# brick acid



## ozzyboy (Jul 14, 2008)

anyone know where to buy this stuff.
tried acid wheel cleaner.tried wonder wheels with stiff brush.only very slight improvement.now wanting to go for gold.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

ozzyboy said:


> anyone know where to buy this stuff.
> tried acid wheel cleaner.tried wonder wheels with stiff brush.only very slight improvement.now wanting to go for gold.


To be fair, I suggest posting a pic before going to extraordinary measures, if WW is not removing the soiling then I doubt any other product will :thumb:


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## robbo51 (May 1, 2007)

Wonder wheels is strong stuff.
This might need some refurbishment by the look of it. how about some pics?


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## Bigbash22 (Aug 25, 2008)

Acid is only making a slight improvement, would love to see a pic of how bad the wheel is. Thats if your using it on a wheel


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## ozzyboy (Jul 14, 2008)

rhanks guys,i have two sets of passat wheels with baked on brake dust.like i say ww is making some progress but not enough.
been reading various posts on the subject and it seems brick acid is last thing before a refurb.the cars are for sale so a quick fix is all i require.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

builders merchant should have brick acid


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## LeeH (Jan 29, 2006)

I have just used it as I'm refurbishing some Pug wheels. They were that bad even left soaking in BC for 20 mins still left a lot of crud behind.

I wouldn't use it on my best chrome rims if you catch my drift.....


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

I think you’ll find brick acid quite a bit more potent than WW, but likely to do as much damage as good. Instead, try a strong alkaline cleaner like Car-Tec.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

Car Key said:


> I think you'll find brick acid quite a bit more potent than WW, but likely to do as much damage as good. Instead, try a strong alkaline cleaner like Car-Tec or Megs Wheel Brightener.


I could be wrong , but isn't Megs WB acidic?


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## ozzyboy (Jul 14, 2008)

sorry to say i have already tried neilsens alkaline wheel cleaner.which i have tried in the past and it has removed everything but this little problem.
thanks guys


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

Avanti said:


> I could be wrong , but isn't Megs WB acidic?


Oops! You're right Avanti, it's a mild acid, ph 5.5. I've edited my post.


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## HermaN (Dec 30, 2008)

Try Autosmart Ali Shine, I had baked on brake dust on my white powder coated Buddy Clubs. Had tried AG and it didn't do much, got some Ali Shine sprayed it on (hardly diluted on the worst parts).

Let it soak, aggitated with a brush, then rinsed it off, had to do it 2 or 3 times for each wheel.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2009)

Car Key said:


> Oops! You're right Avanti, it's a mild acid, ph 5.5. I've edited my post.


pH 5.5, are you sure? Thats childs play, AG clean wheels is ph1~ for starters and that will struggle with bad wheels.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2009)

ozzyboy said:


> sorry to say i have already tried neilsens alkaline wheel cleaner.which i have tried in the past and it has removed everything but this little problem.
> thanks guys


baked on brake dust - try a clay bar, acidic wheel cleaners will work better with brake dust, alkali won't really do much do it.


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

G220 said:


> pH 5.5, are you sure?


http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pdfs/d140.pdf (page 4  )


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2009)

I'm amazed people have such good results with it compared to others when it's only 5.5!

As said AG clean wheels is pH1 and that struggles on bad wheels, yet people always seem to have good results with WB. If its only slightly acidic like that, I don't know what all the fuss is about with it being really bad for wheels!


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## BIG BAVARIAN (May 7, 2006)

autosmart do "ali" which is next up the scale from ali shine which does most of the nasty wheels i get,the car dealer i was at last week use dilute autosmart treble x,which is up the scale again, it is basically concrete cleaner, but suitable for stubborn wheel deposits.autosmart treble x


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

G220 said:


> I'm amazed people have such good results with it compared to others when it's only 5.5!
> 
> As said AG clean wheels is pH1 and that struggles on bad wheels, yet people always seem to have good results with WB. If its only slightly acidic like that, I don't know what all the fuss is about with it being really bad for wheels!


 Yes, it has got a rep. That pdf is dated 2004, but maybe previously it was more acidic.

Epoch did a ph test here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=1436276&postcount=12


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2009)

That is very impressive indeed that they have forumulated a product relatively close to neutral (in the grand scale) yet does so well on bad wheels. I suppose there are other factors depending its reactivity with the wheel and paint but pH must play an important part. I was under the impression it would be towards 1 (like practically all other acid wheel cleaners).

I did some pH tests back here on Espuma and AG CW if its of any intrest: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=1423866&postcount=12


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## Sackboy (Mar 19, 2009)

Excuse my ignorance but what's wrong with diluting brick acid and testing it on a small area first?


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2009)

Sackboy said:


> Excuse my ignorance but what's wrong with diluting brick acid and testing it on a small area first?


Absolutely nothing


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Back to the original question you can get brick acid in B&Q usually comes in 5 litre containers.


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## nicks16v (Jan 7, 2009)

I got my brick acid from B&Q, Still didnt really do much, might try this Ali from autosmart. Its only the polo runabout so Im not going to refurb them. Its baked on brake dust on the front wheels, so anything that can shift it a bit will be a step in the right direction for me.So far brick acid hasnt been able to shift it, but the good thing is that its brilliant on the drive, its amazing how it makes the bricks all turn new again. 2 products in one lol


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Avanti said:


> I could be wrong , but isn't Megs WB acidic?


Indeed it is - but used correctly it should be OK - I have never had any problems and generally use it cut 4:1 :thumb:


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## ozzyboy (Jul 14, 2008)

*acid*

thanks for the input guys.bought some brick acid today from local builders merchants.
applies it neat small area first,worked a treat on one set.the other set (only two that need it)still nothing didnt touch it.
hope to get some photos on to show whats going on.


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## Mr Shoelaces (Dec 27, 2007)

ozzyboy said:


> sorry to say i have already tried neilsens alkaline wheel cleaner.which i have tried in the past and it has removed everything but this little problem.
> thanks guys


my god are Nielsen chemicals still going? they used to have great products?


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## ozzyboy (Jul 14, 2008)

hope the pics come out.will have some afters tomorrow.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Use something like smart wheels...thats what I used on the 405 wheels and they had 206k miles of ****e baked on.

Had to do them a couple of times but it did shift.....i wouldnt personally used brick acid


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## gt5500 (Aug 6, 2008)

nick_mcuk said:


> Use something like smart wheels...thats what I used on the 405 wheels and they had 206k miles of ****e baked on.
> 
> Had to do them a couple of times but it did shift.....i wouldnt personally used brick acid


Yes but he has used brick acid already and that didn't cut it so I doubt smart wheels will. I think possibly as a last ditch effort you could try wet and dry? or maybe one of them magic erasor's both will obviously remove some lacquer but the only other option I can think of is refurbing them. Actually I wonder if a fine polish would work with a bit of elbow grease, so far dissolving the dirt isn't working so maybe try rubbing it off?


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## ozzyboy (Jul 14, 2008)

*thanks again guys*

i have set about the stubborn bits with wet and dry.when you are rubbing it down it seems to be metal that has built up when pads have been run to metal.
i plan to rub down until silver starts to appear amd then apply more brick acid.
will show you the results.
the acid was great on the first set removing everthing on them.would definately use it again.if the wheels arent as bad then i will dilute it down.
:thumb:


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## mathyou78 (Mar 12, 2007)

Before you go the wet and dry route. Try T-cut or Autosol/AG metal polish. I'd be surprised if this didn't get it off. 

Use a stiff toothbrush or a small nail brush to help agitate. (Also try this with the WW/ Brick acid if you've not done already)

You can then put the finish back with your choice of polish to bring the shine back.


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