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So I have a detailing question. 2010 R55 with black wheels. Bought a year or so ago but the wheels have what looks like a metal brake residue imbedded in them. I've cleaned the wheels when washing the car but the "rust" tint still shows up. What can I do to clean them up? Any help is appreciated. Image attached to help to see the residue.
Dan.
The two three who posted before me are both correct! You’ll want an iron neutralizer, which will dissolve a lot of the brake dust, and a clay bar to remove the rest of the stuck in particles.
Start with a simple wash to get the grunge off the wheels.
Then use an iron remover such as Iron-X by CarPro (my favorite of all the ones I’ve tried). Spray it on, let it dwell for a couple minutes, rub with sponge, then hose off. Those wheels look like they may want a couple rounds of this.
next, get yourself an automotive paint clay bar. Pretty much any brand will do; they all are basically the same sort of sticky polymer clay. Tear off a piece the size of a quarter or fifty cent coin, spray wheel with a shot of your favorite quick detailer (or a dedicated “clay lube” if you want to get fancy). Rub the clay across the wheel surface. Check for dirt pick up. There will be a lot. Fold the clay to get a clean surface. Repeat. Over and over. As you use it with clay will get loaded up with dirt; at some point you’ll want to toss it out and tear a new piece off your block of clay.
(another reason to use small bits of clay at a time... when you drop it, it will pick up all the grit from the road/driveway/garage/ground under it. And you will drop it. When you do, throw it out. Don’t drag that grit and rock over your paint!)
with some elbow grease and patience, you’ll have the wheels back to shiny clean! Consider applying a protectant of some sort. That can be as simple as good old car wax. The point is to give the new brake dust a surface other than the paint to stick to. That makes removing the dirt much easier next time!
Last edited by bratling; May 23, 2021 at 12:37 PM.
Reason: Mountainhorse got there first!
The two who posted before me are both correct! You’ll want an iron neutralizer, which will dissolve a lot of the brake dust, and a clay bar to remove the rest of the stuck in particles.
Start with a simple wash to get the grunge off the wheels.
Then use an iron remover such as Iron-X by CarPro (my favorite of all the ones I’ve tried). Spray it on, let it dwell for a couple minutes, rub with sponge, then hose off. Those wheels look like they may want a couple rounds of this.
next, get yourself an automotive paint clay bar. Pretty much any brand will do; they all are basically the same sort of sticky polymer clay. Tear off a piece the size of a quarter or fifty cent coin, spray wheel with a shot of your favorite quick detailer (or a dedicated “clay lube” if you want to get fancy). Rub the clay across the wheel surface. Check for dirt pick up. There will be a lot. Fold the clay to get a clean surface. Repeat. Over and over. As you use it with clay will get loaded up with dirt; at some point you’ll want to toss it out and tear a new piece off your block of clay.
(another reason to use small bits of clay at a time... when you drop it, it will pick up all the grit from the road/driveway/garage/ground under it. And you will drop it. When you do, throw it out. Don’t drag that grit and rock over your paint!)
with some elbow grease and patience, you’ll have the wheels back to shiny clean! Consider applying a protectant of some sort. That can be as simple as good old car wax. The point is to give the new brake dust a surface other than the paint to stick to. That makes removing the dirt much easier next time!
black, white and most silver wheels from MINI are painted and clear coated same as the bodywork .....
while use of special chemicals to deal with baked on brake dust is often required, in general the care of the finish so no different than the bonnet!!!! And if the dust is (was) SO bad that the finish is pitted ..... wellllllll ....
wheel silver: code A54 SW formula79742 ,Wheel Brt Silver Met
This is the part that I want to not think about. I am HOPING that the surface is not too bad.
When I am in the midst of the changeover, I will find out. Till then I don't want to even swipe a finger across the surface. We will see how it goes.
Although there is a bit of road rash on two wheels , so I have an excuse to get the wheels powder coated. And of course, new tires would be necessary.
