Cleaning the braking surface on rims

hiya,
i cleaned some quite dirty alloy rims recently with halfrauds own bike wash and all came up nice except the braking surface.
any ideas what to use to clean that braking surface with no big effort?
cheers

a alcohol based cleaner.
thinners meths nail varnish remover the alcohol brake down all the grubby stuff.

a alcohol based cleaner.
thinners meths nail varnish remover the alcohol brake down all the grubby stuff.

and yes, i'd quite like to clean all the rubber marks off my machined rim as i no longer use a brake.

and yes, i'd quite like to clean all the rubber marks off my machined rim as i no longer use a brake.

Caustic soda.

hiya,
i cleaned some quite dirty alloy rims recently with halfrauds own bike wash and all came up nice except the braking surface.
any ideas what to use to clean that braking surface with no big effort?
cheers

Mavic do a rubber - like an eraser you would buy in a stationary shop to rub out pictures you have draw of cocks on your geography books - it is formulated to pick off all the very very fine particulates that screw up ceramic rims but it works just as well on normal rims.

A regular road crap magnet.

I have no more information as I can't find my one and can't be bothered to look it up.

Otherwise use some mid grit sand paper.

Caustic soda.

cheers, for the record its a mavic cxp 33.

sand paper or a sharpening stone that u might use to sharpen knives.
work well

and yes, i'd quite like to clean all the rubber marks off my machined rim as i no longer use a brake.

Angle grinder will do the job perfectly.

don't be daft boy.

Angle grinder will do the job perfectly.

Agreed, also a world war one gatling gun.

also a world war one gatling gun.

ok this one i can see working.

I see there is plenty of options here:-)
Tried methylated spirit and it did it very well.
That mavic eraser sounds cool. I'll try to find it somewhere

I use disc brake cleaner for nearly everything*, I can imagine it working well for rims too.

*Dont use it as tooth paste. Just a warning.

is it really possible to clean them completely? on say a mavic machined braking surface?

I've been using a Rim Rubber for a while it's very good, cleans the crap right off the rim even the embedded shit from V barakes on my MTB. Also quite handy for cleaning disks as well.

I've used white spirit in the past on a sheet of kitchen paper. Does the job. Just rub a bit harder on the tougher areas. Your brakes will squeak a bit afterwards but only because they're gripping better. Noise should disappear after a day or so.

lemon juice and elbow greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease

i use white spirit with a plastic scourer (like you'd use in the sink for the washing up - not the metal brillo kind unless you really have too) - it's great for rust rash and road tar spots too - and any oil . it will often loosen uo the greae and move it around - wait for it to dry and then a clean cloth will just wipe it away.

while we're here - any alluminum oxide you may find - on hubs, or wherever - needs amonia for best results

is it possible to get the surface back to 'as new' shiny condition though?

'As new'? No, not that good, however if you are just looking to clean up a manky old rim then they are ideal. Next time I clean the bike I can take a few photo's so you can see how effective it is if you like?

You could try steel wool, then clean the chemicals in it off afterwards with disc brake cleaner.

Soapy Water and Elbow Grease and a Scourer .... Works for me

Hands down the best thing I have used for cleaning anything has been Astonish Cooker and Cookware cleaner

strips street grime off wheels, degreases anything greasy

I also used it for cleaning my motorbike when I had one, brilliant stuff, got a little tub from the pound shop, it's like a paste you rub in and rinse off

I cannot recommend this stuff highly enough

SwisssTop rim cleaning block, dirt cheap real effective.