cleaning rims

[And1Lupo]

howdy folk, looking for suggestions on what to use for removing coarse brake dust on the bbs ra's. What chemicals to be using, works best and experience etc?

cheers

Andy

[cafcross]

I find that using Ag Engine and Machine Cleaner on them, rubbing it in with a AG wheel brush and leaving for 5 mins then pressure washing them off does the trick.

[PaperWeight1]

What do you have at the minute?

[And1Lupo]

What do you have at the minute?

cheers cafcross will look into that, I'm usually refurbing with wet / dry fine sand grades but obv prefer not to do that too often as eventually go through the rims, then a metal poilsh with a.glym.

[jamiea7x]

i found that cillit bang worked a treat on a set of my old wheels that and a stiff brush

[And1Lupo]

i found that cillit bang worked a treat on a set of my old wheels that and a stiff brush

See I was thinking that myself mate, but wasn't too sure if they be too harsh chemical and corrode having seen how good it is for stubborn dirt on tiles etc

[jamiea7x]

i didnt leave it on for long as stuf started to turn green haha

[Stein]

I would use an acid-free wheel cleaner, such as autosmart smart wheels, valetpro bilberry, Autoglym custom wheel cleaner to name a few.

I usually spray wheel cleaner liberally all over the wheel and then agitate with a swissvax brush on the front and a EZ detail brush for the back of the wheel.

[PaperWeight1]

If you keep on top of them then diluted all purpose cleaner will do the job.

Bilberry is good for tougher dirt.

[And1Lupo]

Cheers guys, gonna shop tomorrow and have them shining again hopefully, will post pics if the turnouts good

[TomStevo]

what ever you do do not use TFR, i got it recomended and it will make your paint go dull as hell, its only good for polished alloy but after cleaning polished alloy with tfr you need to get the metal polish out lol

TFR is traffic film remover if you were wondering, used for cleaning commercial vehicles, vans, trucks etc

[And1Lupo]

cheers for the tip mate, haven't come a cross that yet though

[And1Lupo]

Gave a shot over the weekend yesterday having bought megs all wheel cleaner, premium blue rim cleaner and car-lack wheel cleaner, 4hours seen some decent results with a bit of shine and polish back into them again (the prem. rim cleaner works wonders), however still noticeably caked on dust and streaks in the edges of the rim, no photos of them as of yet but will post if i can tomorrow, might try the clay bar or 'muc off' cleaner trick next and see, can certainly recommend the rim cleaner (£7 or so @ cleanyourcar.co.uk) cheap stuff with outstanding results, however my rims are indeed beyond this seeing as wetsanding proved difficult even.

[Defcon5]

Remember stuff that says acid free will just be an alkali that is just as strong and damaging as an acid.

[TomStevo]

i tried autogylm custom wheel cleaner this weekend, tbh its the best thing ive used so far, sprey it on and its like a work, give it a scrub with a sponge and wash off and it got every bit of brake dust of lol

[And1Lupo]

Here are some after photos from last week, a major noticeable difference as they were covered beforehand, the fronts have still a bit of work to do so trying the billberry wheel cleaner tomorrow:

(fronts)

(back)

[HAIRBear]

break dust is a pain is the assss. a clear sheet of...something..behind the rim would be soo handy haha

[lupo pete]

J M L steam genie

just finsh using it on the lupo and the T5

gets in nuck and crans

see if mam or ya grans got one and try it.

[pro3mark]

I use Bilberry, does amazing stuff, and can be easily diluted, I've also heard very good things about Dodo Mellow Yellow, as with most of their products, I doubt you'd find a bad comment.

Also, always try to seal your wheels with a specific wheel sealent, don't use wax, it's pretty pointless.

[andyp]

try wonder wheels cleaner.. and also a clay bar as that should help pick some of the dust off