I have an ongoing problem that I can't figure out. When I wash my car, typically I'll spend about 20 minutes or so on the rims cleaning the face as well as the inside barrel of each wheel. Then I wash my car and dry it. I like to spin the car around the block after it's dry to get all of the loose water out of the crevices and then I go over the car with a detailer spray. What happens each time though, is that after I come back fro mthe quick spin, the inside barrel part of each rim is completely filthy from wet grim that must be spinning up in the wheel while I'm driving. Where is that dirt coming from, and short of waiting a few hours before I drive the car after a wash, what can I do? It's so frustrating cleaning the inside of the rims to only have to do it again!!!!

Thanks in advance for any input.

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yeah its the residual water that sits in the rims. Whenever I get my car wash I just expect it...and then when I get home I just re wipe the wheels with meguiars wheel detailer.

The only way I have seen to avoid this...like you said..wait for the wheels to dry...or I have seen this one car wash use compressed air. They blow out the rims and it cuts down the dirty water. I only know of one handwash place in Studio City, CA that blows out the rims for you.

The rest...I just re wipe when I get home...

 

What you're seeing is the brake dust that is inside the rotor channels. Once water hits it, it become a slurry that needs to be flushed out. You need to spend a little more time flushing out the rotors when you wash. I keep flushing until the water become clear. When I'm done washing, I blow the car with the Airmax blower. This solves the problem.

 

Thanks for the replies. So where around the rotor should I spray to clean all the gak out?

 

Flush directly into the slots in the rotors. Make sure they're not hot though You don't want warpage.

 

Cool, thanks. I'll try that next week.

 

When you say slots in the rotors, are you talking about the slot that runs behind the face of the rotor? Kinda hard to explain. Where should I give the extra flush?

 

Spray directly into the holes on the rotor. Keep spraying until you don't see brake dust; about 15-30 seconds. Also spray into the open area of the calipers. You shouldn't need to drive the car to get the water out. I use to do this for a long time and then I realized the dirt I picked up when I was taking cars for a spin led to small micro scratches. So, I now use the airmax blowers which filters and warms the air. The airmax is also great for drying the car and not needing a chamois or drying cloth. Anything to help reduce swirls and micro scratches.