Okay, while washing the car I'm able to get all of the dirt and break dust off without much of a problem. It's after the wash that's causing me grief. I've tried pulling it directly into the garage from the driveway and I've tried driving it around the block for a quick spin before pulling it into the garage.

Either way leaves me with a rusty looking goo splattered all over my wheels. Considering the time I take the clean the wheels it's maddening to see them so dirty right after the wash. I can wipe down the wheel exterior around the tire, but the wheels are so deep it's a pretty major task to wipe out the entire wheel.

Have you all experienced this too? I can't imagine any alternatives other than washing the wheels -- again.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

Welcome to my nightmare....I have the same problem. I don't know about ceramic brakes but the factory rotors tend to develop a rusty film after you wash them. I have after market three piece wheel with a huge lip and yes it is quite the task. What I normally do is try and dry the rotor RIGHT after I wash the wheel...goodluck

 

Not a problem guys. Here's what's going on. Inside your rotors are channels. Inside those channels is brake dust which is a semi-metallic particle. As the week goes, the dust begins to collect in the channels. When you put water in the equation, you get the nice slurry that you're talking about which then oxidizes the brake dust; hence the orange color. Since most European sports cars and luxury cars have slotted rotors, you need to spend a little more time flushing out the rotors. I usually keep flushing until the water becomes clean and I don't see any more brake dust coming out. Spray behind the calipers too. It also helps to have a forced air unit. You can use an air compressor or a unit called Airmax. It filters the air and warms it to speed up drying. You can also use the airmax to dry the and not use any chamois or drying cloths; this helps reduce swirls and light scratches. I hope this helps. PM if you need further details.

 

I don't think is a porblem! Everytime after I washing my car I drove around the block, then I come back clean the wheels.

 

I flush the rotor real good and then blow them out with compressed air. I take a long and thin wheel brush and cover it with a t-shirt and wipe the inside of the wheels.

 

1-On your final rinse before drying flush the wheels really good.
2-Carefully use your shop vac to suck all the moisture out of the wheel, brake, and wheel cap.
3-Dry wheel with a micro fibre cloth, and if possible, allow some time for air drying, letting your car sit a bit, before driving.

 

after i wash the car, i park it in the garage and dont drive it for at least 24 hours. that allows all the water (not just inside the brake rotors) to dry up and thus solves the problem.

by the way, i been using Simple Green recently for my car wash. it works amazingly well!

 

Simple Green is very safe on the wheels and any rubber hoses. Simple Green is also non-caustic. However Simple Green is a little harsh to wash the car's paint with unless you wax it all the time.

 

haha... yeah, i mean to say "to wash my wheels with", not the whole car. i use the 409 cleaner for the whole car... LOL, just kidding. i use meguiars nxt soap.

btw, you are too nice for this place. most people would come back with "are you an idiot? using simple green to car wash your car?"

 

doesn't everyone use pipe cleaners to get the dust out of the rotor holes?

 

This is what I do. I use simple green on the wheels while still dry, then a pressure wash them. Making sure all brake dust is out of the rotors. Last I use a leaf blower to blow all the water out of them. This has work very well for me...

 

Many thanks for all of the advice folks! It's nice to know I'm not the only one who has experienced this. I'll make sure I wash the wheels better and dry them before I move the car.

My kingdom for a world without break dust! :-)

 

PCCB......

 

I washed my car this morning, rinsed out the rotors really well and still had slop all over the barrel of the rims when I drove it a few minutes after the wash. From now on I'm going to park it for a few hours before I drive it. Is it OK to leave the rotors "rusty" over night? The rust always comes right off when you drive it, but I've never left it that way for more than a few hours.

 

I use a leaf blower to get all the water out of the wheel area. It also speeds up the drying process.