brake dust on polished aluminum(need help)

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egfanatic

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have some eagle alloy polished 18s and the guy i got the truck off of that they were on did not take care of them. the brake dust seems to be burnt on. i have tried everything to get it off except wet sanding them and acid, do you guys have any other suggestions? someone said aluma-brite its some sort of aluminum acid? i have never used it so kinda scared to, thanks in advance.

This is the wheels and brake dust.

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Is the brake dust sitting on top of the rims or are they pitted (it's really hard to tell from the picture). Also, it would be helpful if you listed what you have tried, if your statement, "i have tried everything to get it off except wet sanding them and acid..." is true then the ONLY thing that could be suggested would be sanding and/or acid. ;)
 
it feels like its on top from what i can tell, maybe pitted some, ive tried scrubbing them with soap and water, different wheel cleaners (black magic, meguires) tried polishing it out with mothers polish
 
and also im kinda new to the whole polished rims and stuff, never had to deal with them much so i dont know whats really safe to clean them with and such. i dont know alot about them.
 
Have you tried...

clay? the more aggresive the better.
a powerball on a drill?
P21S Gel is a REALLY good cleaner and can safely be left to dwell for a while.
 
actually been hand polishing, im not famaliar with the P21S gel, where can that be bought?
 
egfanatic said:
actually been hand polishing, im not famaliar with the P21S gel, where can that be bought?
Click to expand...


Right here at AG of course... ;)

P21S WHEEL CLEANERS gel and regular

It's pricey but works really well and I feel comfortable that it's safe too. I don't use it very often on my on vehicles because i don't let them get dirty enough to need it. But for other cars it's a must have for me.
 
They look pitted to me. If so there's nothing much you can do unless you want to have them sanded down and refinished. You could probably get some of the brake dust of of the pitts and they will look better but not for long.
 
can you use wurth to repair the pitted parts on the inside, my 06 dodge ram has similar pits on the inside...i cleaned the snot out them but they are pitted. i was thinking of using wurth on the inside of the wheel
 
brake dust is quite damaging and that looks like pitting from the metal binders in the pads.
 
so whats gonna be the best to do? only 2 wheels are like that, sand and refinish or just replace?
 
Hello,

The only way you are going to get that brake dust off is to use Hydroflouric acid. Wheel acid. You may also have to use
a brush or fine steel wool with the acid if it is not strong enough. It looks to me like there is no clearcoat on them. After you acid wash them, they will look bleached out. You then need to use a metal polish, I prefer Malco metal polish,
but you can use which ever you prefer. After you polish them, you can spray the wheels with a high temp clear and coat them. If you do not do this, then the only way to clean them is with a neutral ph ( car wash & wax soap) to keep them clean.

If you use any type of cleaner whether an acid (low ph) or an alkaline cleaner (high ph) you will bleach them out again and bust your butt polishing them again. The reason that wheel companies clearcoat polished aluminum rims is so that there is a protective barrier that protects the metal from bleach out and streaking when you use a cleaner on them. They never did that years ago. Same process holds true to clean diamond plate. But make sure you use a high temperature clear, because if you dont, it will turn yellow when the wheels get hot. Good Luck.

Joe
 
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