BMW brake dust?

spazzz

spazzz

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Yesterday I corrected my Buds black 2013 328xi.
Not too bad on the paint with Menz400 and an orange hybrid. The 400 is a win win with the Flex on about 4.5, then light pressure on the last pass.
I would have used 4500 after that but of course he thinks 8 hours is enough time. It really did look pretty darn good with no haze.
It was completed with a coat of WGdgps 3.0,WETS on trim, Opti-seal on the wheel faces & glass and TW Endura on the tires.

The question is, what am I missing in my gear for the dreaded BMW brake dust.
I used D143 and Iron-x, Zep industrial purple(1:1), with speed master brush and assorted other scrubbies.
The right front still had a band of baked in goodness left behind, the other barrels were OK.

Is there a product that will safely attack this scenario?
I told him a wheel-off with polishing would work but I got the really?? look as if it didn't matter.

Thanks
Tim
 
Yes, buy a gallon of Meguiars D140/wheel brightener. I don't use it very often, but when i do the results are amazing.

After using the Wheel Brightener you should seal the BMW wheels with a good sealant like FK1000p or your WG. If your buddy washes his BMW once a week he will only need soap and water and a wash mitt to clean off the brake dust.
 
wow...sounds like you threw everything you had at that brake dust....When I run into the stubborn stuff, I reach for Griots Garage Heavy Duty wheel cleaner....if that doesn't work...I've tried clay, too
 
LEDetailing said:
Yes, buy a gallon of Meguiars D140/wheel brightener. I don't use it very often, but when i do the results are amazing.

After using the Wheel Brightener you should seal the BMW wheels with a good sealant like FK1000p or your WG. If your buddy washes his BMW once a week he will only need soap and water and a wash mitt to clean off the brake dust.
Click to expand...

I remember reading a couple of threads here about it. What dilution is safe?

IIRC, this is a hurry up, use and rinse well cleaner.

Had I been thinking, I would have applied some Opti-seal in the barrels with the small Wheel Woolie as my applicator.
 
What dilution ratio where you using with D143? It is possible that the brake dust is deeply etched into the wheel itself. Was it even turning purple with ironx on the inner barrel?
 
I was using 1:1 with D143.
I did Iron-x 3 times with a little more purple each time.

I did look baked good, but would release a little each time. For what he wanted I couldn't justify any more effort.
It bothered me more than him
 
poorboys spray and rinse

but in this case

spray scrub rinse
 
My guess is that the Speed Master Brush isn't built to effectively scrub this level of caked on brake dust. You should get yourself a tampico bristled spoke brush. It also sounds like you need to step up the wheel cleaner. Wheel Brightener is good most times, but I've had it fail to put a dent into certain baked on wheels too. Brown Royal.
 
Malco brake off, only used for extreme cases, no scrubbing and I assure you it will be clean
 
spazzz said:
Yesterday I corrected my Buds black 2013 328xi.
Not too bad on the paint with Menz400 and an orange hybrid. The 400 is a win win with the Flex on about 4.5, then light pressure on the last pass.
I would have used 4500 after that but of course he thinks 8 hours is enough time. It really did look pretty darn good with no haze.
It was completed with a coat of WGdgps 3.0,WETS on trim, Opti-seal on the wheel faces & glass and TW Endura on the tires.
Click to expand...

Outstanding! Do you have any pictures by chance?

I agree Tim, FG400 on an orange Hybrid driven by the 3401 is a defect eating combo and will finish out dang near LSP ready even on jet black BMW paint.

In this case, you could have finished off with Menzerna 3n1 on a black pad to finish the paint. Too bad Menzerna PP Ultra is not offered in the states. It is a finishing wax combined with a finishing polish allowing you to finish polish and wax the paint in one step.

The question is, what am I missing in my gear for the dreaded BMW brake dust.
I used D143 and Iron-x, Zep industrial purple(1:1), with speed master brush and assorted other scrubbies.
The right front still had a band of baked in goodness left behind, the other barrels were OK.

Is there a product that will safely attack this scenario?
I told him a wheel-off with polishing would work but I got the really?? look as if it didn't matter.

Thanks
Tim
Click to expand...

My normal go to wheel cleaner is D143 mixed 1:1 and will usually cut through BMW brake dust and then followed by Iron-X.

If that doesn't work, out comes D140 WB cut 4:1 and washed off with a pressure washer. This has always provided the grunt needed to clean up neglected wheels.
 
Wheel Brightener/D140 mixed 4:1. I agitate with a cheapo flagged tip wheel brush. I don't let it sit very long, no more than 30 seconds per wheel and then a thorough rinse.
 
Some good suggestions so far. And tell your buddy to get some low dusting pads. Made all the difference in maintaining my BMW wheels.
 
My Audi has really bad dusting. I stay with the OEM pads, but I coated my wheels with Collinite 845. The dust now wipes off easily and doesn't embed into the wheels.
 
I have been using D.U.B. wheel cleaner on my LAnd Rover wheels with great success, It took off the stuff that Griots HD wheel cleaner did not touch.
 
Your problem is that the brake dust has etched into the clear coat (ask me how I know). I have tried a lot of things - Meg's Wheel Brightener, Sonax, M105. Nothing works well. I've had the best results with Iron-X, seems to be working slowly over time. It might work faster if I did several cycles of Iron-X, rinse, repeat, but I only use my etched wheels for winter tires now, so not willing to put in the time and effort to try repeated Iron-X cycles. Post if you find something that works.
 
Wheel brightnener 4:1 works very well. I use wheel woolie brushes to agitate then pressure rinse. If there is still brake dust, it's usually only in small spots, so WB again with a toothbrush to remove the rest. But on most cases the first application will remove pretty much everything.
 
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