Cleaning wheels and rusty rotors

[TrooperTig]

Having problems with wheels and rotors in the cleaning process
And up front I admit I use a wheel cleaner. Reference https://www.bowdensown.com.au/new-wheely-clean
But Im not sure that it can be the cleaner given it happens with water as well.
So you’re told to by Bowdens that wheels need to be cool. So I wash the wheels individually, with their product and brush. I then hose rinse. Then I wash car and dry. I rolled car back in to garage and noticed that the wheels were covered in surface rust. So this morning I rinsed all the rust off and dried and went for quick spin. Same thing. As I mentioned, I cant seem to think it is therefore the product

is this simply that VW rotors are really bad and an upgraded rotor will be better.

[Lucas_R]

Its just the surface rust coming off the disks/pads after you have washed them. On a silver wheel you would probably never see the dust, but on a gloss black wheel you see everything.

If it bothers you, best thing to do would be to wipe it over with a microfibre cloth that you have misted with a spray detailer.

Nice choice in wheels by the way, I have the same Koya's but in gloss grey on my Mk7 GTI.

Also, seeing that you now have gloss black rims, you might want to look into some low dust ceramic brake pads to help keep those wheels looking better for longer in between washes.

[TrooperTig]

Its just the surface rust coming off the disks/pads after you have washed them. On a silver wheel you would probably never see the dust, but on a gloss black wheel you see everything.

If it bothers you, best thing to do would be to wipe it over with a microfibre cloth that you have misted with a spray detailer.

Nice choice in wheels by the way, I have the same Koya's but in gloss grey on my Mk7 GTI.

Also, seeing that you now have gloss black rims, you might want to look into some low dust ceramic brake pads to help keep those wheels looking better for longer in between washes.

Thanks for response mate. Yes the wheels are great.

I am looking to do a complete racingline brake conversion so was hoping to wait till then. I was thinking some nice t3 rotors as well.

[BeigeJet]

Any car will develop some surface rust on the rotors when washing or for that matter left out in driving rain.

VW and probably most Euro brands, tend to have the surface rust appear quicker simply because the grade of metal used on rotors is designed to work quickly and efficiently with the friction material on the brake pads to give immediate "bite", Also that most Euro brand need good braking in their cold winters.

No need to change the rotors as they are fine and any change to a harder rotor material will have some negative effect on braking feel and performance.

When I finish washing our cars (Tiguan and Discovery Sport) I dry them and drive a couple of kilometres around the block touching the brakes to get some heat in them as well as shimming the surface rust from them. The heat will stop any further rust from forming while wheels are cold and damp

[Guest001]

My Passat used to do that when washed and not driven. Wasnt a worry first time you use the brakes its gone. At least our Tiguans have the hubs painted or you would be really in a tiz. The USA ones arent apparently and lots of moans about the surface rust on them.

[Timmy35851]

Thanks for response mate. Yes the wheels are great.

I am looking to do a complete racingline brake conversion so was hoping to wait till then. I was thinking some nice t3 rotors as well.

T3 rotors do the same thing on mine, although not as bad. I did notice the same thing with the stock rotors when using a wheel cleaner. As above, drive round the block and heat up the disks to dry as much as possible. Not much you can do otherwise.