Alloy wheel sealer on brake calipers

[LeeJV]

As above guys.

The lacquer on my brake calipers is peeling, so I'm planning on cleaning them up and re coating them with some XHT lacquer, whilst I'm at it I wondered if sealing them with wheel sealer would help keep them clean.

Has anybody tried this with any good or bad results??

any tips would be great

Cheers
Lee

 

[SummitDetailing]

Yes absolutely, if I'm removing wheels as part of a Detail to properly clean them and coat them then the calipers get cleaned/coated too.

Happy cleaning!

Cheers,

Chris

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Yep, coated my new wheels in gtechniq c5 (smallest bottle they do) and also did all four calipers

 

[LeeJV]

super, cheers chaps.
wasn't sure if it was heat stable enough to use on them.

 

[V6GBJ]

Yes absolutely, if I'm removing wheels as part of a Detail to properly clean them and coat them then the calipers get cleaned/coated too.

Happy cleaning!

Cheers,

Chris

Hi Lee,
If the lacquer looked OK would you simply clean and coat with wheel sealant? Thanks, Gareth

 

[LeeJV]

Hi Gareth,
yes, if the lacquer is in good order, I would suggest cleaning them up with a general purpose cleaner, then some wheel cleaner or fallout remover so all the fine contaminants are removed, then wash down with a wax free car shampoo and dry them off. and for an extra step give them a good wipe down with some panel wipe or IPA solution, panel prep etc before coating them with your chosen sealant, just make sure that the coating is designed for wheels and calipers as a general sealant won't be that durable as the heat cycles will cause it to fail.

 

[V6GBJ]

Many thanks Lee for a very comprehensive answer! I've got all the bits, including GTechniq wheel sealer. I'll be on the case as soon as I can get the over-torqued wheels off with a longer wrench!

 

[keith of kent]

When I got my E Class 2 1/2 tears ago which was 18 months old/12K miles I removed the wheels and gave them a though clean before using Autoglm wheel sealer.
I also cleaned the calipers and the centre painted part of the discs.
Then I sprayed the caliphers and the centre of the discs with clear auto laquer.
I did the same 2 years ago to my wifes brand new GLA.
Yes some of the laquer would have gone on the discs but it would have come off with the first application of the brakes. I know that some people will be appaled at what I did but it worked and no puppies or children were injured as a result. I also smear copaslip on the mating surfaces of the wheel and disc. This stops them corroding together which makes wheel removal difficult.
The E Class is now 4 1/4 years old 40K miles on the same discs and calipers and the GLA on 20K miles. On both cars the calipers and the painted part of the disc look as new. I wash the cars by hand without using alloy wheel cleaning products.

 

[V6GBJ]

When I got my E Class 2 1/2 tears ago which was 18 months old/12K miles I removed the wheels and gave them a though clean before using Autoglm wheel sealer.
I also cleaned the calipers and the centre painted part of the discs.
Then I sprayed the caliphers and the centre of the discs with clear auto laquer.
I did the same 2 years ago to my wifes brand new GLA.
Yes some of the laquer would have gone on the discs but it would have come off with the first application of the brakes. I know that some people will be appaled at what I did but it worked and no puppies or children were injured as a result. I also smear copaslip on the mating surfaces of the wheel and disc. This stops them corroding together which makes wheel removal difficult.
The E Class is now 4 1/4 years old 40K miles on the same discs and calipers and the GLA on 20K miles. On both cars the calipers and the painted part of the disc look as new. I wash the cars by hand without using alloy wheel cleaning products.

Thanks for this, especially your mention of the disc centres which on my SL seem to be shiny alloy rather than steel. The trouble is that I am struggling to get them clean prior to sealing. I've tried brake cleaner, wheel cleaner and tar remover with not much effect. Next step will be a steam cleaner. Has anybody any experience of that? I've cleaned the wheels inside and out, sealed and greased the mating surfaces. Gareth