removing stubborn brake dust from alloys

Fair washing up liquid works great, for a proper wheel cleaner though Bilt Hamber is fantastic

I got this stuff, done probably 16 wheels so far and loads left
Amazon6

+1 for Cillit Bang. Works a treat!

I found using the cheapo stuff on the likes of eBay was great bang for buck. The secret was to let the cleaner do the work, the longer the cleaner was left on the wheels the better. Also 5 Liters goes a long way and will clean many sets of alloys.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5L-Alloy-Wheel-Cleaner-PRO-Strong-Strength-Without-Acid-as-Used-by-Valeters/383690073557?hash=item5955b5e5d5:g:EC8AAOSwePReLxvl

Wonder wheels by car plan available in most car shops
Great stuff

Won't scourer pads scratch the clear lacquer coat?

I use cheap nylon-bristle scrubbing brushes a bit like these:



and the cheapest Tesco value toothbrushes:

Non scratch ones that are used on. On stick pans may assist..... depends how bad the wheels are, use on the inside / hidden area first to get an idea of markings left?

I do something similar.

I wax the wheels with a resiliant wax. After all, they will be hammered alot more than the bodywork of the car. This single change has made cleaning wheels much much easier.

I may try Cillit Bang myself on the Mondeo wheels. They come up OK, but they are stained. They were never waxed however from the off, which I doubt has helped.



You can see that the centres are slightly stained. The wheels were much worse before mind you.

I used Bilt Hamber wheel cleaner which seems to be tough but also safe. Wonder Wheels IME tends to mar the surface slightly over time, where the wheel cleaner seems to keep things having their shine.

Bilt Hamber was superb on my M3 wheels mind you, and I didn't think they could be coaxed back. The wheels were admittedly dirty in this shot, but there was backed on dust.





About other products however
-Fairy Liquid ; I've had good results with it stripping back paintwork before. Brake dust I can't remember. I rarely use it due to the salt content, and after all, salt and bodywork don't tend to mix.
-TFR : I've had this produce good results, but never bring back wheels where the dirt is ingrained into the paint if that makes sense. The Mondeo has that issue, but also my 944 did.

On the latter, I used to on occasion use Eastern European car washes. I know I know....

When it was for a little too long (and it wasn't that long) it left a staining on the bodywork, almost as if the water droplets had burned themselves into the bodywork. Given it was a cold day (this time of year) that the car was washed I was pretty annoyed.

After that, I've never used TFR on cars again. On cars with anodised trim (my Mondeo, all Mercs since the Stroke 8s at least, VW Passats), it seems to attach the anodising, even if not left on for long. That leaves you with trim that's very hard to get right again. After all, anodising is a funny thing, regarding its durability but weakness too.

If it does that to trim, it can't do much good on suspension components, bare metal items and places where the bodywork is chipped etc.

Billit Hamber wheel cleaner is brilliant. Well worth a purchase