Iron X effect on brake callipers - newbie question

[SalmonPride]

Hey guys,


First post! Nice to meet all of you, been reading the forum for a while before ordering my first products.
Let me jump straight to the question - so my car is Mini One 2018, relatively new car, only 20,000 km mileage.

I ordered and already received the Iron X LS that I want to use as a wheel cleaner in addition to its fallout properties, but then I started reading some threads here and also some other forums regarding Iron X and also Meguiars Wheel Cleaners and to be honest now I am a bit afraid to use those products. My main concern is in several threads that came up people complain on ruined brake callipers - changing colour, fading out, rust or just removing finishes on the callipers.

Just as an example: Rust on inside of wheels


I even got in contact with CarPro and they actually advised me to cover the brake callipers with nylon, not sure if it's an advice to insure themselves in case of damages?

So my brake callipers are factory ones, I really doubt they will be super extra quality, not even sure what coating they have, it might be cast iron, who knows ?
What would be your advice ? Should I just get rid of that bottle and go for All Purpose Cleaner ? It won't remove dust and iron , but I guess at least APC would be safe on rotors and brake callipers?
Maybe another Iron remover or it would be the same risk?

In general I'd rather live with the brake dust and iron, and visit a professional detailer twice a year to clean that out instead of risking rust on the brakes.
Probably I was impressed by the bleeding effect and that's why I ordered , but then I saw the comments for the brake callipers.
After all I just want clean rims , probably that car will be replaced with another one in several years.

Probably they will rust anyway in a year or two, but I don't want to speed up the process.
Some photos of the brakes, no idea why they upload upside down , sorry for that:

View attachment 70722
View attachment 70723

 

[acuRAS82]

Welcome! I have my own uneducated thoughts, but I don’t want your first formal advice here to be from my complete guess. So I’m here to welcome you and to gain insight from more knowledgeable advice.

 

[SalmonPride]

Welcome! I have my own uneducated thoughts, but I don’t want your first formal advice here to be from my complete guess. So I’m here to welcome you and to gain insight from more knowledgeable advice.

Thanks!
Formal, informal , doesn’t matter. I would like to hear your thoughts
It just seems like a great product, but with too many unknowns. I’d rather go with W6 as being safer and APC for regular maintenance.

 

[57Rambler]

The primary concern is affecting the paint/finish on calipers, esp. low quality paint.

That said, a strong alkaline APC could be just as bad as Iron X.

 

[DMiglio]

My thoughts would be first and foremost to stay away from anything highly acidic or highly alkaline. On bare metals they can wreak havoc!

Meguiars makes some phenomenal detail products, but if you look, they must have 5 or 6 if not more wheel cleaning chemicals. They are concerned with the type of wheel finish, whether it be bare aluminum, coated, chrome etc.

If you’re looking at a wheel cleaner that has iron dissolving capability and all wheel safe I’d recommend these 3. I’ve used them all to no ill affects as far as I can tell and they’ve worked extremely well.

SONAX Wheel Cleaner, all wheel cleaner, chrome wheel cleaner, aluminum wheel cleaner, full effect wheel cleaner

Griot's Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner, Griots wheel cleaner, hd wheel cleaner

Meguiar?s Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner

If looking for a general purpose all wheel and tire cleaner, I really like Brake Buster. It may not be the strongest wheel cleaner ever, but in this case that’s not what you’re looking for. I’ve also never used it stronger than a 5:1 dilution (5 parts water:1 part product).

Foams up well, cleaning is still very good, includes rust inhibitors, great all rounder!

P&S Brake Buster Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner

P&S Brake Buster Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner 128 oz. <—- Gallon size since 16oz bottle is out of stock, but for the money it’s a wonderful cost effective product.

Another favorite I’ve yet to try but has great reviews and been around for years!

https://www.autogeek.net/d14301-btl.html

 

[FUNX650]

•The issue of whether IronX can possibly adversely
affect calipers’ finishes, usually arises when (cheaply)
painted aftermarket calipers; and or, (on the cheap)
DIY caliper paint jobs are involved.

********************************************

•It appears your calipers are OEM (from the Factory).
-As such: Do a “Test Spot” before going full bore.

View attachment 70722
View attachment 70723

Note:
•If wheel weights happen to ‘turn color’ (often a
greenish tint), brushing them—while thoroughly
rinsing—will return them to their previous glory.


Bob

 

[acuRAS82]

Thanks!
Formal, informal , doesn’t matter. I would like to hear your thoughts
It just seems like a great product, but with too many unknowns. I’d rather go with W6 as being safer and APC for regular maintenance.

I was just going to say that I have some old rusty calipers and some newer nice calipers. None are after market except two rears on the Acura which haven’t seen Iron dissolving cleaner yet, but will very soon. I haven’t seen a correlation between condition of my calipers versus how many times I’ve used iron dissolving cleaners. I use these cleaners 4-6 times per year typically. Sometimes diluted with water.

I use Pinnacle Wheel Cleaner and BF Iron Remover. Mainly Pinnacle.

 

[SalmonPride]

•The issue of whether IronX can possibly adversely
affect calipers’ finishes, usually arises when (cheaply)
painted aftermarket calipers; and or, (on the cheap)
DIY caliper paint jobs are involved.

Thanks Bob.
I read almost every post on Iron X and calipers,and yes most state that it wouldn't affect factory wheels and brakes.
But still a few threads of guys with newly bought cars that share negative experience.
How long should I wait to see if it indeed affects finish ?

Meguiars makes some phenomenal detail products, but if you look, they must have 5 or 6 if not more wheel cleaning chemicals. They are concerned with the type of wheel finish, whether it be bare aluminum, coated, chrome etc.

@DMiglio What worries me with Meguiars is also that they have a lot of wheel cleaning products and not sure which one to use.
For example again a similar thread where a customer got his new car calliper ruined -> Hot Wheel cleaner damaged my caliper paint

It just looks quite similar to the one I have, and I really want to avoid that.

Probably I am gonna try the Sonax , a lot of people suggest as safe and no side effects.
On the APC side - what about Chemical Guys Nonsense ? I think it is PH neutral, not sure how alkaline is it.

 

[DMiglio]

I had mentioned Meguiars mainly for the fact that they carry so many wheel cleaning options. I remember hearing about the Hot Wheels All Wheel and Tire Cleaner causing issues for some users. As such I’d stay away from that just to be safe.

I really like the Sonax wheel cleaner, it’s a bit pricey sure but works very well and I, like many others, haven’t had issues with it.

Depending on your level of concern you can give an APC a try but I’d rather use a 5 gallon bucket with some car wash soap to compliment your wheel cleaner. You can maybe do a few gallons of water and 1 or 2 ounces of APC to keep it highly diluted and neutralize it a bit more.

Whatever you do, don’t use any cleaners on baking hot wheels and brakes. This seems to be where things go wrong even with very safe products!

 

[oneheadlite]

Personally, I don't worry too much doing an iron treatment here and there. My car has over 235 k (135k with me), and the calipers don't look like a hot mess because I've used Griot's HD wheel cleaner, Iron X, or Griot's Iron and Fallout Remover on them.

I swear when I looked at your link the other day it was for an X3, now it's an F30 link - am I going crazy? The rotors that I saw on that X3 thread look perfectly normal for that car - brakes get hot, and it will "cook off" the factory rotor coating on the hat/non swept area and they'll end up getting surface rust like that. (I wrench on BMWs, Audis and Minis all day).

My advice - do one really good deep clean with your wheels and get them back to factory fresh, then apply a sturdy Last Step Product to them (wheel coating, sealant, etc). Then as long as you keep up with them you really won't need to hit them with heavy duty cleaners any way. When I had time to do more frequent washes, I went a long time just using the last of the car wash bucket to do wheels - not even using a wheel cleaner/apc/other.

FWIW - if you have your car washed at the dealer when you have it serviced, know that they're probably spraying the wheels/bug covered/grimey areas with a high PH spray before running it through their wash process.
I just looked up the product the runners used at the dealership I used to work at - "PH > 13". They'd spray the wheels down, speed hand wash it with one of the same 2 mitts that were in the bucket all day, run it through the automatic touchless, and towel dry it in a parking spot. Not saying it was right, just saying a lot of brakes have gone through worse...

 

[SalmonPride]

I swear when I looked at your link the other day it was for an X3, now it's an F30 link - am I going crazy?

You are totally sane I was looking at two threads in BWM forum, but initially posted the wrong one.

FWIW - if you have your car washed at the dealer when you have it serviced, know that they're probably spraying the wheels/bug covered/grimey areas with a high PH spray before running it through their wash process. Not saying it was right, just saying a lot of brakes have gone through worse...

I guess you are right about the dealership and for sure you are right the wheels and even the car has seen worse. Not only dealership but any autowash that I went to.

My advice - do one really good deep clean with your wheels and get them back to factory fresh, then apply a sturdy Last Step Product to them (wheel coating, sealant, etc). Then as long as you keep up with them you really won't need to hit them with heavy duty cleaners any way.

Totally agree with you, that would be the best decision, but the only thing I am worried here is if any coating might lead to warranty void. Not really sure how the dealership is looking on those coatings applied to the vehicle. Actually can a coating be applied to the factory calipers ?

---

I just really want to try out that IronX, not sure what is it , probably out of curiosity. So I think I will go with the nylon bag tip and if I can also cover the rotors. Anyway I believe that IronX will be thrown after the first use. I have heard horror stories of the smell and since I wash my car at self service I don't want to carry that bottle in the trunk. Also no where to keep at home if the smell is that bad. I took it for really good price - just 15$ so not a big deal if I just don't use it at all. As I said - it's not about the money, it's about the curiosity I have.

On another note it will be safer to go with @DMiglio advice and purchase Sonax wheel cleaner,which seems to be quite safe even if it reaches rotors and calipers. Would have bought that one actually, but not available locally, so I have to order. Maybe I should consider P21S as well?

Anyway those wheel cleaners will be used not so often. One good clean with them every few months is enough when wheels are really dirty, then I will probably do just maintenance with APC and each wash - car soap + brushes.

 

[DMiglio]

Sounds like a good plan!

Funny story about these iron cleaners.

I once washed my wife’s car and did iron decon on her wheels and paint. I used an old wash mitt to help agitate and when I finished up I left it and my brushes in a bucket. I was at a pay and spray so packed up and drove home.

The next morning I hadn’t removed the bucket/brushes etc. We got in her car and thought, what’s that smell!?

I had forgot about the whole thing until we went to pack our groceries in her trunk

 

[oneheadlite]

... Funny story about these iron cleaners. ...

I shared with SalmonPride via PM - I had brought my bottle of Iron X to my work when I first got it. The bottle (with sprayer in) got knocked over behind a chair in the locker room. At the end of the day, just as we were about to pull lockers forward to figure out what died in there, I had that "... Oh No. :doh: " moment. :laughing:

Ever since then, I put the shipping cap back on the bottle, flush the sprayer with water, and store it all in a gallon ziplock bag. Hasn't been a problem since. :xyxthumbs:

 

[SalmonPride]

Guys, thanks so much for your replies!

@oneheadlite Thanks so much for your private PM, I wanted to reply, but you reached Inbox limit .Could you delete some messages so I can answer.


On another note I am mostly concerned that the car is relatively new, always sitting in a garage, only doing 5000miles per year. So I was thinking - yes, there might be brake dust, but how much, rotors and calipers look good, should I risk getting discolored calipers or any other reaction just to try a product.

Especially when my wife things to return that car when the leasing is over and get a new one. So probably - too much worry for something that will be returned. No need to go the extra mile and use products that might have some drawbacks?

Actually probably this is a valid question for any brand new car, when you have the warranty should you go into that much care and use products that might lead to undesirable results when it's all covered by the dealership?

 

[SalmonPride]

I usually try to never leave any thread that I started open, so that others who might have the same questions find out what happened eventually.

What happened - actually nothing It is all good! No discolouring on brake callipers and it's the second time I am using IronX on those wheels.
Just rinse the wheels, make sure they are not hot afterwards, apply IronX, wait a bit , rinse again, regular wash and final rinse.
Wheels look good as new, I still have a lot of brake dust, but I admit it was because I didn't clean wheels properly ( brush & agitation).

Also - yes, it smells bad, but it is bearable.
Of course be more gentle around the brake callipers , but no need to cover them. Just make sure you rinse good.

Even without agitation and wheel wollie, just spray and wait, the effect is amazing! I will try to post photo later and add it to this post.