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What would be a good way to remove the old brake dust and hardened stuff on the backside of my stock rims? I tried tar remover, simple green, brake clean, carburetor cleaner, ect... and nothing has really done that well. I'm not trying to strip/polish the rims, just clean the crap off of the backs.
Maybe someone has an idea of what will work and not damage the rims.
Ironx will help neutralize everything and make it easier to clean. But if its been on their a few years. Claying and other cleaners will help but it will take a full polishing to get rid of it all. Brake dust if not neutralized will etch into the surface and cause grooves were it will bind to it.
Hiya,
Been there, done this and although my cleaning of the back of the rims is a pre-cursor to further
work with abrasive papers and flap wheels and stuff my initial cleaning is with acetone and a
scotchbrite.
If you don't want to scratch things then a fine one or a worn one and this is just enough "bite"
to loosen the crap with the acetone. As always start mild and work up so you may find that acetone
and a rough type of shop rag will do??!
Hope this helps.
Trev :)
I was going to say that you'll probably need some type of solvent to really get that stuff off. Whatever you use, test it first in a small area before you go nuts on the whole back of the rim.
Thanks for all the ideas, I kind of figured it was going to be difficult. I wonder if lacquer thinner would loosen the crud up?
I will try a few different chemicals/solvents and some fine abrasive or steel wool and see where that gets me.
Thanks again!
Lacquer thinner might work, but I don't know if it will stain the finish permanently. I have used brake cleaner and a wire brush to remove brake dust when I balance polished wheels using tape weights.