Washing the inside of my rims.. is it worth it?

[ROMEO]

Guys .. I am planning to do a good clean up on the inside part of my rims. I was looking at them from the inside and they are full of black grime and brake dust that has builted up for years maybe. Outside is always clean. Has any of you guys done it? Is it worth it..I know this requires taking the rims off and wash them from inside out individually. I wonder if they will look the same in a couple of weeks from the brake dust? I dont think so. I think i will defitanely see the difference. What do you guys think? See my wheels on the small picture i forgot the rims style i have.. i love them.. 20"

[hayaku]

yes, clean the inside of your rims.

built up brake dust will eventually require their own set of balancing weights when you get new tires.

also, if the inside of the rim is clean and your wheel wieghts aren't taped down, then you can see if one of those weights falls off and would explain why your wheels out of balance...

i also clean mine looking for stress cracks and the surface must be clean when i do a penetration test on them...

[motordavid]

Not sure it requires taking the wheels off, unless it is really a mess and you've never cleaned them?!

I can reach all the way back inside on my rear '69s, and with a lil'stretch, I can reach the front insides from under the car. (Plus, they've been cleaned thoroughly each season, at winter wheel change time.)

If you are short armed and/or have never cleaned the rim all the way to the inside then it's probably worth taking them off.

A couple good coats of Zaino or WheelWax will do wonders to allow for "dirt release" next time you reach in and clean them.
GL,md

[YankeeBimmer]

If you have the 20's rims it's worth it! You can stick your hand from side to side just use throw away gloves .

[phil47]

I do it twice a year when I swap from winter wheels to summer wheels. So each time I am cleaning off around 6 months of brake dust from the inside. I also use the opportunity to apply wheel wax to the interior to make following cleanups easier. Doesn't take long and I believe that keeping them clean helps identify problems early and makes them last longer.

[ROMEO]

Thanks guys for all your input. I really appreciate it. I will clean them on Saturday. Mine require to be taken off i think.. they are very very dirty. I tried to clean them from the outside but no luck due to lots of brake dust and old grime hard to come off. i will get some Wheel Wax to clean them right as "motordavid" suggested above... thanks again.

[X5Jay]

I would definitely recommend doing it, but if there's years of built up dirt and brake dust, I think you'll find it will be a challenging task. I would highly recommend getting dustless pads (such as Axxis Deluxe Plus) before you do this. After that, reaching in and cleaning them with each wash is a piece of cake. Just beware of the very sharp edges on the brake rotors and also the dust plate behind them. I've earned some pretty good cuts on my hands cleaning the inside of the wheels while they're still on the car. You may want to invest in a wash mit and dedicate it just to wheel cleaning - that will help to avoid those sharp edges quite a bit. Post pics when you're done and GL!

[motordavid]

X5Jay: good advice on the rotors, reaching in...esp. the rotor shields: like a fooking knife!

[X5Jay]

Originally Posted by motordavid

like a fooking knife!

Yeah, no kidding - like a fooking razor blade! I'm still healing from last week's wash! Ouch!

[Tomaz]

I vote for the Axxis brake pads. No more brake dust! When cleaning my cars, I use a pair of cotton work gloves to protect my hands. They allow me to clean the crevices that a wash mitt can't reach