I made the mistake of going two weeks between major cleaning/washing/detailing of the wheels on Mrs. ExGMan's bimmer, primarily due to travel. That said, I now have two wheels (fronts) which are not responding to dust/crud-removal treatment, in that they've got almost a black/brown glaze in the flat surfaces of the wheels, but mostly between the five spokes. Candidly, non-BMW people would consider these wheels clean. Before the winter, I cleaned the wheels with P21s (Gel) every week, then put ReJex! on each wheel just before the winter began. All was fine until I missed the weekly wheel-cleaning, and now those fronts (rears are just fine), have what I'd call the black/brown glaze. Solutions attempted: 1) first I tried Griot's Garage clay (with lots of lubricant). That made the clay pretty dirty, but the wheels were still cruddy. 2) in a little corner of one wheel I tried WD-40. No change. Some have suggested that I use "Goof-Off" on these wheels, but that seems pretty Draconian, so I'm holding off. I am hoping that some reader has seen this same condition before, and has found a solution which won't destroy the finish of the wheels. Your suggestions and solutions are gratefully accepted. I imagine that the front wheels get warmer in their daily drives, so that perhaps that has something to do with the difficulty. Thanks much - John Gamel
I am surprised that the brake dust is so difficult to remove given your previous exceptional maintenance and only two weeks time from the last cleaning. The P21S did not put a dent in the dust? I use 3M general purpose adhesive cleaner for removing tar and gunk from my vehicles paint/wheels. Maybe trying some of that would give a positive result(?). Use a soft 100% cotton towel or microfiber cloth to avoid damaging the paint. See: http://www.3mestore.com/62478765092.html?WT.mc_id=3M-com-AtoZ-Adhesive-Remover-and-Surface-Cleaner Matt
Matt - Thanks for your reply. The P21s was very effective at removing the normal BMW brake dust. Somehow, there is something which is turning the dust into what I'd describe as almost a glaze. I'm wondering if there's something going on with heat on the wheel. Mrs. ExGMan has driven the car since new (now 23,000 miles on the ODO), and has what I would describe as an "accelerate up to the stoplight, then brake" style of drivng. As noted, the rear wheels show none of this malady. I'm perplexed. I'll see if I can find the 3M stuff around Boston, and give that a try. Thanks. JG
Couple of things I might try: (assuming your have painted/powder-coated wheels) 1. Good brand (Meguiars, Griotts, Mothers, etc..) of Bug/Tar Remover 2. Auto Wax (most waxes have a cleaner in them). I got some stubburn stains off my 330Ci's OEM wheels when I had it using Meguiars Gold Class Wax. Other than that I dunno: you might give guys at Griotts garage (or Meguiars) a call and ask them
Those Darn Wheels! Thank you for the suggestions. I now have some of the 3M Adhesive remover in hand and will get up early tomorrow and try that on the wheels. I have tried SimpleGreen with negative results. I am thinking that some sort of wax product might be helpful, but for the life of me, can't understand why clay isn't doing the job. Anyway, thanks again for the suggestions. JG
Let us know if the 3M stuff works. I am intrigued that so far nothing has been able to cut the residue. Matt
3M Adhesive Remover Well, the stuff arrived, so I took the car out, cleaned the wheels thoroughly, and set to work with the 3M stuff. It has a strong solvent odor, as most already know. Using a microfiber cloth, I first tried rubbing the offending front wheels with the 3M stuff, with no apparent result. I then soaked a cloth with the 3M stuff, and held it for a one-minute period on the wheel, then rubbed, with again no apparent results. I am concerned, but know there's an answer somewhere. I may have to go to some sort of minimally-abrasive polish next as suggested by gepainter (above). Candidly, if I didn't like the tremendously-effective brakes, I'd consider a pad with less dust-generation than the OEMs. I guess clean wheels also show who's really paying attention to the car.
Due to rather cold weather, I have been remiss in cleaning my wheels until today. My 535i just turned 1 month old and 1K miles. So I figured the wheels wouldn't be too difficult to clean. How wrong I was - at least on the fronts. Most dust came off, but there are still raised "specks" of black (you can feel it with your finger) stuck to the inner flat rim surfaces. Tomorrow I will hit them with some Klasse All-in-One, and if necessary a steam cleaner. Just ordered some RejeX and will definitely treat them a couple of times. And I thought Volvo brakes were dirty. These BMW brakes really make a mess fast. I may have to switch to some ceramic pads if I can find any that fit this model. I did that on my Volvo and it solved the dust problem. *** Update *** I spent a few hours today, first using a wheel cleaner solution (safe for all wheels) to get most of the "stuck" dust, then using Klasse All-in-One - which did a very good job of removing all residual stubborn brake dust. After buffing them down smooth as glass, I applied Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze, let them dry for half an hour, then buffed them out. This should protect them pretty well till the RejeX arrives. I think the Klasse treatment will make the next cleaning go a lot quicker.
My experience with Bimmer wheels since '01 has been to clean them weekly if you drive it weekly, and keep something on them that wont melt because of heat. For me that rules out all waxes, etc.. I dont know what Rejex is, but will try to find out. I found a pretty good acrylic polymer that doesnt appear to melt in heat like waxes, etc., its called Zaino. They now make an All-In-One product that has a mild cleaner and the acrylic polymer in one step that on a clean wheel, really helps keep the brake dust from sticking, in my experience on our vehicles. Previously, I used their Z-5 product and had similar results. As long as the factory puts those soft pads on there, we will ever have brake dust challenges, but the trade off is that they stop great, cold or hot --(within reason). I have never heard of brake dust on so hard that it cant be taken off.. Since the wheels are clear coated on the outside, it would make sense to treat them as any other painted surface, and in this case use a more agressive compound, etc., and see if it comes off. Can you post a picture of it ? Good luck. DanF
Final Resolution to My Problem Thanks to everyone for your ideas on this subject. I'm the OP, and had a problem with an accumulation of what appeared to be a brownish residue on only the front wheels of my 2007 530xi. I tried just about every suggestion offered, SimpleGreen (no effect), GoofOff (little effect...and scary to use), 3M Adhesive Remover (little effect) and finally a one-step cleaner-wax from Mequiar's (did the job, but required a lot of elbow grease. My feeling now is that perhaps the brownish residue (not the black/grey of brake dust) might have been the result of using Rejex on the wheels. I put it on all four wheels last October, kept up my weekly P21s Gel cleaning weekly until some travel and moving interfered, and then discovered the gunk on the front wheels only. I'm inclined to blame the Rejex for the problem, but perhaps something in the Boston-area road salt, heavy braking (Mrs. ExGMan is the primary driver of the car), and two weeks of inattention resulted in the problem. The fix is in, but why it happened is still a mystery. I have to say that I'm thankful that the wheels have only five spokes, with big, flat, wide surfaces to keep clean. Perhaps the physicists will tell me that many smaller spokes would have dissipated the heat of braking more effectively. In any case, thanks again to all for the ideas.
Brake dust is the enemy to all of us Bimmerheads. That is why I clean them twice a day!! ExGman, perhaps on your lunch break and when you get home just wipe them off. Easier said than done, but that is how I keep them shining. I see so many newer bimmers out there (E60, E90, etc...) with not only the front wheels already black and done with, but the rears are just as bad. My tip is just wiping them with a terry cloth. I should try a wheel wax product so the brake dust would come off much easier.
Brake dust I'm having similar conditions on my wheels, The "dust" does turn into what you'd call "glaze". My plan is to use Malm's Car Polish, which has a very mild fine abrasive, will let you know the results. Just waiting on a good warm day, and some time off to do it.
Chris & Jim - Thanks for the replies. If I drove the car every day, I'd probably end up washing it every morning, just because I enjoy doing it. I just suggested to Mrs. ExGMan that she might want to "dust off the wheels" on her car at Noon, and then when she comes home (following an 11-mile drive in Boston traffic). I'm now looking for a good divorce lawyer (just kidding). I'm lucky to be able to get at it once a week, candidly.
I think my brake dust and wheel cleaning days are over. I put a set of Axxis Advanced Deluxe brake pads on two weekends ago. When I did the pad swap, I thoroughly cleaned the wheels while I had them off the car and applied 2 coats of RejeX to the rims. Today I went to wash the car and noticed that what little dust was on the wheels (only noticable if I ran my finger over the wheel) actually came off with a strong spray from the hose. I use white terry cloth bar towels when I wash/dry, and I wiped the wheels with the towel and it showed no dirt! I really was amazed.
Really Dirty Motorcycle Wheels Recently purchased a 1994 BMW K75RT with probably ten years of neglect on the wheels. Tried S-100 Wheel Cleaner. I let it remain on wheels for one hour per instructions. That thinned the crud. Followed up with Zymol Wheel Cleaner (pleasant spearmint smell). That helped a little more. THEN, I tried Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. It removed about 9/10s of build-up. Product seems similar to silver polish. Be sure to rub gently and work in a well-ventilated area. I'll follow up with Zymol Wheel Wax to preserve the clean.
Nice bike TVERB. jesimmons, I should get those pads for my bimmers. People around me think I'm crazy cleaning my wheels twice a day. Remember, a dirty silver car(s) looks clean with clean wheels
You can probably cut the cleaning down from 2x a day to once every week or two (if that) with these pads. I went to clean my wheels today (last cleaned a week ago), and there was no visible dust on them. I wiped them off with a damp paper towel (sprayed lightly with some QD spray and a mist of water) and a very tiny bit of dust came off; it was almost too little to bother with. Looks like I'll go to wiping them down every other week. Update - the attached pic is of my front right wheel 1 week after wiping them off as mentioned above..
Mmmmm on the Rejex as a protectant, first I've read where it may cause a glaze. As for cleaners, others have covered what I would have suggested. WheelWax is a cleaner/protectant, in the vein of Klasse AIO. If you get your wheels clean and don't want to use Rejex again for fear of a repeat of the glazing you described, you could use Menzerna FMJ. I only used OEM pads, and my weekly routine for the wheels is 409,wheel/spoke brush,power washer (1400psi), and depending on how dirty they were, an application of WheelWax. Every month I reaply the FMJ as a sealant.
All the techniques I've used are posted: 3M tar/adhesive remover, degreasers, clay (doesn't work too well). My favorites so far are Greased Lightning Orange Blast and Simple Green Max in that order. To get nasty things off takes a lot of time and elbow grease. Sometimes things just won't come off no matter what. Pull the wheel off the car and set in the grass so it's horizontal (so the spray doesn't run off as quickly). Spray with a strong degreaser and let sit a while, spray again, let sit, spray again, agitate with a sponge, spray again, agitate, rinse to see where you're at. Repeat process until it's clean or your fingers are numb and you've given up Once clean I come back with Griot's wheel cleaner because my hope is that it will neutralize any remaining degreaser. I figure the wheel cleaner is a lot less harsh than a degreaser. Rinse thoroughly and dry. To protect I apply Wheel Wax. I've tried other waxes but this stuff just works so well on the wheels. For me there's no other. This helps resist but will not keep dust off your wheels. It provides a protective layer so the next time you clean your wheels it's much easier and you shouldn't have to go through an intensive process to get them clean. Beware that if you do use a wheel cleaner or degreaser to get them clean those are taking the wax off too. They're made to be more aggresive and take the brake dust and grime off the wheels, so wax will be stripped too. If I don't plan on waxing the wheel I just use car wash soap and a mitt/sponge to preserve my layer of wheel wax. It's a labor intensive job for sure. I think of those BMWs with five spoke wheels everytime I clean my zhp wheels and get real jealous. But after it's over and they're clean, man I love 'em!
