Fellow XF's:

Any suggestions on cleaning the interior of the rims or the exhaust pipe tips? The front interior rims are coated with brake dust and grime. Is there an easy way to clean them, short of dismounting the rims? I have used chrome cleaner on the exterior of the exhaust pipe tips with good results, but it does not do a very good job on the exposed interior of the pipe tips at the end. I would guess that may be because the interior of the tips are galvanized steel. Any suggestions?

THANKS!

Sterling

 

I use soap and sponge to clean my rims and remove it once a month or every 2 months to thoroughly clean it and prevent the accumulation of brake dust. At 15,000 miles I decided to replace my brake pads with Porterfield pads ( www.formymercedes.com ) and truly there is less dust than the stock one with more braking power. I do the same thing with the tail pipes by using dishwashing soap first then wax it with Zymoil.

I waxed my wheels everytime I remove it with Zymoil and use Zaino gloss enhancer for maintenance.

 

I definitely recommend replacing your brake pads as the first defense against this. I went with Rotex Gold (many folks here suggest this brand). After changing pads, I cleaned the wheels inside and out and polished with Klasse All-In-One (polish/cleaner). I then topped that off with Klasse Sealant Glaze (an acrylic sealer). Now the minimal amount of dust that is generated tends to not stick to the wheels... wheels now stay super clean between washings! I use a wheel brush designed to clean the inside of the wheel without having to remove it.

 

It just so happened that I had an old long handled brush like you see for sale at Wal-Mart that I use to clean the backside of the wheels. I filed down the brush until it fit between the spokes. The only place I can’t get to is the front wheels where the brake calipers are. This works good for me.

 

to get around/over the brake calipers, I use a paint stick with a rag wrapped around it. It works great.

 

I stayed on top of my car from day one, but I use a feather duster to get all the way inside the wheels, so my car and rims look showroom new all the time. I just spray my Griots wheel cleaner (BBS approved BTW) and then use the long feather duster to get everything out of there, it really works well. As far as the exhaust tips, well, I always spray some wheel cleaner on those when I wash my car and it works well too, but again, I stated I've stayed on top of my car from day one so its a bit easier. Also, since changing my muffler, the inside of the tips don't get any carbon build up, even after my trip to Chicago I got nothing in there.

 

For rims I use regular car shampoo, stick a flat sponge through the spokes and pull it on the inside around. Works good, only at the brake caliper is a little harder. Tips I also clean with soap and sponge.

Is it only my car or do you have the same? It looks that the left pipe tip always has more carbon. The difference is not big but visible.

Thanks

 

Try Mopar Wheel Cleaner #04796239AB (That's the consumer product formulated by Meguiar's).
Also Mopar Tire & Wheel Cleaner #05066247AB, this is the stuff that the techs use in the back shop. Works great and both Chrysler Group Engineering approved.