Worst Case scenario for Brake Dust! Need Advice

[TheLearningMechanic]

Hey everyone, joined about a week ago and this is my first post. I am really thankful if someone could educate more than what I could search on the internet.

I have a 2003 Toyota Sequoia as my daily driver and the rims are stained bad with brake dust, rust and flaking.


I am new to car repair and detailing so I would really appreciate some guidance and help on this.

All I know is that I have to wax the rims after a good cleaning to seal the finish (not sure if my rims may need an extra step). At worst, I understand if I need to get new rims entirely but wanna see what I can do before that.


Firstly, what type of cleaner should I use because of the flaking: Aluminum coated or non-aluminum coated?


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[IH8SPM]

Welcome to forum. Ill leave the recommendations for someone else but man what a great before and after this is going to be. Don't rush, get all the supplies and take pictures galore.[emoji1417][emoji1417]

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[Klasse Act]

I haven't had to use something as powerful as Mequiars wheel brightener but this looks like a GREAT candidate [emoji362] Once you clean them really good, get yourself some 303 Touchless Sealant to spray on them after you've rinsed them. After the wheel has been cleaned really good and the wheel is still wet you simply spray some on the rim, enough for coverage, wait about 20-30 seconds and rinse off. You'll be amazed at the water beading and the next time you wash the truck and get to cleaning the rims, it will be that much easier, well, as long as they don't get THAT bad again. Finally a great wheel cleaner for maintence cleaning is called Brake Buster and the preferred method for use is through a foaming sprayer and works great at 4:1.

Welcome to cult... urrrr, forum [emoji1]

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[Rsurfer]

I haven't had to use something as powerful as Mequiars wheel brightener but this looks like a GREAT candidate [emoji362] Once you clean them really good, get yourself some 303 Touchless Sealant to spray on them after you've rinsed them. After the wheel has been cleaned really good and the wheel is still wet you simply spray some on the rim, enough for coverage, wait about 20-30 seconds and rinse off. You'll be amazed at the water beading and the next time you wash the truck and get to cleaning the rims, it will be that much easier, well, as long as they don't get THAT bad again. Finally a great wheel cleaner for maintence cleaning is called Brake Buster and the preferred method for use is through a foaming sprayer and works great at 4:1.

Welcome to cult... urrrr, forum [emoji1]

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Meg's WB might be to strong for those pitted wheels. If the acid gets under the clear and paint, it may start to delaminate. Iron X might be a safer cleaner.

[Klasse Act]

Meg's WB might be to strong for those pitted wheels. If the acid gets under the clear and paint, it may start to delaminate. Iron X might be a safer cleaner.Great point, didn't realize how strong the acid was in there[emoji50]

OP, your going to want to get yourself a couple good wheel brushes as well. The Speed Master and Mother's wheel brush are 2 good ones to start with[emoji362]

Btw that Brake Buster also works on your tires as well[emoji106][emoji106]

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[TheLearningMechanic]

Thanks for the advice and Im gonna make sure to get a good picture each step of the way.

Question: If the Mequiars Wheel Brightner for whatever reason does not work, should I retry with the same product or different product before even attempting to put on the sealant?
I would think that I trying to perform another cleaning over the sealant would be difficult, please correct me if I am wrong?

[Rsurfer]

Meg's WB is a strong chemical, so wear protective gear. If you are going to use MWB try diluting it first. You can always increase the ratio as needed.

You won't find anything stronger for wheels OTC than Meg's Wheel Brightner.

[Klasse Act]

Clean them to the best of your ability before applying the sealant and something like 303 Touchless Sealant is one of the best easiest to use and the bottle will last you quite a while.

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[Bruno Soares]

If you have rust and flaking of the finish, those wheels need to be refinished first, then you worry about a cleaner to handle the brake dust. I like Wolfgang Uber Wheel Cleaner for very dirty wheels, if just lightly dirty, I use Brake Buster.

Wax won’t do anything to protect wheels, at least not more than a few days. If you get the wheels refinished you’ll want to ceramic coat them. Then you have a year or more of protection.

[Klasse Act]

If you have rust and flaking of the finish, those wheels need to be refinished first, then you worry about a cleaner to handle the brake dust. I like Wolfgang Uber Wheel Cleaner for very dirty wheels, if just lightly dirty, I use Brake Buster.

Wax won’t do anything to protect wheels, at least not more than a few days. If you get the wheels refinished you’ll want to ceramic coat them. Then you have a year or more of protection.I agree after reading these comments and it leads me to something I'm very good at...spending OTHER people's money[emoji383][emoji383][emoji383] May I suggest a set of the 1552 rims that are for trucks that look off road cool as hell[emoji848][emoji106][emoji362]

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[spazzz]

I would grab some Meguiars Hot Rims all wheel and tire cleaner locally and go from there.
The stuff is so cheap and pretty good you will be able to assess the situation better.

If you want to go for the gusto get Meguiars wheel brightener, Sonax wheel cleaner and Meguiars D143(which is the detailer version of Hot Rims).

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/eefs8QNDMSWUblCD5WUWDGHqu2zEEN-QukKZMMaEt9L-Dv20M3AfF3yB03M0JktOSlnH09HPlDARqqKRb6PJwaQisnuLKD 1O9EDeiF9i9IWaFJ9GcXdCeZ2tv_ZgixMpB5ZM1x8WOY9KB4Dg biM_QVJMDa2-9wzmRMvhoT00udeOh1_tbbIEgSfzEW-0yOQvbzec2UejduKiix-_tDoXbcFWM3CcwGqE3lp0eCONX4ZZ8E2_7c_kC7oQ804T1q-PVer52vzZvd1RZFl7McV0LWxD4_jYqQld_uzXe_2mhfxxn6pBV hJP02Q8eEot93AVwiEljdc9mbmYehp5aSB6yet53AQUc62JbGT uwlW-Rctm9Z92ql-JYUY25zgZMI5Kv0eQXglvzNX49fUsap5XHCKyvrfBcumWZ0p2Z azQSrPgC4L50eM5RpRW24tZoMpWS6yQK_KJWX-xbHQapYQPna_aJ_mdsQX01DBBbL7wpG_MV4u66LXsI0DC3A3dV VDOfAPSAYuF3WYEZ8ZBvB0WVBNgaZ5mt8CJ_qLqp8-7uGOMczZ01D24kekZz-teFL-JOojANLikOVCIioYGm7IICpQAYDMtFumVhvtvx95WcWirNhaoI ZcHucdh62to1Ji3I9AOFIF41fnvrPEa73yGO_QMCMr4Cbn0l6b WW7R464PHwkXlSUrLZ8-dcDdp=w1000-no-tmp.jpg

Should have seen these train wrecks before. Real curb jobs.
Previous owner or some other dink used sandpaper on one of them to clean(about 50 grit)
That old front wheel BMW brake dust is a real baker.

[IH8SPM]

Thanks for the advice and Im gonna make sure to get a good picture each step of the way.

Question: If the Mequiars Wheel Brightner for whatever reason does not work, should I retry with the same product or different product before even attempting to put on the sealant?
I would think that I trying to perform another cleaning over the sealant would be difficult, please correct me if I am wrong?From the looks of the wheels it seems your looking to improve not perfect the look. If so, you can use any of the recommended products to achieve that. Clean once, clean twice, just be happy when you say done and add that spray on protection.

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[The Guz]

Are you agitating the cleaner or just spraying on and rinsing off? I don't see you mentioning this.

[IH8SPM]

He hasn't started yet.

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[The Guz]

He hasn't started yet.

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That's just as important as the cleaner used. Spray and rinse ain't gonna cut it.