i have 17" stock S-Lites. the fronts are collecting lots of baked brake pad residue as well many "pitted" spots. what is the best way to clean this off?

 

those are tough to clean. you will have to take a polish on each pit and clean them out.

best you get them repaired. yes, that is a damaged wheel imho.

 

P21S Gel Special Performance Wheel Cleaner...works for me!
Not only the dust, but the calcified crap that collects in the crevices 'melts' away in minutes!

The pump spray kit is around $16.

 

i assume that the "pitted" spots are a result of hot particles from the brake pads fusing into the clear coat on the wheel.

anybody every tried detailing clay?

 

hard to tell.. i thought the paint was chipped.

 

I get this 'crap' in the nooks of the s-lites (the rounded corners of the triangles). Feels like grit, so I suspect rotor parts? the front ones are nasty, with just under 4k on the clock and I'm fairly **** about cleaning my wheels (every 150-200 or so until winter set in and you couldn't clean the wheels without the water freezing on them)

Will the P21 take care of this?

Cheers!

 

detail clay, works wonders. . .

its time consuming, but for the crap that won't come off any other way, its awesome

 

Who'da thunk. Will give this a shot. I don't mind the time commitment, I spent a good hour doing all 4 and getting them as best I could

Cheers!

 

I've use this stuff for years. I've never had any problems with pitting. I'm guessing that you really don't have a pitting problem and that it's just baked on brake dust. I'm going to stick my neck out and stay that this stuff will take it off. Just spray it all over the wheel and use a plastic bristled brush to scrub the wheel real good. Then rinse it off. The key part is to rinse it off real good as it supposedly contains a small amount of acid and if you don't rinse it off real good, it could eat the surface or something. I was warned of this problem but I've never actually experienced it myself in 10 years of using it.

As an added plus, it also makes a great tire cleaner! You can buy it just about anywhere (Wal-Mart, AutoZone, etc....)

 

Benja, please give us a report on th detailing clay. i got a similar suggestion from an acquaintance.