Cleaning brake dust off the inside of wheels......any suggestions?

[carl888]

I've bought a set of genuine alloy wheels via ebay and was wondering how one should clean off really stubborn brake dust?  The outside of the wheels have cleaned up really nicely, but the inside is putrid!  The brake dust is caked on and seems to be up to about 3mm thick in some places.

I set dad to work on them today, and even with some abrasive in the form of steel wool (Shudder) that had no effect at all!  Is there some solvent available that might make the job easier?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Regards,

Carl.

[Vad El]

A 001 986 34 71 12

[Brian Crump]

Carl, I had a similar experience. I ended up allowing wheel cleaner to soak into the caked on dust and then using a water blaster. It took many, many goes before the brake gunk was removed....there has got to be a better way to do it....
Regards,
Brian

[Mforcer]

I have used steel wool in the past and it worked well. I combined it with an alloy wheel cleaner and elbow grease for a like new finish. I did the same thing for my steel rims before I put them into storage.

[carl888]

Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions.  Unfortunately after just over 3 hours labour, I have just one semi clean wheel and therefore elbow grease is the only way to clean them.  Not wishing to spend another 9 hours cleaning the other three, for the sake of $140 I just bought another set of 4 in nice condition via ebay.  Not my preferred outcome but quicker!

Regards,

Carl.