the hot brake dust has melted itself into the clear coating. While you may be able to dislodge some of it I think the only way to correct it is to strip the coating and recoat the entire wheel.
 
cobalt9123 said:
I disagree. Sonax and OPC are two completely different products that work in nowhere near the same way.
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IMO, it doesn't matter if they work in different ways, they both claim to be wheel cleaners. Un-diluted OPC will work better on tougher wheel grime than Sonax. JMO.
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
IMO, it doesn't matter if they work in different ways, they both claimed to be wheel cleaners. Un-diluted OPC will work better on tougher wheel grime than Sonax. JMO.
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Have you used sonax? Or iron cut? I'm going to disagree for now but I will set up a review for them. My fathers truck is the perfect candidate for a head-to-head.
 
Matt said:
I'm sorry to say but it almost looks like the chrome is pitted beyond restoration. Maybe rechroming is the only option.

I hope this isn't the case. Good luck and let us know how the other suggestions turn out.
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I agree.

You may be able to improve them slightly but I seriously doubt they will come out looking much better. It almost looks like she wore the pads way down at some point where they started grinding metal on metal.
 
cobalt9123 said:
Have you used sonax? Or iron cut? I'm going to disagree for now but I will set up a review for them. My fathers truck is the perfect candidate for a head-to-head.
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Never tried iron cut. I recently tried Sonax(my friend bought some) and while I feel it's a great wheel cleaner, I feel OPC(I have it) is stronger. However, I haven't done a head to head comparison.
 
This may be a bit "old school" but have you tried any steel wool with some glass cleaner?

(only if they are chrome and don't have any type of clear)
 
Looks pitted to me too. I have used stuff like Bleech White and I have gotten A LOT of out Painted, Machine Finished, and Chrome rims. I would not use it on anything polished for fear of staining.

I did work on a set of polished CCW rims where the brake dust was so bad, I could not do it in a single detail and this was not a paying job. Since it being polished aluminum and in the inside edge, i told the owner to either sand it or dremel it out. For the main surface, a can of polish and elbow grease.

He is lazy and I am sure he was not doing it himself but he was not offering to pay so he took the car. here are some pics, the rim I took a shot of had the best work, the others were FAR worse.

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As you can see inside each hole should be nearly as bright as the outside. The owner did not want pics posted of the nasty stuff.
 
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