There is brake dust that is baked on my wheels pretty badly. I've tried different kinds of wheel washes, polish, and clay. I think it's time to try some acid wheel wash.

Anyone know of a particular brand or product they sell at autozone?

i dunno about brands, but i worked at a car dealership that used acid wash, just be careful w/ chrome rims and dont leave the acid on for more then like 45 seconds. and it works well if you use a pressure washer to spray the acid off.

i dunno about brands, but i worked at a car dealership that used acid wash, just be careful w/ chrome rims and dont leave the acid on for more then like 45 seconds. and it works well if you use a pressure washer to spray the acid off.

I made the mistake of washing my entire car with the stuff the dealership uses. Didn't do anything though.

I didn't laugh. Although if you were there you would. The guy says, "Oh good your using that acid for your wheels".

Me: "Ummmmmm. Shi**"

What kinda finish on the wheels first?

I detailed a car just yesterday with the same problem. I applied some of the 3M rubbing compound that I have with a round terry applicator and now the rims are as good as new.

Be careful with acid wheel wash. Definitely wear gloves unless you want f'ed up skin, and try not to breathe it in if you can't get a hold of a respirator or dust mask. This stuff is very caustic to the lungs. But it is effective on really bad wheels. You should probably wash the wheels with a car wash soap or non-acid wheel cleaner afterwards to neutralize the acid. Good luck.

any brands or links?

Yeah, um... lots of water will stabilize the acid. I wouldn't worry about washing it with soap afterwards.

we just started using acid wheel cleaner at work( carwash) and it works so good. i think it looks best on chrome. makes them really shiny. anyways dilute it with water (i think we use about 50/50 ) and a pressure washer works wonders.i always get off the caked on brake dust from behind the spokes and everything, i love the acid cleaner.

Wheel acids are industrial use only, and you cannot buy them at Autozone. Plenty of companies now offer acidic wheel cleaners but they are no where near as potent or dangerous as "Spoke" or other industrial wheel acids.

Never use wheel acids on polished (non clearcoated) aluminum wheels. It will milk the finish on the wheel instantly.

I've got ~4yrs of pro auto detailing under my belt and I've used the stuff for all sorts of things. Works great in door jams, tough to reach places in the engine bay such as around hinges and the like. Emblems always have lots of gunk under and around them.. toothbrush it in there.

Anyways like I said you can't buy the stuff at any auto parts store. You might be able to find a detailing supplies truck at a detail shop and purchase a gallon of it off him. Generally though they won't sell to the public for obvious reasons.

Spoke is 5% Hydrofluoric Acid by volume, and is potent enough to burn your skin on or within 5 seconds of contact.

the stuff we use at the dealer i work at is called "Tans-Mate Wheel brightener" it is purple in color and is an acid that says it may be dilluted, but we use it full strength. The stuff is amazing it will get anything i have seen off of wheels. We also sell it in our boutique with our detail supplies.

at my dealer we all of our cleaning products are from a company called Cro-Save.
the wheel cleaner is non acid, doent really clean even with a pressure washer, i always need to scrub the wheels by hand. I use one of those bug sponges, you know the little sponges with a net around them for removing bugs on your front bumper?
do toothpicks actually get brake dust spots off of rims?
my PO didnt take care of rims and there are many spots on them.
i think best wheel cleaner over the counter is Armorall wheel cleaner.
It really cleaned up my rims when i bought my car, now i use simple green, only because my mom buys it in gallon jugs, and im lazy to buy more wheel cleaner from the store.

I don't think i'd go as far as using acid on my wheels considering the danger of it burning my skin. A little dirt won't kill me but that acid could =). Maybe i'll try Coke.