[jimmy_racoon]

Quick question...I have my 2005 MINI with white wheels. I waxed them, with Meguires, and clean the brake dust at least twice a week. My question is: I have tiny specks on the wheels that don't come off with Scratch X. Do I need to Clay Bar these? Will it hurt my clear coat paint on these wheels? Or should I even worry about them, since they are so tiny?

[jimmy_racoon]

Am I the only MINI owner with white wheels???

[mtdave2]

have you tried a product made for desolving brake dust? im not srue of the name, but i know there are many products made for just that job.

also, i have heard that kleen is making a brake dust sheild for the mini. but i have not found one yet.

http://www.accessconnect.com/kleenwheels.htm
do they actualy work?

do you regret getting the white wheels now? i have not made up my mind if i will order them or not.. they just look sooo good when clean

[jwardell]

Welcome to the world of white wheels + BMW brakes = a large portion of your lifetime cleaning them.

But there are some things you can do to help.

First, get a real wheel cleaner, and not one in the store that is only for nonpainted rims.
I use P21S and it does an amazing job of washing away new brake dust, my cleaning and scrubbing effort is cut in half because of it.

Many recommend waxing your wheels after cleaning with a polymer wax like Zaino. It should help to make it slightly harder for dust to stick.

But truly the only way to resolve the problem is to get rid of those BMW brake pads. I got Mintex Red Box pads and put them on, and for only $75 my wheels now take ten times longer to get dirty!

[AprilWhine]

I love the looks of my white wheels, and don't mind cleaning them too much. Thanks for the tip about the brake pads.

What I've tried that worked is Lather, Rinse, Repeat Hourly.

[jimmy_racoon]

Great feedback, everyone. Absolutely no regrets on the white wheels! I paniced that I forgot to mention them in my "final" order. I called my MA in the 11th hour and she was successful in getting the order edited!! I could have lived with the silver wheels, but boy do those white ones turn the heads (including mine!!).

I'll try the cleaners mentioned and maybe the pads when these go. At the rate of the dust, it shouldn't be long.

Motor on.

[Tazminia]

I noticed on one mentioned brake dust covers that slip between the wheels and the brakes. I ordered one pair as an experiment and will install them on the front brakes so I can see if there is a noticable difference between the covered -vs-non-covered brakes and the amount of dust accumulated. (they were on sale at moss-mini.com so it's not like out anything expensive if they don't work)
I have also been told that ceramic pads were pretty much the best for lack of dust production. Has anyone tried ceramic yet? Green Stuff pads are also supposed to be good (and cheaper than ceramic). How about those? Anyone?
The covers should be here by the weekend and I'll get them on ASAP so I can report back here with the results.
Taz

[allagaroo]

care

Quote: Originally Posted by jimmy_racoon

Quick question...I have my 2005 MINI with white wheels. I waxed them, with Meguires, and clean the brake dust at least twice a week. My question is: I have tiny specks on the wheels that don't come off with Scratch X. Do I need to Clay Bar these? Will it hurt my clear coat paint on these wheels? Or should I even worry about them, since they are so tiny?

I use Klasse AIO and sealer to put an acrylic coating on my wheels. It is the same product I use on the car and makes it much easier to hose brake dust off and it is durable. I find wax due to high temperatures on the wheels doesn't last long. About 80% of the brake dust hoses off but to get the rest clean I use a rag and the balance of the soapy water when I wash the car. I try to avoid strong wheel cleaners since it will remove the Klasse, after time, and I don't think it's great for the wheels when used constantly. If anything I use P21S wheel cleaner but usually soap and water suffice. BTW I like the look of the white wheels but they do require somewhat more maintenance.
Jerry

[jwardell]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tazminia

I noticed on one mentioned brake dust covers that slip between the wheels and the brakes. I ordered one pair as an experiment and will install them on the front brakes so I can see if there is a noticable difference between the covered -vs-non-covered brakes and the amount of dust accumulated. (they were on sale at moss-mini.com so it's not like out anything expensive if they don't work)
I have also been told that ceramic pads were pretty much the best for lack of dust production. Has anyone tried ceramic yet? Green Stuff pads are also supposed to be good (and cheaper than ceramic). How about those? Anyone?
The covers should be here by the weekend and I'll get them on ASAP so I can report back here with the results.
Taz

I am leary of the dust covers as they will trap a lot of brake heat, and probably don't look so good.
Some have had problems with the green stuff badly scoring their disks.
The mintex pads that I have are great and their price is unbeatable.