Rim issues-->

MagicCity33

MagicCity33

New member
Does anyone have a process for removing deep to light scratches from aluminum wheels? (Wife hit the curb a couple of times..)

I've been trying to get home before dark to take picutres but haven't made it in 2 weeks.

I don't want to polish and seal the rim before I remove or smooth the scratches out but I also want to get n my car ready for the winter.
 
Pictures would help a lot. Is this a bare aluminum wheel or painted?? How deep is "deep to light scratches"? Can you feel them with your fingernail?

If it is a painted aluminum wheel then all you could do is fill with some type of filler and then repant.

If it is bare aluminum and the scratches aren't too deep I don't see any reason why you couldn't wet sand them and then polish them out with an abrasive polish (rouge). Try to sand with a fine grit (2000-3000) before you begin polishing, it'll make your life a lot easier.
 
budman3 said:
If it is bare aluminum and the scratches aren't too deep I don't see any reason why you couldn't wet sand them and then polish them out with an abrasive polish (rouge). Try to sand with a fine grit (2000-3000) before you begin polishing, it'll make your life a lot easier.
Click to expand...

X2

I'd start a little lower than 2000 though. But thats just me.
 
budman3 said:
Pictures would help a lot. Is this a bare aluminum wheel or painted?? How deep is "deep to light scratches"? Can you feel them with your fingernail?

If it is a painted aluminum wheel then all you could do is fill with some type of filler and then repant.

If it is bare aluminum and the scratches aren't too deep I don't see any reason why you couldn't wet sand them and then polish them out with an abrasive polish (rouge). Try to sand with a fine grit (2000-3000) before you begin polishing, it'll make your life a lot easier.
Click to expand...

The scratches are pretty deep around the lip, with another going horizontal across one of my star arms. When the rims get dirty I have to take out a tooth brush to get in the creases to get the dirt out. I've actually cut myself a few times cleaning them too.

I've hit the web and located some places that can do some welding but I was think that if we can polish our paints surely there is a solution to fixing rims. (Especially non-painted aluminum wheels.)

Do you think I can locate some (2000-3000 grit) sanding disc to be used with my drill instead of me doing it by hand or do I have to do it by hand?

I'll try and get some pictures take of the damage. I tried to take some night photos but the only thing that picked up were the reflections of my door handles. (LOL...Have to get a better camera.)
 
TrueDetailer, what grit would you suggest? I'm new to this area of restoration so treat me as though I were in a classroom. Is there a chart that I could go by to help determine when to use what grades of sand paper?

I use to just get rid of the rims after they got scratched, but now that I am married with kids that is no longer an option. My wifes shoes and purses take precidents....(LOL)
 
Ok, I took some pictures but I see now that I have got to purchase a digital camera. The camera on my phone is not going to cut it.

I went by Lowes but the finest sanding disk they had was 320 grit. I never seem to get off of work to go downtown to the Bonds Bros.(Major Auto Body store)

Rim Lip.jpg

Rim Lip 2.jpg

Rim Scratch 1.jpg

Rim Scratch 2.jpg

Q45t.jpg

I haven't had the opportunity to do any major work on her yet. She has water spots all over the body, which the broker had covered with 5 star shine sealant. (Supposedly last 5 years according to the broker it was put on there in August and it is already breaking down.)

Will try to get more pics uploaded. Going to get a camera from Wally world (Walmart)
 
When I'm restoring rims on old motorcycles, I start with 320 to get the rough areas "knocked down". Then I'm using 400 wet/dry with water, then 600, 1200 and then the buffing wheel.
JU
 
TrueDetailer said:
X2

I'd start a little lower than 2000 though. But thats just me.
Click to expand...

I meant to say finish with 2000 grit before you move to polishing so it'll be easier to polish out after.
 
Thanks Guys, I hope to start working on this this weekend. Hopefully my wife will go out with the ladies so I can have a little QT with my girlfriend. (She calls my car the other woman since she is not allowed to driver her.)

John are you doing this by hand, drill, pneumatic????
 
Ive had to smooth out some curb marks on my Smoothie II's a couple of times.
I used 1000 then 2000 wet paper, by hand. I wanted to make sure I was in control of the paper. Then polished it up.
Worked out real good.
I think thats one good thing about aluminum, if that was chrome they'd be ruined or at least up for re-chroming.
 
sand using whatever needed to remove the scrapes and scratches.....and some matching silver paint (spray can) and you will be set....spray wheel and some light sanding 1000 to 2000......thats it, you can take it to a wheel place and they would charge about 150 or may be more..... its really something anyone can do good luck and post pics
 
I definitely will. I had planned on doing it this weekend, but I just got a call from one of my bowling club members and have to drive with them to a tournament in Huntsville, AL so hopefully I can make some money while I'm up there and be able to purchase some more products.

I'm going to get the sand paper and paint from Advance Auto parts Friday so I am looking forward to this task and I will definitely take pics. with my camera.

Thanks again everyone for your help.
 
looks like those scratches are workable. be happy you diddn't shear off part of the lip:mad: . cant exactly polish that out lol
 
What I'm going to do is get some body filler and fill in the scratches, then sand that down and paint and spray a clear coat over the entire rim. I've been talking with several local managers of auto parts stores and they have all been reccommending the same process and showed me the products to get. The pray paint is very close to my original rims. However, I'm not sure how it will look after I polish the rims. I've never polished rims before and have seen some that look better than chrome wheels. I dont want to have shiny rims with satin marks showing I want everything shiny.

Had the Flu last week so I couldn't get out in the good whether we had and this week has started off in the mid 20's, so I may not be doing anything any time soon.

I can't wait until I get my garage built!!!!!
 
If you search, there is an awesome thread that floats around on different boards regarding the refinishing of some road rash on wheels. A guy with a 911 shows his process in extreme detail with pics. He sands, bondos, and sprays it. It looks immaculate when done, and doesn't actually seem too hard.
 
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