hsmac

Hello all, I was working on my brakes and saw how dirty the area was from the wheels to the rotors to the calipers. a wire brush did a good job of removing the brake dust but was laborious and didn't clean down to the bone. i know there are cleaning products you can buy but i was wondering if these actually do a better job than normal car soap would do? what's the best way to clean all these parts to make the vehicle look new again? i also used black magic tire wet in the past but heard they dry out the tires so am wondering if there's a better alternative.

p.s. are the wheels aluminum alloy? any other detailing tips for the car?

Thanks!

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Well, to start, I'll say I hope you didn't use a wire brush on the wheels? Hard to tell if you were referring to cleaning the brakes themselves or the wheels... but please don't use a wire brush on any smooth surface

Here is a lot of information on how to properly clean your wheels...

How to Detail Your Wheels, Tires and Wheel Wells by Todd Cooperider
How to Properly Clean Wheels: Lug Nuts, Faces and Barrels…Oh My! by Ian Howard
My Go-To Wheel and Tire Cleaning Products by Zach McGovern
Video How-To: Thoroughly and Safely Clean Your Wheels by Jean-Claude Corcoran
Wheel Cleaning Basics by Greg Nichols


If your wheels are really in need of some love, it can be very helpful to completely remove them from the vehicle for cleaning.





This also allows you to easily access your brakes, wheel wells, and suspension for cleaning.

hsmac

thanks, i used wire for rotors and calipers and brass/nylon for the wheels. after one section it still looked bad and realized it will just end up rusted again in the near future, so I won't spend much effort cleaning the other ones.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Brass on wheels? I think you may have already incurred damage.. No metal brush of any sort should touch the wheel's surface.

roseyyz

Thanks for this info, mine need TLC/CPR/911/ASAP. They are in TERRIBLE condition (aesthetically) and there are lots of different advises from the tutorials on youtube. Wet-sanding from 60 to 1000 is what I gathered the most from the tutorials. Seems like a project tho.. and it all has to be done by hand! Any other valuable suggestion on how to restore these wheels from 1999?

charley95

I would suggest repaint or powder coat.

roseyyz

Thanks Charley for your suggestion. I think that is the only way to go after driving those around for 16 years :/