Ceramic Coating Wheels and Brake Calipers

The problem

Why brake dust is so hard on wheels

Every time you brake, the pads and discs wear a little, and the debris has to go somewhere. Much of it lands on the wheels. Research on airborne brake wear particles found iron, mostly as iron oxide, was the most abundant element at roughly a third to half of the particles' mass, with the brake disc as the main source.

That iron arrives hot. On bare or poorly protected wheels it embeds into the finish and, combined with moisture, can leave orange-brown staining that ordinary soap will not lift. That is why iron removers, which dissolve iron particles and often turn purple as they work, are a standard part of wheel cleaning.

Wheels also catch everything else the road throws: red clay spray, tar, winter brine on the occasional treated road and grime from lake ramp runoff. A coating gives all of it less to grab onto.

Coverage

Wheel faces vs full wheels

There are two common ways to coat wheels, and the difference is access. With the wheels on the car, the installer can clean and coat the faces and as much of the spokes and lip as they can reach. With the wheels off, they can coat the inner barrels, the back of the spokes and every surface a brush will touch later.

Faces onlyWheels on

Covers what you see. Faster and less expensive, and enough for many daily drivers. The barrels behind the spokes stay uncoated, so they still collect bonded dust.

Full wheelWheels off

Covers faces, barrels and lips, and opens access to calipers. More labor, but cleaning becomes easier everywhere, which matters most on open-spoke designs where the barrel is visible.

At The Auto Show, wheels and wheel faces are separate coating add-ons; ask for a price for your wheel size and design.

Finishes

Coating different wheel finishes

• Painted and clear-coated alloys: the most common finish, and the easiest to coat. Light marring can be polished first.
• Powder-coated wheels: coat well once clean; avoid aggressive polishing on textured powder coat.
• Gloss black: shows dust and marring quickly, so a coating has an obvious payoff.
• Matte and satin wheels: need a matte-safe product and no polishing, so the finish does not gain shine.
• Polished bare aluminum: needs to be polished and fully clean first; untreated aluminum oxidizes, and the coating must go on a clean surface.
• Chrome: can be coated after thorough cleaning; check for pitting, which a coating will not fix.

Care

Cleaning coated wheels

Coated wheels clean faster, but they still need cleaning. Brake dust lands on them every drive, and if it is left for weeks it will still bond. Clean them every time you wash the car.

Product choice matters. IGL's data sheets for its wheel and paint coatings recommend cleaners in the pH 3 to 9 range and warn that strong acids and alkalis are unnecessary and damaging. Many strong wheel cleaners sold for bare wheels fall outside that range, so check the label and choose a pH-neutral or coating-safe wheel cleaner.

• Clean wheels when they are cool, never right after a drive.
• Use a separate bucket, mitt and brushes for wheels so brake dust never reaches the paint.
• Use soft wheel brushes and a pH-neutral or coating-safe cleaner.
• Rinse thoroughly, including barrels and lug nut recesses.
• Use an iron remover made for coated surfaces a few times a year, or when dust starts to bond.
• Dry the wheels to avoid water spots on dark or polished finishes.