Is it safe to use rim cleaner to clean the rim of the B? Is the B single five stroke rim clear coated, or painted or both? The reason I ask is because I read somewhere that the acid might eat away the paint or the clear coat on the rim. So far nothing changed so I guess it is safe. I use rim cleaner once in a while to clean the caliber. Without using it, the whole thing is black.. But after using it on the caliber, the color on it looks like dry concrete/dull but clean. Does it look normal to you? You can see there is still some dirty spot.
Can you post pic of your front left rim/caliber to compare?
Hi there.. as i know all rim cleaner products are pure acids so there is always the danger of corrosion especially if the paint is not very good quality or many layers.. Once i had mine to be washed, they used some kind of these liquids on my wheels and from then first time i saw all my brake discs to get dark brown and rusted .. From then i decided not to use any kind of these liquids again... I prefer to use high pressure water on the calipers which cleans them well...
Hi George and jtcb,
Now you are asking about cleaning the rims(Alloy wheels) and you are asking about cleaning the calipers on the brakes.
The alloy wheels are painted and clear coated aluminum.
Clean the alloys wheels with care. I use a weak solvent to remove the tar and road grease that sometimes spot the wheels and lower panels of the car body.
One common name used in Canada is varsol. It removes the grease marks very well but also removes any protective wax that was previously applied. I only use the varsol on the spots of tar or grease.
Do not use paint thinners because many brands are too strong and can easily damage the paint finish.
After removing tough tar or grease marks, washing with a name brand car wash will now remove the dirt and residue.
Now apply your favorite car wax:ie: Mothers Gold or Maguires or whatever.
Waxing the alloys(inside and outside) is a must in helping keep the brake dust to a minimum and makes cleaning them quite a bit easier.
Now to the calipers. I think the calipers are plated cast steel. The whitish color of the calipers is probably the oxidation of the plating and looks like crap.
You can scrub the calipers with a brush and clean them up and paint them with caliper paint for a better look.
Using a pressure washer can drive dirt into the piston edges and remove some of the brake lube that is applied.
I never ever use a pressure washer on my car. I hope others will add to this!!
Cheers, Derek
Last edited by Derek Lecours : 04-15-2008 at 08:58 AM.
I wash the wheels with warm, soapy water. This is the same auto soap as I use on the car-( Ice or Mothers ).
I ignore the calipers and the most attention they get is a rinse with the water hose. My calipers look OK - they look like cast aluminum.
I would never use a high pressure washer on any part of the car. High pressure tends to drive the dirt particles into the clearcoat paint - which is exactly what I do not want. High pressure directly on the brake components is also not recommended - you could soak the pads and reduce the braking effect or damage or destroy rubber hoses etc. If you cannot resist using your pressure washer on something, use it on the concrete driveway surface.
I found a brush at Kmart for cleaning the wheels that does a good job. I use soapy water and lots of elbow grease. The brush can also be found at Wall Mart and is labeled as a wheel brush.
Avoid using spray on tire cleaner to give the rubber the wet look. Any over spray goes on the rim and attracts all the brake dust.
I agree with everyone and the acid based cleaners should be avoided. I did read of a cleaner that is not acid based but could not find a supplier in Canada. I believe it is P21S alloy wheel cleaner. See article at CanadianDriver: Unsightly Brake Dust (and what you can do about it)
I think the newer Bs must have better paint/plating on the calipers as mine after about 9 months still look virtually new, whereas on my last B the calipers looked dull & rusty looking in under 6 months.
They were so bad that I had to paint them. I used a good quality high temperature engine paint which being thin went on easily and did not burn off. Also 2/3rds the price of caliper paint.
Probably won't have to worry about doing the new calipers for a year or so but I have done the Disk/rotor centres (hub) as they look awful very quickly.
One of the troubles with the 5 spoke wheels is that you see a lot of the calipers, disks/rotors & hubs
PS. if you do the disk centres make sure you don't get the paint on the Pad swept area of the disk
Keith, I can't see your caliper. I want to compare mine to yours. After using the rim cleaner on it, it looks clean but color is dull. Is it suppose to be silver or shiny when new?
hmmm i am pretty considering this high pressure washing... i am almost always use high pressure (100bar) water BUT.. i a safe distance i believe.. I have good results especially on wheels only when i use the pressure.. But as you all said this might be a problem on rubber parts, lubricants , or pads.. so i decided not to use it again on these parts. Now for the rest of the body of the car i hope that there is no problem if i use the pressure in such a distance that if i put my hand i don't feel any pain(!)..
These high pressure machines (i have a karcher one..) make MUCH more economy in water and also make washing easier.. so please allow me to still use this.. he he.. I will bring some photos of my calipers too after soft-washing them!
George ...We've all taken a vote....... We forbid you from using your pressure washer again on your beautiful B.
But seriously, if you use the hose with no pressure to wet your B and then hand wash it with a couple of buckets of warm soapy water, you will protect the paint and have a clean B.
Always start at the top and work down. Soft rinse and Voila !, ready for a coat of wax. Your wheels are as delicate as the body paint.
Cheers, Derek
Last edited by Derek Lecours : 04-17-2008 at 06:59 AM.
.. From then i decided not to use any kind of these liquids again... I prefer to use high pressure water on the calipers which cleans them well...
My calipers look OK - they look like cast aluminum.
i am pretty considering this high pressure washing... i am almost always use high pressure (100bar) water 
.... We forbid you from using your pressure washer again on your beautiful B. 
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