Cleaning Auris Alloys

[doobs]

I have the 1.6 TR with standard spec 16" alloys. I clean the car fairly regularly and have noticed that when cleaning the alloys, no matter how hard I try there always seems to lots of brake dust residue ?? - many little black spots. I have tried using wonder wheels alloy wheel cleaner which i understand is one of the best cleaners, but it still struggles to shift the stubborn stuff!

Anyone know of a good tip or product for removing the stubborn stuff?

[phild612]

I have the 1.6 TR with standard spec 16" alloys. I clean the car fairly regularly and have noticed that when cleaning the alloys, no matter how hard I try there always seems to lots of brake dust residue ?? - many little black spots. I have tried using wonder wheels alloy wheel cleaner which i understand is one of the best cleaners, but it still struggles to shift the stubborn stuff!

Anyone know of a good tip or product for removing the stubborn stuff?

I've tried a few different wheel cleaners and I'm not having much luck with them............they're a real pain to clean!!!!

[Toscane]

Works on my 16"s...

[tdleon]

Hi

You may need to 'clay' the wheels, have a look on here for ideas

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

Good luck

[doobs]

Works on my 16"s...

does it get virtually all stubborn bits off?

[Johan007]

Maguire’s products are amongst the best affordable car cleaning products around (love their wax). It should get most of it off. If you have tar spots that will not you can use white spirit or coke.

[Alberto Michelatti]

I have the 1.6 TR with standard spec 16" alloys. I clean the car fairly regularly and have noticed that when cleaning the alloys, no matter how hard I try there always seems to lots of brake dust residue ?? - many little black spots. I have tried using wonder wheels alloy wheel cleaner which i understand is one of the best cleaners, but it still struggles to shift the stubborn stuff!

Anyone know of a good tip or product for removing the stubborn stuff?

Same problem here (sample photo):

These little black spots are not tar, definitely: they are brake dust particles caked on the surface of the alloy wheels. To remove these black spots I tried oil painting white spirit, warm soapy water, orange juice (pH ~3.7), WD40, alcohol, diesel fuel, gasoline fuel and Coca-Cola (pH ~2.8): nothing worked! After some internet researches I found that the best acid-free wheel cleaner seems to be the Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner, which I haven't tried yet. However I asked via email to a professional detailer of Malaysia about the efficency of the Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner against these black caked on brake dust spots, and he substantially told me that not even one acid-free wheel cleaner can do this job. Only an acid wheel cleaner could properly do this job, but with the risk of spoiling the alloy wheels surface in the long run.

So, I spray the dry alloy wheels with a good brand acid-free wheel cleaner, wash them with a water dipped synthetic lambswool wash mitt and finally remove all the possible black spots with nails and with a worn toothbrush (bristles tips are rounded even when the toothbrush is new, so no scratches on the clearcoat).

The "JWL" logo on all alloy wheels is not a brand.

[geoffb]

I managed to get black spots off my Corolla alloys with a very sparing spot treatment use of methylated spirits. I would think that stronger stuff like White Spirit could do some serious damage

Mind you, I have had a lot of corrosion problems with my alloys. I had two of them replaced under warranty a while back and the other two are due to be replaced next week. This has been a significant and not uncommon problem with Toyota alloys in the past so it will be interesting to see if the Auris alloys are made of stronger stuff longer term Let's hope so.

[DigiMan]

I am using oxalic acid for the hard stains on my wheels, i use it in a 20% solution with water and splash of car shampoo to make it foam a bit.

I spray it on the wheels and let it cling for 2 minutes and then use a soft sponge to clean of the marks and then quickly rinse with plenty of cold water.

If the stains are mild I tend to use Meguiars Hot Rims as it works ok if the wheels are not to stained.

I have used this method on my wheels since the car was new and the wheels looks stunning after +37000 km's

[Beachbuggy]

Can I just give a tip...

DON'T BUY THE CHEAP STUFF!

I had used some cheap stuff, through the whole squirts bottle, by the end of it my alloys were pealing from the abbrasion in the spray. had them all re con'd and used McGuires and stayed fine forever after that.