Preventive Maintenance - Wheels

[myf150]

I just bought a 2009 FX4 and I want to do some preventive maintance to the wheels, mostly to keep brake dust from becoming an issue. Should I just wash and wax or is there something better I can do? This is my first brand new vehicle! Everthing else I have owned came with a nice thick coating of brake dust! Steve

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[Bluejay]

The best solution for brake dust is to get those sorry pads off. Replace them with Wagner ThermoQuiets and you will forget about brake dust. I did mine when my truck was nearly new. I have 80,000 on the pads now and never see any brake dust, just your normal road dirt.

[glc]

Ceramic brake pads.

[uncleglenny]

wheel wax

[tcope]

Don't use the brakes.

[SKATERBRO]

Meg's Quik Wheel Detailer. Use it every other day, or as often as needed. You can use it anywhere and all you need is a towel for wiping. Waxing the rims will work till it gets burned off. It's much easier to just stay on top of it with QWD.

[TruckGuy24]

Originally Posted by tcope

Don't use the brakes.

[2stroked]

OK, so how about some really useful advice. First, congratulations on your new truck. As you've probably already noticed, the factory pads are capable of generating quite a bit of (abrasive) dust, so until you replace them, you're going to have a nasty and possibly destructive mess on your wheels. When you want to remove the dust, resist the urge to just "wipe it off." You'll just scratch your wheels. Make sure to use a good automotive detergent and lots of water.

Second, heat is the enemy of conventional Carnauba waxes, so using anything like this to protect your wheels won't last long. Most of us with experience recommend a synthetic sealant instead such as Zaino, Meguiar's NXT, Mothers Synwax, etc. Even these will only last a few weeks at best.

My recommendation? Go with the Wagner Thermoquiets. I have them all the way around and am very happy. Next, wash the wheels regularly as mentioned above and apply freash sealant every couple of weeks. Good luck!

[Carlsson3]

Not much you can do, ime. Brake dust will inevitably build up, especially on the fronts. I use Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax after I complete the detail process for my vehicles. Very easy on and very easy off- it provides slickness and a great shine.

[FX4_2003]

Ok here is what I did ,
First I got Metallic Pads all the way around
Second I sprayed the inside of each rim with degreaser and then scrubed them out real good and dried them off.

Third I sprayed the inside of my rims with about 4 good coats of high heat clear coat,, Now any brake dust I get just washes right off.. I dont know how long this will last but it's been going strong for 6 months now

[bfdtpkt]

I took the route that "2strked" suggested....
I use ZAINO on my wheels, which is a POLYMER, and it provides very good results even though I'm still using MOTORCRAFT pads

I would suggest ZAINO for the entire car.....
http://www.zainostore.com/

[glc]

First I got Metallic Pads all the way around

Not the best choice to avoid dust - ceramics are a LOT cleaner.

[myf150]

Thanks for the advice guys, while looking into the Wagner ThermoQuiet brakes I found a rebate.

http://www.tqbestforless.com/


Steve

[Glaffer]

+2 on the Ceramics. They are much cleaner.

[scorpio333]

I've tried Wagner and Porterfield pads and have the polar opposite of everyone else's results. After 50 miles of driving there is dust on the front wheels. Not as much as the OEM pads, but enough you can see it. This is both with the OEM rotors and powerslots. I'm not trying to stir a pot here, but I think the dust is inevitable no matter the pad, just like sanding wood yields sawdust.

Our Mustang is completely opposite, the rears dust up much worse than the fronts.

I usually use NXT on the wheels every few weeks, mostly just to get rid of it. It does help wash it away.