Rim Cleaning Question
 

The rims on my project have embedded icky black brake pad material...what's something good to get that off without being abrasive? Auto bug and tar remover maybe?

Anyone have a favorite cleaner or method?

rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, or denatured alcohol if the first doesn't work.

Mineral spirits also know as paint thinner. Roger

citrus degreasers almost always accomplish this for me. Pedros Pro J is what I use on the difficult stuff (brake residue, jockey wheels).

As long as you don't make it a habit, steel wool does a good job without being too abrasive. Rinse afterwards and it looks new.

WD40 then degrease it with Alcohol, but as someone already mentioned, Alcohol can sometimes work pretty good by itself. I discovered by accident that hand sanitizing lotion, the ones made mostly of alcohol, works very well to remove sticky glue residue, and I suspect some other types of transfer marring or smudges, as long as it isn't too old. You will then have to degrease the area though, becuase those hand sanitizers sometimes have moisturizers in them.

Chombi

SOS pads

Alcohol usually works. I have used acetone (that I used for removing tubular glue), and it seems to work well. Neither of these semm to leave a residue.

First, there are two categories of "removal:" solvents (to dissolve) and abrasives (to scrub off)

Second, decide if the braking area is machined, or simply the worn side of the rim. Many older wheels did not have machined braking areas.

Third, figure out if your choice of the two categories is going to mess up your non-braking area.

Fourth, steel wool is a good medium to apply either a solvent or an abrasive once you make up your mind.

On non-machined braking areas, I try to limit my cleaning to the brake area, but I've also "machined" a few areas because it simply looked better afterwards. That was a lot of work. On machined braking areas, I've just been careful and tried to use something that wouldn't mess up the paint/anodizing on the rest of the rim.

I start with WD40 and a rag, then move to WD40 and fine steel wool on the sides. If I have to resort to mineral spirits or Xtrem Goo Gone, I'm careful on the sidewalls, but generally, can get almost 100% of the brake scuff off. (It's just going to come back, but at least you start clean and get pictures then, eh?)

I have found the worst stuff is Purple Stuff or a strong liquid degreaser. It may work, but almost always damages the rest of the rim surface, with a stain or even removal of the finish.