Brake dust that wont come off of rim?

Please post results if you find a fix. I have same problem but mine look worse. Small black dots pitted into the clear. My car (e46) is older than yours based on what I can see from your wheel design. Clay, sonax, Meg's WB have all been tried with minimal results. OEM pads are definitely the culprit.
 
Finally got my IronX paste in. The brake dust still did not come off. I don't know what else to try. Will oven cleaner work?
 
You are not going to get your wheels perfect. The brake dust has already damaged or embedded itself in the clear coat. At this point all you can do is make it look better but it will never be perfect. This is the difference between a novice and a detailer. A detailer knows when to stop before he does damage and makes it look the best he can. A novice keeps striving for perfection and then goes ooops I went too far now what? Best you can do is make it look better. There are various things you can try

Try a polish to "flatten" the brake dust so it is not as noticeable. You may not get all of it and you have to watch so that you don't go through the clear coat. Put a good coat of wax and or sealer on it and you're done.

The other option is to try a very fine sandpaper like 1500-2000 to lightly level out the brake dust then a polish to restore the shine. Again just a little or you'll go through the clear coat. After a good coat of wax or sealer.

Again the goal is to hide the damage not make it perfect. Not everything can be brought back to perfection. Damage is after all damage, sometimes you can just minimize it or hide it so it is not as noticeable.
 
theamcguy said:
You are not going to get your wheels perfect. The brake dust has already damaged or embedded itself in the clear coat. At this point all you can do is make it look better but it will never be perfect. This is the difference between a novice and a detailer. A detailer knows when to stop before he does damage and makes it look the best he can. A novice keeps striving for perfection and then goes ooops I went too far now what? Best you can do is make it look better. There are various things you can try

Try a polish to "flatten" the brake dust so it is not as noticeable. You may not get all of it and you have to watch so that you don't go through the clear coat. Put a good coat of wax and or sealer on it and you're done.

The other option is to try a very fine sandpaper like 1500-2000 to lightly level out the brake dust then a polish to restore the shine. Again just a little or you'll go through the clear coat. After a good coat of wax or sealer.

Again the goal is to hide the damage not make it perfect. Not everything can be brought back to perfection. Damage is after all damage, sometimes you can just minimize it or hide it so it is not as noticeable.
Click to expand...

This helped a lot! Wet sanding is probably the last thing I will do but how do you know when to stop sanding it? I never really thought if wet sanding it. So far I have tried the safest methods such as sonax then clay then goo gone then ironx
 
wish i could help, i have same problem with my lexus . just bought it from my daughter who neglected them for a couple of years. its driving me crazy. I polished up the car and the wheels look like crap. I just ordered the foam cone and a bottle of trix.
 
What have you been cleaning your wheels with? I have seen this before, I have used a magnifying glass to see what was going on and all the ones I have came across was rust coming through. The clear coat is fragile on BMW rims. I also would reccomend opticoat for the protection.
 
Meticulous-Detail said:
I just did these wheels today with Meg's WB, M105, various brushes and a foam wheel cone drill attachment. To get the corners of the wheel I used a spritz of WB, dipped the cone in water and pulled the trigger. Imbedded brake dust came right off.

Before pics
View attachment 16303View attachment 16302
View attachment 16304

After pics
View attachment 16305
View attachment 16306
View attachment 16307
View attachment 16308
Click to expand...
Would the meguiars or mothers cone work?
ATD Detailing said:
What have you been cleaning your wheels with? I have seen this before, I have used a magnifying glass to see what was going on and all the ones I have came across was rust coming through. The clear coat is fragile on BMW rims. I also would reccomend opticoat for the protection.
Click to expand...

Initial treatment of sonax then after it just has been soap and water with daytona speedmaster, then a gentle flag tip brush for the face of the wheel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top