[Dave_Obsession]

Wheels are always an area that require constant supervision in order to keep them looking good. Every car will put out different amounts of brake dust - remember it's also got to do with driving style and how hard you're using that brake pedal!

Firstly give the rims a good cleaning - any high quality wheel cleaner will do the job...you may find it advantageous to agitate the cleaning solution with a soft/old paintbrush on stubborn areas. On very heavily contaminated wheels, you may need to apply wheel cleaner a couple of times - also try leaving the solution to work it's way through the muck for around 30-60 seconds (but don't let it dry completely, especially if your wheels are aftermarket - no clearcoat like the OEM ones).

Once you've used the wheel cleaner solution, wash your wheels again with regular car wash solution (make sure you're using a separate bucket and wash mitt for this!) This will help to wash away and neutralise any leftover solution; even the pH neutral cleaners shouldn't be allowed to sit on the surface and dry...

IronX is NOT a wheel cleaner, it's an iron and ferrous metals remover than can be used on wheels. So yes it's great for removing any and all embedded bits of brake pad/rotor filings that have attached themselves to the inside of your wheels. For optimum results, clean your wheels first THEN use the IronX - you don't want it wasting it's time removing above-surface dirt, you want it to dig out all the tough stuff that the wheel cleaner can't touch!

Be sure to rinse VERY THOROUGHLY after IronX, spend a good couple of minutes or more if necessary - until you can no longer see any purple streaks running out of your wheel.

Once it's as clean as you can make it, dry the wheel off and then apply your wheel sealant - this will make things a lot easier to maintain moving forward with just a regular wash - the brake filings won't stick very well to a sealed surface.

Sealants perform much better when bonded to a clean surface, so if you seal wheels that still have contamination in/on them, then you won't get much durability from them...otherwise (depending on the car/use of brakes/amount of heat the brakes give out) you should see at least 8 weeks out of a good sealant, through to around 5-6 months....potentially longer if you're maintaining the finish more regularly through washing and keeping the surface contaminant-free.

I'm not going to recommend specific products unless asked, because IMO a lot of it is subjective, so what I say to people is when you find a product that you like, keep using it!