How do you clean Hawk Blue pad's brake dust?
 

I honestly been loving this White Diamond stuff for deep cleaning dust but all in all this is more of question of what the fuck.
Mine could be irreversible..
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1392889906
But not you!

Blues eat rotors when they're cold. That looks more like rust on your wheel -- from the little bits of iron rotor that got chewed off and embedded themselves in the paint on the wheels.

--Ian

How long did you let the dust sit? Has it rained recently?

get this stuff:

https://griotsgarage.scene7.com/is/i...6_FAM?$detail$

It will react with the iron and dissolve it. Amazon Prime eligible.

And get one of these:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...5L._SX425_.jpg

Also Prime.

Spray, wait for color change (a minute), agitate, rinse.

Introducing: Griot’s Garage Heavy-Duty Wheel Cleaner | In My Garage

O rly :party:

Trying it next week on my mega-OG Gen1 15x9s. Emilio's original race wheels, sold to me when the Gen2s came out IIRC. Probably the oldest and hardest-used 6ULs in existence. I haven't washed them in years.

Curious to see your results. Just make sure you follow the directions.

Spray, wait, agitate, rinse. Using the long bottle-type brush helps. I'd start here:
rather than the one above. I use the Daytona, but it's more. Beware of back-splatter--wear glasses.

Maybe a month, it's Florida so yes.
I'll try that stuff though y8s

subbed for results. My Hawk DTC-60 pads do the same thing on my (shitty) C3M's if I track/autox and then don't clean the brake dust before it rains. I have never been able to get the crap off. I planned on sanding it off and re-paining the wheels now that the car is garaged.

Edit....
I have also heard of guys using diluted Muriatic Acid. but that has a good chance of destroying the finish.

Double edit...
SONAX works wonders for everything but the iron build up. Once you get that rust out, use SONAX weekly and you will never have a problem again!

sub'd for results

Ordered, will deliver.

I've been told wd-40 and steel wool today as well.

The Griots HD stuff is pretty much the same idea. But about half the cost.

Oh man. That will certainly remove things. Many things.

you need to be careful with steel wool, the steel will come off the wool and imbed itself into the softer aluminum and then rust. which is what you are trying to avoid in the first place.

This is even a concern when cleaning stainless steel firearms with steel wool.

You can buy stainless SS, it's just not something easily aquired through a brick&mortar.

-Zach

ftfy

Oh and to the OP> That's not coming off. Hawk 9012's "Blue" are basically iron carbide. Those metal shavings that hit the wheel are a very different PH and are charged from all the movement. That stuff is cold welded on, literally. Most old school iron based race pads (Wilwood, Porterfield, Hawk Blue, HPS) do that. Modern ceramic Kevlar style race pads (Carbotech XP, Cobalt XR, Hawk DTC, Some Carbone Loraine, Some PFC..) don't. If you are a die hard Hawk fan, I'd suggest the DTC60's or whatever Andrew recommends. I'm a Carbotech guy.

The WD-40&steel wool was surely taking it off but didn't want to damage anything

I switched to Wagner ceramics. They are like sponges compared to the hawks in traffic.
I lived the Hawks but holy hell they ate my rotoors. My drivers front (the one in the picture and worst wheel) rotor looks like a typical daily driven car's that haven't been changed. I should replace it :/

I'd have to try the Carbotechs, why carbotech>others? Is it because the Kevlar/ceramics?

Carbotechs FTW.

I literally left brake dust on my cheap as Konigs (3 events in 4 weeks) for approaching 8 months, it washed right off without doing anything to the finish.

I spray my wheels with lemon scented Pledge (yes, the furniture polish stuff. I like the lemony fresh smell) before an event. Clean up is a snap.

Carbotech was the first US race pad supplier (tiny company BTW) to do Ceramic Kevlar blend with almost no metal in them. Requires a transfer layer and the pads are compressible. If you are used to the iron/carbon brick of a 9012, the Carbotechs will feel springier. The difference is the Carbotech are far, easier to modulate because of that compressibility. Just saying far easier doesn't really cover it. Hawks require very little effort but have really awful release characteristics. Rolling off the brakes with great precision is where all the speed in a Miata is and that's what the 9012's do worst. Carbotech's, once you get used to the slightly higher effort, are like cheating. They win Runoffs in Spec Miata almost every year.

Carbon Loraine was doing C/K pads in Europe before Carbotech was here. Hawk responded with their DTC (Dynamic Torque Control) after they saw Carbotech's success with C/K. PFC still use more metal but they're C/K pads are very good also. Cobalt XR line is well, another response to Carbotech's XP line. I have an affinity for the Carbotech brand because they're a small company that affected the amateur racing pad industry in a profound way by taking a chance on what were then "expensive" pads, winning races and inspiring much larger established companies to develpop their own versions for the same market. It's a familar story to me ;)

I had the same dust problem with both blues and DTC60s. If the dust gets wet and you can't wash it off quick enough, DTC60s are no better than blues in my experience.

Someone also suggested the Griot's heavy duty stuff to me after I'd already tried all the other wheel cleaners at the parts stores. It was $22 and didn't do shit, no matter how long I waited or how much I scrubbed.

I finally gave up and went inside to wash my hands and found a final contender:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1393203545

Fucking dawn dishwashing liquid did the trick. It took a little scrubbing, but the wheels look brand new after that stuff. Skip the $22 for Griot's and go spend $6 on some Dawn Platinum.

Consider Cobalt pads as well. They have a good reputation.