Went to clean the back sides of my wheels today and there is a bunch of caked on brake dust and small black spots around the back side of the wheel. Tried a all purpose wheel cleaner which worked ok. But Im still left with a bunch of
caked on brake dust which is mainly located from the back of the spoke to the outside of the rim (where you cant get to it from the front reaching through the spokes)

How do I get it off?

 

try simple green its what i use and it gets all of the brake dust off 1st try.

 

x2. I clean my tires and wheels with SG, does very very well.

 

I just tried a degreaser on it and nothing happened. Guys I mean its like mud back there. Caked on. Thick.... Beyond just being a light dust.
Do you suppose I could use brake parts cleaner without harming the clear coat?

 

Sometimes to balance tires i have to use brake cleaner and a scrotchbrite pad to get that brake dust off

you can try brake cleaner and a shop rag

to my understanding carb cleaner doesn't harm clear.. i have no proof to this but i use it and a scrotchbrite when it's realllly tthick

 

After you get that stubborn dust off, go to Carquest and get you some Carquest Blues, brake pads and you won't have the problem again.

 

i read on here once that simple green is no good for rims nor paint and to keep it off. thats wrong?

 

I would try taking the actual wheel/tire off and using some megs wheel brightener on it or just a heavy APC. WIth the wheel off you can get a better angle to work at it. Using APC and wheel cleaners will remove any wax that is on your wheels btw.