GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I used a wheel brush on my wheels this weekend when I detailed and it obviously hadn't been done in awhile as the thing came away almost totally black when I was done. I tried hosing it down along with the leftover soap/water but the thing is still grimy looking. Anyone have a trick for cleaning the brush, or should I not worry about it? Just don't want to be putting the brake dust and grime back on the wheels next time I clean them!

Not sure about that, but be sure to wear mask and gloves when handling carcinogenic materials (brake dust).

Rayven01 wrote:I used a wheel brush on my wheels this weekend when I detailed and it obviously hadn't been done in awhile as the thing came away almost totally black when I was done. I tried hosing it down along with the leftover soap/water but the thing is still grimy looking. Anyone have a trick for cleaning the brush, or should I not worry about it? Just don't want to be putting the brake dust and grime back on the wheels next time I clean them!

I just use a wet paper towel and hand clean the alum. wheels. Don't even use soap, just water. With a motorized brush, your just blowing the dust off and back into the air.
I like to use a wet (damp) paper towel to collect all my house whole surface dust.

This is just a regular bristled, plastic-handled wheel brush I'm talking about, like this:

And I hosed down the wheels first so I wasn't raising the dust everywhere. It's the brush bristles that are covered in black now that I'm wondering how to clean. Soap and water is not doing the trick.

Use brake cleaner on the brush.

Stained brush bristles won't spread the brake dust/dirt next time you use it on the wheels. Rinse the brush well after each use and it should be fine.

vibolista wrote:Stained brush bristles won't spread the brake dust/dirt next time you use it on the wheels. Rinse the brush well after each use and it should be fine.

Sweet, this is what I was hoping was the case. Thanks!

Yep, just make sure to rinse the brush really well after each use and it will be fine.

I personally use a small sponge on the wheels. A brush is going to scratch the heck out of the wheels after a short time.