I have a 1997 E320 that has some areas of brake dust that seem to have bonded to the wheels. What would you recommend to remove this without damage to the wheels?

Lemme guess the dust has bonded to the paint in the little recesses. That wheel (W210 6-cyl) is notoriously hard to clean well. You can try the same things on your wheel that you would try on the finish. Hence meguiar's swirl remover, polish, etc. You can also try the "clay magic" bar if you can get it in those little holes. Unfortunately I have seldom seen brake dust that was truly burned on that came off. I'm talking about the little raised flecks that are as hard as weld-spatter. In most cases, to fix it 100%, requires striping and repainting of the wheel. Of course I would first try and get it off with wheel cleaner, paint cleaning compounds, clay bars, a generous amount of elbow grease, etc. I have seen this many times and to date I know of no way to get the dust that is really burned on. Other bummer, even if you did remove it the burned area would be a pit into the paint that would collect dust in the future. This is why I am such a strong advocate of cleaning your wheels at least weekly with P21s, Meguiar's wheel cleaner, etc. Give the gentler steps a try first, but if it doesn't come off with what I have outlined above you may want to contact Rennsport. I wish I could be the bearer of better news. BTW if anyone finds a cure for the "black death" let me know. Rob, back me up on this one.

Best of Luck....Lee

A FRESHLY PAINTED WHEEL IS MUCH EASIER TO CLEAN. THE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE WHEEL CLEANERS ARE USUALLY ACID BASED AND DESTROY THE PAINTED SURFACES AS AGGRESSIVELY ASTHE DUST IT SELF DOES WHICH IS ALSO ACIDIC. P21S IS ONE OF THE MILDER CLEANERS BUT I HAVE SEEN IT DAMAGE SURFACES IF SPRAYED ON TO HOT WHEELS OR LEFT TO DRY . IDEALLY ONLY AUTO CARWASH SHOULD BE USED TO CLEAN THE WHEELS. YOU MAY JUST NEED TO DO IT MORE OFTEN. I HAVE USED KLEEN WHEEL DUST SHIELDS FOR YEARS ON MY 560SEL AND OTHER CARS WITH GREAT SUCCESS. I DO NOT KNOW THE TRUE FORMULA FOR WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE BRAKE PROBLEMS WITH THEIR USE. THE LOCAL MB DEALER SELLS THEM. I SHOULD PROBABLY BE THE EXTREME CASE OF ABUSE ON BRAKES AS I SOME TIMES BECOME CONFUSED THAT I AM IN MY PORSCHE RACE CAR RATHER THAN MY WIFES BENZ. (SHE DRIVES LIKE A MANIAC ALL THE TIME, HER FAVORITE SAYING IS "IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY DRIVING-GET OFF THE SIDE WALK"). IF NOT TOO MUCH DAMAGE HAS BEEN DONE TO THE WHEELS ALREADY WHERE REPAINTING IS REQUIRED, TRY THE SHIELDS.