Brake Dust Answer?

I just happened to see this. The closeups are pretty impressive.

http://www.hotrod.com/news/1605-does-it-really-work-armor-all-brake-dust-repellent-tested/

Thanks, I'm gonna buy a can next time I'm out and see if it works. Sure would beat cleaning the non-R wheels after every couple of drives.

Looks good. Should work on R wheels too, i'd think.

thanks for the post, I'm convinced

Get a $5 or $10 rebate on it here: http://www.armorall.com/products/wheels/brake-dust-repellent

Hot Rod is pretty much no BS so I'm getting some too. BTW if you go on Armorall's website you can download a $5 rebate coupon.

I've used this stuff extensively before. It generally works quite well. One word of caution. Don't leave it on your wheels too long as it can be hard to remove. I used it frequently on my Aston Martin and it worked great but I had to make sure I washed the wheels once a month and remove the product otherwise it required more effort to remove. Also, with large amounts of brake dust you will see brake dust "puddles" on your wheels. It accumulates in chunks. Overall it's a great product and worked as advertised for me.

It seems rather hard to find in stock. Pep Boys carries it and if you buy it online for local pickup you can get 30% off with the code MANNY30.

I've purchased it before at Walmart and Target.

alevine said:

I've used this stuff extensively before. It generally works quite well. One word of caution. Don't leave it on your wheels too long as it can be hard to remove. I used it frequently on my Aston Martin and it worked great but I had to make sure I washed the wheels once a month and remove the product otherwise it required more effort to remove. Also, with large amounts of brake dust you will see brake dust "puddles" on your wheels. It accumulates in chunks. Overall it's a great product and worked as advertised for me.

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Why would you need to remove it? Does it build up such that it's noticeable somehow? How do you remove it ... just wash harder? Thanks.

I have had mixed results. The paint or powdercoat whatever it is on the wheels is not the slickest finish either so that doesn't help. Sonax wheel cleaner works very well with limited scrubbing.

http://store.sonaxusa.com/sonaxwheelcleanerfulleffect.aspx

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cjgt350 said:

I have had mixed results. The paint or powdercoat whatever it is on the wheels is not the slickest finish either so that doesn't help. Sonax wheel cleaner works very well with limited scrubbing.

http://store.sonaxusa.com/sonaxwheelcleanerfulleffect.aspx

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You can clean all your wheels by hand with the amount of time it takes this product to work.

Myshelby3425 said:

You can clean all your wheels by hand with the amount of time it takes this product to work.

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They just let it sit for a long time for the "marketing effect" in the video which is not necessary. It dissolves the brake dust almost immediately and with a wheel brush I can clean the inside barrel as well. I clean them plenty by hand (quick detail spray and micro fiber towel) but after an autocross for instance with heavy brake dust this works very well. I like that it dissolves the brake dust in and around the caliper and is not so aggressive that it causes flash rusting on the rotor.

The brush I use:

http://www.autogeek.net/auto-wheel-brush.html

Myshelby3425 said:

You can clean all your wheels by hand with the amount of time it takes this product to work.

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I spray sonax on the front, move to the back spray it, then move back to the front and do the lugs with lug brush then the backside with the wheel brush and in the edges between spokes then hose off thoroughly and repeat for the back..Process of cleaning all 4 wheels like this takes about 15 minutes. Where as I've spent 10 minutes per wheel doing it by hand with detailer and a microfiber. I prefer not wash the car if possible including the wheels which require driving then cleaning again to remove the rust residue from the rotors. However, from time to time it just needs to be done.

Mustang_Lou said:

Why would you need to remove it? Does it build up such that it's noticeable somehow? How do you remove it ... just wash harder? Thanks.

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You remove it as it wears off due to heat, water, etc. over time. As such it becomes less effective. Also, in my experience most of the effectiveness is lost once exposed to lots of rain. This was not an issue for me as the car I used it on was a sunny day only car.