Q – My 2007 Carrera had a lot of brake dust on the calipers and wheels and it was ugly. I bought some wheel cleaner, sprayed it on, and now it looks like the wheels and calipers are discolored. Help. John
A – Wheel cleaners usually contain acid and you may have permanently damaged the finish. The best suggestion that I have is to remove the wheels and clean them inside and out with a PH balanced wheel cleaner (P-21S or Griots). Then apply a thick coat of “wheel wax” which is specially formulated for wheels. Your wheels are painted and clear coated so other than removing some of the clear coat, they will probably look OK. As far as the calipers, if the finish is etched by the cleaner, other than painting them, the damage is done. Incidentally, since you take the car to the track, most paints will tend to burn off so if you decide to paint them, use paint formulated for brake parts that is heat tolerant. – MC