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Super sticky and thick brake dust advice

3K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  tosh 
#1 ·
So today I got the Ez brush out and had a good old scrub on the Mrs' Ford Kuga wheel barrels. The inside of the front drivers wheel is caked in super gunky brake dust! It caked the brush in seconds and rendered it useless.

I moved from Autofinesse Imperial to AG clean wheels which seemed to get it moving a bit more.

Any tips on what to use to scrub it with and whether I need a different product?

P.s this is the first time the barrel has been cleaned and it's a three year old car.
 
#3 · (Edited)
When wheels are this bad it can be a struggle.
As mentioned acid wheel cleaner is the way to go.
I find the hard/stiff type of Atlasta workshop brushes to be excellent for this application.
I would remove the wheels and spray cleaner onto the barrels, then cover, spray every few minutes to keep the contamination wet and allow the cleaner to penetrate into the surface. If you have something else to do, while you wait, so much the better just keep the surface wet with acid don't let it dry. It can take an hour or so if the contamination is really bad.
I find it is not something that can be rushed because unless it is well and truly softened it will not come off and is not something that can be scrubbed or scraped away.
Once softened it can be agitated to loosen and then spray more acid to keep it moist for a while and keep working.
Once you are happy it is well and truly softened it can be carefully washed off.
It will probably need doing again but will be easier this time around but the same process applies.
Patience is the key.
If it is greasy, parrafin is the best thing I have found to break it down. Once removed then clean with the acid.
 
#8 ·
If it's that sticky and transferring to the brush are you sure it's brake dust? Could be grease or oil, maybe from the CV joint or another oily liquid that's mixed with general dirt and grime.

If the wheel cleaners aren't that effective, try a reasonably strong dilution of an all purpose cleaner or maybe s tar remover if it's really heavy
That's a good point!! It's the only wheel which is like this! I shall have closer inspection. It is very greasy in texture now that I think about it.

What would one suggest in that case?
 
#9 ·
I've had (front) wheels like this where it was CV joint grease; you need a pressure washer and lots of degreaser. You can't get it all in one go. I had to degrease, pressure wash and then scrape a layer into a work towel and bin it. Then repeat about 3-4 times.


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