Brake dust revisited

Originally Posted by wheelguy

Nick,
great job on the post. In 1997, I bought a 1995 840 added the M-style dual spoke wheels and ended up with a bad brake dust problem. I went to ceramic pads and lost some performance along with the dust and went back to soft pads because stopping is important sometimes. I then worked with a chemist to develop WheelWax (acutally a polymer, not a wax) and have been marketing it for 3 years now to fellow BMW drivers. I would be glad to send you a jar for your evaluation and you can find more information at www.wheelwax.com where you will also find my phone number for questions.

You are right about waxes melting and making matters worse. The polymers bond to the wheels, last longer and help protect the wheel surface. We combined three elements in our formula. A cleaner to remove old brake dust that is baked onto the wheel, amino functional silicones to seal the painted surface and an anti static element to help repel the dust. The rule of thumb these days is don't use anything to clean your wheels that you wouldn't use on your fenders. They are both covered with clear coats and can be damaged by acidic formulas. There is nothing in WheelWax that can harm paint or wheels. You can use it in the sun, leave it on for days and it comes off just as easily.

Send me an e-mail or call me and I will send you a jar for your evaluation. Hope this helps.

All the best,


Bruce

Bruce, I bought your wheelwax and it does not seem to do anything more compared to other waxes. Haveyou actually done tests on how it holds up ?

thanks

Originally Posted by wheelguy

[snip] …. You are right about waxes melting and making matters worse. The polymers bond to the wheels, last longer and help protect the wheel surface. We combined three elements in our formula. A cleaner to remove old brake dust that is baked onto the wheel, amino functional silicones to seal the painted surface and an anti static element to help repel the dust. The rule of thumb these days is don't use anything to clean your wheels that you wouldn't use on your fenders. They are both covered with clear coats and can be damaged by acidic formulas. There is nothing in WheelWax that can harm paint or wheels. You can use it in the sun, leave it on for days and it comes off just as easily.

Send me an e-mail or call me and I will send you a jar for your evaluation. Hope this helps.

All the best,
Bruce

Wheel Wax is one of the many wheel care products that I evaluated in my comparative testing. Although it may be the product of choice for some, for me it didn’t perform nearly as well as Zaino or Klasse.

I currently use Klasse on all three of my cars; Z3 and xB with silver gray wheels and MINI with white wheels. Normally a spritzing with Sonüs Acrylic Glanz and a wipe with a terry towel is all that is needed to remove all of the brake dust. Occasionally - - like after very spirited driving in the twisties where the brakes have gotten pretty hot - - there will be a few spots of dust that do not wipe off easily. In those cases I apply a little Klasse AIO and the dust comes right off with no problem. Every 1,000 miles or so I go over the entire wheel with AIO and top with two coats of Klasse HGSG.

On wheels it can be difficult to apply an appropriately thin layer of HGSG because of the odd shapes, crevices and curves, and this can make the HGSG hard to buff out. A spritz of Sonüs and a light rub with a MF towel takes care of the problem.

I’m perfectly satisfied with my Klasse method and cannot imagine an easier method - - until somebody develops a self-cleaning wheel.

I tried WheelWax and did not see any benefit. Klasse seems to make the dust adhere the least, IMO.

I was promised a refund on the wheelwax from the manufacturer but it never arrived. I just chucked it in the trash. $15 lesson.

What about ceramic brakes? Can they be used on BMWs?

Has anyone tried these?

Wheel Shields

those things are actually bad for your braking performance even though they say it doesnt. not that you wont stop as fast , but your brakes arent cooling off like they need too. those things block dust from getting out and block cool air from coming in and hitting the brakes. i would never use them. its for lazy people who dont find it necessary to wipe their wheels when they wash there car

I'm starting to get some staining on my rims (the 5 spoke ones in post # 19) and am wondering what I can do to remove/prevent this from happening before it gets out of hand. I wash my car every week so there's not a lot of buildup. I don't understand why this is happening. Please help

Originally Posted by zentenn

I'm starting to get some staining on my rims (the 5 spoke ones in post # 19) and am wondering what I can do to remove/prevent this from happening before it gets out of hand. I wash my car every week so there's not a lot of buildup. I don't understand why this is happening. Please help

My experience with stock BMW pads is that they dust heavily in one day. They work great on the street and are rotor-friendly, but they produce a lot of dust. On the street, I now run Axxis Deluxe Plus pads, which dust a lot less. Audi pads are the same, they dust heavily. I'm assuming it's a TUV thing with pad content.

I'm back to using Wheel Wax on my wheels, instead of RejeX. It's a time thing; it's very easy to apply, dries quickly (and changes color in the process), and is easy to buff. Easy enough to do almost every time I wash the car. It's worked well for me over the last year or so. I wind up cleaning my wheels thoroughly at each washing anyway (often involving tar remover, which removes wax), so an easy-to-apply product fits my needs.

I might be crazy, but with stock pads you have to clean your wheels almost daily to keep them free of brake dust. It was annoying me when working on the rear of the car (brake dust everywhere, even up on my trunk lid). Hence the pad change.

Originally Posted by dwm

It was annoying me when working on the rear of the car (brake dust everywhere, even up on my trunk lid).

Really? That's brake dust? I thought it was particulate matter from the exhaust.

Originally Posted by FenPhen

Really? That's brake dust? I thought it was particulate matter from the exhaust.

On my car, it was brake dust. Everywhere on the underside in the rear, and then some on the bumper cover, the trunk lid and the tops of the rear fenders. Lots of it inside the rear bumper cover. Gone with the change to Axxis Deluxe Plus pads.

I can't speak for other cars, but the aero of the roadster brings brake dust up onto the trunk lid in fairly short order. Enough to warrant being careful about proximity to the trunk lid and bumper cover with light colored clothing if the car hadn't been washed in a few days.

Originally Posted by dwm

My experience with stock BMW pads is that they dust heavily in one day. They work great on the street and are rotor-friendly, but they produce a lot of dust. On the street, I now run Axxis Deluxe Plus pads, which dust a lot less. Audi pads are the same, they dust heavily. I'm assuming it's a TUV thing with pad content.

I'm back to using Wheel Wax on my wheels, instead of RejeX. It's a time thing; it's very easy to apply, dries quickly (and changes color in the process), and is easy to buff. Easy enough to do almost every time I wash the car. It's worked well for me over the last year or so. I wind up cleaning my wheels thoroughly at each washing anyway (often involving tar remover, which removes wax), so an easy-to-apply product fits my needs.

I might be crazy, but with stock pads you have to clean your wheels almost daily to keep them free of brake dust. It was annoying me when working on the rear of the car (brake dust everywhere, even up on my trunk lid). Hence the pad change.

Thanks for the pad recommendation, but I want to know how to remove the stains

Originally Posted by zentenn

Has anyone tried these?

Wheel Shields

I tried these out on my truck.

They do have vents cut in them for air to get in, but your wheels do get extremely hot. Also, they do not completely work. I still get a decent collection of dust on the rims that gets through the cracks.

The best thing when I had my car was buy Axxis Deluxe Plus pads. I should have done that as my first mod.

I hope they come out for the E90 soon.

Originally Posted by wheelguy

I then worked with a chemist to develop WheelWax (acutally a polymer, not a wax) and have been marketing it for 3 years now to fellow BMW drivers. I would be glad to send you a jar for your evaluation and you can find more information at www.wheelwax.com where you will also find my phone number for questions.

You are right about waxes melting and making matters worse. The polymers bond to the wheels, last longer and help protect the wheel surface. We combined three elements in our formula. A cleaner to remove old brake dust that is baked onto the wheel, amino functional silicones to seal the painted surface and an anti static element to help repel the dust. The rule of thumb these days is don't use anything to clean your wheels that you wouldn't use on your fenders. They are both covered with clear coats and can be damaged by acidic formulas. There is nothing in WheelWax that can harm paint or wheels. You can use it in the sun, leave it on for days and it comes off just as easily.

Send me an e-mail or call me and I will send you a jar for your evaluation. Hope this helps.

All the best,


Bruce

I'd like to try the product, but I have a question about the formula. You said that it has a cleaner and protectant built in? Has anyone else tried it yet. I'll volunteer, as I have just about given up trying to keep my 330 wheels clean.

cjwheeling

Originally Posted by cjwheeling

I'd like to try the product, but I have a question about the formula. You said that it has a cleaner and protectant built in? Has anyone else tried it yet. I'll volunteer, as I have just about given up trying to keep my 330 wheels clean.

cjwheeling

I tried this stuff. It didn't make one difference. Used it once, didn't like it and never used it again. It seems like it's regular wax to me. I emailed the seller for a refund (they have a money back gaurantee), never heard back.

I just bought a 2001 330i and one of the gorgeous rims is just riddled with dark brown brake dust - I mean REALLY caked on there so thick - so bad that it will not budge with several different so-called 'no scrub' brake dust 'dissolving' sprays. I've tried full strength simple green and something from Eagle I think.

I can take my key and scrape a bit of it off but obviously this isn't going to be good for the wheel. I've tried 3 different brushes of varying strength and it just sits there, laughing, taunting me. I'm thinking about even trying a small plastic paint scraper!?

Anyone have any tips for getting this gunk off?
Help!

Originally Posted by CAETravlr

Ok, this is going to sound ignorant, but I was wondering if Windex will do any damage to my wheels? On my last vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, I had pure chrome wheels, and since Windex worked so well on Chrome in the kitchen, I tried it on the wheels, and it took the brake dust right off and left them with a MAJOR shine. No scrubbing at all. I used it yesterday on the wheels on my Beemer, and it took the dust right off, just as easily. I was just wondering if there was something in it that might eventually cause some sort of deterioration on my wheels if I continue to do this. It is certainly the easiest way so far to get it off.

I`m with you on this one, I have factory painted cross spokes. I buy "ZEP' glass cleaner concentrate at Home Depot, mix one part to two parts water. It`s the closest I`ve come to "spray on/hose off". Even mixed 50/50 it`s still less than $1 a quart, almost free!

Does anyone know how to get rid of these brake dust stains? They were present, but much smaller, on the wheels when I bought the car a few months ago. But, they seem to worsen in between washings. I've tried Klasse AIO to remove with no luck.

Originally Posted by WarEagle745

Does anyone know how to get rid of these brake dust stains? They were present, but much smaller, on the wheels when I bought the car a few months ago. But, they seem to worsen in between washings. I've tried Klasse AIO to remove with no luck.

Maybe you should try a clay bar

Originally Posted by WarEagle745

Does anyone know how to get rid of these brake dust stains? They were present, but much smaller, on the wheels when I bought the car a few months ago. But, they seem to worsen in between washings. I've tried Klasse AIO to remove with no luck.

Get yourself a cheap steamer at Target or the likes of that and it will take that off....will take some time but works like a charm

I tried the Armor All wheel cleaner, it was ok for light dust. I also tried the DuPont Teflon Wheel Cleaner, it sucks. It removed nothing, I mean there was nothing removed- waste of money. I tried the Mequiars Gold All wheel cleaner, and that was the best so far. Nothing really beats my wheel brush, but for an "off the shelf" product, the Mequiars is good.

I have had a similar issue with the staining- but to lesser extent on my Lexus where the spokes radiate from the centre hub... I spent my summers working for GM many years ago and learned a few things while there. I have had great luck with a product called 3-M Finesse-It - it is used in the factory after spot paint touch ups to polish the paint (of course with a high speed buffer in the factory). It is a white polish (a little goes a long way!!) with just a bit of grit, apply it by hand with a clean, white 100% cotton towel or cloth, buff off with another clean, white, 100% cotton cloth/towel --it will not harm the paint finish.

dentate GTA
Ontario, CA

Originally Posted by jetstream23

I only used AIO. Not sure if there is an upside or downside to using the SG as well. I did a detailed cleaning on the wheels and then patiently did a single AIO application to each wheel. I have noticed that cleaning the wheels since the AIO application has been very easy and never requires more than some light wheel brushing.

The biggest challenge is that the M135 wheels have some intricate spokes. I have followed someone else's advice and use one of those foam paint brushes ($0.49 at Home Depot) for cleaning between the spokes.

I've got these black stains on those wheels that don't come off no matter how much I wash/scrub. Is that permanent? or is there some cleaner that can get to it ...

Change your pads to PBR Deluxe (was know as Repco in years past). I've used them on my tii for 30+ years and I even run them on my Tundra. They are fade free, squeel free and best of all, dust free. I never have to do anything special to clean my wheels when i wash the car. I get alot of comments on how great my wheels always look. See attached picture, 34 year old alloys with no visible tarnish or wear.

please attach pic, and link for pads. I am seriously considering dust reducing pads, is I can find a pair that I feel dont compromise my braking.

Do any of you guys use tire shine? I haven't for years now because they really muck up the wheel.

As for sprays; i have yet find anything that really works without harming the finish. So i go with soap water and brush once a week. I use this rediculosly large soft Meguires brush that has a detachable head. I also wear thick cotton gloves you can buy by the bag. I soak my hands gloves in the bucket of water and use them to get in between the crevasses of the wheels. Fast and doesn't hurt anything...

I have used steel wool on occasion when the stain or oxidation is really bad but its a last resort used sparingly on chrome type finish or where the clear is gone. It would probably work on eom wheels because they are durable..