GSR Blades: Repair?

[certificate]

Well, I decided to fix up my 99` blades today. To those who aren`t familiar with them, they are a very shinny aluminum finish type wheel. Anyways, there was one with some curbing, and the others had minor corrosion around the lip (and some in the center, around the center cap).



Well, I broke out the 600 grit wet/dry paper, and got to work. I got rid of all the curb marks and made it smooth as possible. Then, I went to 1000 grit paper to smooth it out further.



After this, I used Eagle One original aluminum wheel/mag polish. After a minute or two on each spot, I cleaned it off, and the results were good. Very happy - compared to the original look.



However, there is definite color change. Its not as "silver" - not as lustrous, I can see the difference.





I have a couple questions



Is it possible that these rims are plated, and I am simply out of luck here? It seems as if there is a plating, but IM unsure.





Should I use 2000+ grit wetpaper to really get it incredibly smooth, followed by intense polishing?





Is there anything else I should try?

[Jngrbrdman]

Just for the benefit of people who don`t know what they look like, here is a picture. You know what would really help? A picture of the specific damage. I know that my rims seem to have something on the edge of the lip that would flake off. Kind of like a clear coat. That could be the problem. You could have just rubbed off all the clear coat. :nixweiss

[F1Crazy]

I assume that this is OEM Acura wheel and in that case I`d be very surprised if they are not clearcoated. If you went through the clearcoat I suggest you have it fixed by professional shop.

[certificate]

I don`t have access to a digi cam this week - basically, while sanding very carefully, there seems to be a "plating" over the rims. Like, the shinny aluminum part seems almost like it was plated on? Its hard to explain, and the pics probably won`t show it. But its almost like, you know when plastic is painted silver? and it corrodes off in some areas? kinda like that. Very weird.



I am just wondering, with the aluminum below, what is my best option for getting it to its absolute shinniest ;)

[Jngrbrdman]

Well, since you have rubbed off all the clear coat (Did you look on the jar to see if it was clear coat safe?) then you should probably just keep using what you`ve got. That polish is designed for aluminum wheels.



Stock GSR rims aren`t polished; they are clear coated. That polish you were using is for `polished` rims and probably not too good for clear coated ones. You aren`t ever going to get them to look like they did before because you removed the clear. It would be like removing the clear coat from your car and then wondering why it wasn`t so shiney anymore.

[certificate]

I didn`t remove it - the coat was removed already, through the previous owners curbing one, and the corrosion =\ If the silver finish is clearcoat, then I am blown away - it must be paint, or something - the underneath is not the same. I will take it to a professional wheel refinishing center (one about 10 minutes from my house). They should be able to do the job ;)

[certificate]

One thing I haven`t mentioned - these rims weren`t mine originally. I picked them up off someone I met @ the gas station (he was in his winter beater) for cheap (280 USD, w/ tires!) so that explains why they aren`t perfect - if they had of been mine, non of the damage would have ever occured ;)

[Jngrbrdman]

Clear coat is exactly like paint. Think of it as clear paint. Try and brace yourself for what the shop is going to say to you. They wanted $100 bucks a wheel from me when I asked how much to repair the clear coat. You could probably do it yourself if you wanted to learn how. Its not that hard to repair when the damage is on such a small lip.

[certificate]

Ok, well, perhaps I should learn how to replace the clear coat. First though, I will get your some pictures. One rim is curbed on the acctual blades, 2 of them =\



I sanded it down very smooth... the ony change looks like a clear coat removal. If I could recoat these, then maybe they will be ok. However, I may just end up painting them gunmetal, depending on how my turn out will look.



/sigh - the life of a used parts buyer is never easy ;)

[Jngrbrdman]

lol I hear ya. If I would have kept my blades then I would have painted them gunmetal too. I`m painting my Enkeis this spring. Its not a hard process. I`ve got way more curb damage than you do to repair though. Plus I`m going to have to get new tires for em. Oh well. Like you said... The things we do... ;)

[F1Crazy]

Originally posted by Kordaek

I didn`t remove it - the coat was removed already, through the previous owners curbing one, and the corrosion =\ If the silver finish is clearcoat, then I am blown away - it must be paint, or something - the underneath is not the same. I will take it to a professional wheel refinishing center (one about 10 minutes from my house). They should be able to do the job ;)



Curb damage is like deep scratching your clearcoated paint , you`ll see corrosion if you go through the primer.

Clearcoat on your wheels has probably some tint to it and this is why you see the difference between the part you sanded and polished and the rest of your wheel. Also many aluminum wheels are actually painted with 2 stage paint, base and clearcoat even tough they may look like polished aluminum. Like Jngrbrdman said the shop will ask $80-$100 to fix it. Ask for the estimate and what repair looks like and decide if it`s worth doing it.

If you decide to repair it yourself then check out this thread: How to: Home Wheel-scuff repair (Submitted by NASAracer) (http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14894)

[certificate]

That guide was awesome, had some really helpful advice ;)



Well, as of now, I am leaning towards gunmetal paint/polished silver lip.



Not gonna powdercoat yet - I think I can handle the paint on my own.

[certificate]

I talked to the wheel refinishers - they want 80 USD per wheel. Ah well - I like the blades, but I don`t think its worth paying what I bought them for, to have them look new. I will just go with gunmetal and the polished lip ;)

[Jngrbrdman]

Not much of a lip to leave polished. Normaly the wheels with polished lips are the ones that go a bit deeper than these do. `lip` is a good description of what is left. It would be way easier for you to just paint the whole wheel with the lip and all. masking off such a small area would be a pain. Of course, it would look cool with just that thin little halo of silver around the wheel. I dunno man... Its up to you. Looks like you`ve got a fun project ahead of you. :xyxthumbs I can`t wait to start working on my rims. :)

[certificate]

Not much of a lip at all ;) It will be a pain, and will take a long time. However, when it comes to my car - spending lots of time on it is a non issue ;) I will do it, just for the joy of looking at it aftwerwords ;)