I cannot take some of the brake dust of the front wheels. It seems like it's bakes on there in little dots...all over the wheels especially in the corners. I tried Simple Green and a toothbrush and couldnt get it off...they come of when I use my fingernail but I get crap under the nail and slightly scratch the wheel...some one help me out....I broke 2 toothbrushes and was exhausted and still didnt come close to gettin rid of it.

 

I feel your pain, can't wait to put Axxis pads on I have sitting on my desk...
Try Mothers Pre-Wax Cleaner. It get's off specs of road tar off the paint without damaging it-might help with caked on brake dust as well.

 

I have used "Oil Eater" a "Cleaner and Degreaser" from Costco (I think about $6 for a gallon). It sprays on and removes most of it just sitting on the wheel. A mildly stiff brush removes the rest. It seems safe as far as I can tell and I use it on my bicycles on the paint and chain, etc with no damage. I think I would not use it directly on the G paint, but it might be OK. It is water soluble. Of course, if you drive 2-3 mph, you may not need the brakes much and so have less dust.

 

The outside surface of the rims come clean with regualr car wash soap and water (and elbow grease and patience).

I used a brass bristle brush on the INSIDE of the rims. ( I did them while I was rotating the tires). Brass is pretty soft, and I noticed no scratches on the Alloy rims.
It got the dust off, but there is stiall a sligh discoloration where the heave dust was... It still looks better than the black, caked on dust.

I figure I can handle that every 7,500 Miles when I rotate the tires.

 

Simple Green and some of the others mentioned in here are too aggressive for our wheels in my opinion.

I'd recommend washing the wheels with A-Z wheel cleaner by Eagle One. Then, wax the wheels and the next time around, it should come off no problem. I wax my wheels as often as the rest of the car (~6 weeks).

 

Eagle One A2Z works really nice and their new formula foams up and stays on the wheel (doesnt slide down immediately). I had some stubborn brake dust in some corners and this stuff loosened it up enough to scrub out with a toothbrush easily.
I also know that the brand name "WheelWax" works great at removing the dust and is also a great product to use to keep future dust more manageable.
Good Luck.

 

guys you're killing me I dont have a full time job and dont have time to WAX my wheels...I just came back from using simple green and a kitchen sponge..you know with yellow one one side and that rought green stuff on the other....got everything off with a lot of elbow power....but hell on a hot day with a lot of driving these pads will dust then bake the little dots onto the wheels again...

 

"Oil Eater" a "Cleaner and Degreaser" from Costco worked great the first time with much dust and dirt, and ever since. No nasty abrasive pads needed. Most came off with the stuff just sitting while I sprayed it on the other wheels and then rinsed. The little I needed to work on came off easily with a mild nylon-type brush and virtually no elbow grease. There does not appear to be any damage to the finish on my stock wheels.

 

Wheelwax

 

I second that. I just used wheel wax this weekend and only used it on my front wheels. That's where we get most of the dust and I have chrome wheels. I put it on Sunday and as of today (tuesday, 4:28pm pacific time) my rear wheels actually have all the brake dust settled and my fronts are still shinny. It does work and i'm now a believer of wheel wax.

 

Wheel wax works well. Rims stay cleaner longer and dust is easier to remove. The more coats the better it seems to work. It actually will clean too.

 

Deane, where did you buy your wheel wax at?

 

Reading about wheel wax... If you put your car through an automatic car wash - you'll have to re-apply wheel wax.

(Which makes it useless to me unfortunately - I am worried about the summer "baking" months coming)

 

Automatic car wash?!?!? Noooooooooooooo!!!!!