My 04 Lariat has the notorious brake dust problem that seems to plague all of the 2004's. I was wondering if I could wax or polish my wheels in hopes that they look better and maybe the brake dust would come off a little easier. If so, what products do you guys recommend? Thanks.

 

bigsherm,

As you just used NXT on the rest of your truck, I'd recommend you try it on your wheels, too.

I've used Zaino on my wheels and it made the wheels a lot easier to clean and held up pretty well. The NXT is synthetic, so it should hold up to the heat, also.

I definitely plan on trying NXT on my wheels when I use it for the 1st time on my truck...hopefully 'nxt' week.

John

 

Any suggestions on what to use to get the wheels nice and clean before using NXT, etc?

 

One thing that I have used for awhile is Nevr Dull. I bought eagle ones version and use it on all the chrome trim and wheels before I wax. I have used it to clean the brake dust on my saturn, and it works great. To tell you that it works is an understatement. My fiance has a little problem with washing her car (she never does it.....period), so I washed it last weekend and used Nevr Dull on the wheels. The baked and caked brake dust came off with a little elbow grease. Give it a try......it should work to oyur liking.

 

I'd be a little careful with anything abrasive - like Never Dull. Don't get me wrong, it's great stuff, but it's a slightly abrasive polish. You wheels are clear coated and anything abrasive will degrade that protective surface.

I'd recommend almost any of the spray on wheel cleaners available at your local auto parts store. Check the label first to make sure a particular product is safe for clear coated wheels. If you stay with the name brand stuff, you'll be far better off. The nice part about the spray on stuff is that it's generally spray on - wash off and you're done.

As far as protecting your wheels - and making them easier to clean when they do get dirty - I too would recommend something synthetic like Zaino or NXT due to the heat from your brakes. Enjoy your new (and nice looking) truck!

 

Almost every aluminim rim is painted metallic silver, including the 04 F-150's rims. They shoud be cleaned (assuming stains) well with paint polishes, like Meguiars #9, #83, or your favorite cleaner. It they are not yet stained, Eagle One has two excellent wheel cleaners. I have been using the Aluminum Wash for many years. It was their only acid free product until the new orange bottle A2Z. I haven't used the new raved A2Z yet, but I love Alum wash.

Like others have said, a quality synthetic wax should ease the removal of brake dust buildup. Don't bother with carnuba as it wouldn't last a day of my commute. Brakes get hot, and so do the wheels.

 

I put NXT on my L wheels about 15-MAR, and I just re-did them with the BlackFire that I had left over from testing on the paint ( did not care for the finish ). It only seemed to work for about 30 days, which is 29 days longer then a Carnuba based wax would ( maybe even 29.8 days )

I only have about 30 miles on the BlackFire, so I don't have enough brake dust buildup to comment about cleanup.

If this does not last too long, next is Liquid Glass.

The BlackFire is a synthetic polish / "wax" set, where the NXT I had to use #81 under the NXT, which I cannot find any application notes to know if this should be done or not ( standard polish, covering a synth "wax" ?? ). It has a ~ 480* melting point, unlike a Carnuba at 180*. To get it off to put a standard polish / Carnuba wax back on, I had to use Pre Paint prep, standard polishes would not touch it, using a light cut pad.

LiquidGlass as a paint prep application note that is use #0000 steel wool with mineral spirits, so it similar in nature to Klasse all in one.

The BlackFire looked good on the L wheels, but the finish on them is more along the lines of the appearance that BlackFire produces ( Saran wrap look ).

Just a few comments on what I have tried so far, I'll keep the posting updated in about a month on how BlackFire does.

Good luck.

 

I am going to NXT half of each of the front wheels and see how they look/clean up and let you guys know. Thanks for the info sscully, it sounds like you know what your doing.

 

A simple wheel cleaner makes brake dust come off easily. You can even use an all purpose cleaner. Just wash them with it everytime you wash your truck and you won't have to go the trouble of waxing them all the time.

The one I use is PRO's Non-Acid Wheel Cleaner. You'll have to email PRO at prowax.com to find a local distributor. They're professional products so you'll have to buy it in a gallon but it's worth it. Their All Purpose cleaner also works awesome on tires and wheel wells.