rlw888

I have had my wheels 2 weeks, and I already got a f***ing scrape on one of the lips. Has anyone ever removed these on their own, or any info on how to do it without taking it to a shop.

jaguargod

You can thank Mazda for stretching a slightly too small tire on the stock rims and providing no lip protection from the sidewall. Considering that the wheels are painted silver (unless you have the chrome or dark chrome wheels), you probably aren't going to be able to fix them yourself without it being obvious.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

The hard part is matching the paint.

You can even leave the tire on, just mask the edge you are working on. Dremel the high points of the scrape, then sand it down a little. Clean it up with brake cleaner, then fill the gash with body putty (Bondo! ) When it's set, sand it down to match the wheel profile, clean and paint the gash and surrounding edge.

S :D

mikeb

no way--you already damanged them
Im too cheap to buy volks
but if I had them like you do I would be a little more careful

evilbada1

i have racinghart CX multipiece wheels, and i have a really bad scratch from an accident on the passenger side front.......T_T
i hate to spend another 600 bux for one wheel so i'll just have to live with it until i come up with some kind of resolution..
just live with it dude haha

dankgummy

i have a set of axis crux 19s and they're all banged up. give it some time and you'll care less and less.

rlw888

I have found several sites that have how to information on repairing wheels yourself. It really doesn't look like its too hard at all. Once I have all the info, and try it out, I'll post pics with instructions.

mikeb

are you for real

gh0st

HAHAHAHAHA!
too funny...too true


denward

xrider01

i did the same to my driverside left wheel. The scrape wouldn't be that bad if i could remove the red paint that came off the curb i nudged :p.

rlw888

Hey guys, as promised, here is the info on how to remove dings from your $$$$$ aluminum wheels. This is my first how to post, so be kind. I tried to do the best I could. In general the idea is to start with the most aggressive tool and work your way down to the least aggressive (see steps to follow). My wheels are Volk GT-7's Hyper Silver with polished aluminum lip. *****Please note, this process should only be used on the polished aluminum part, and NOT on any part of the painted surface of the wheel.*****
Photo 1: Tools used to remove wheel ding (Metal files, Metal Sand paper-fine, Steel wool, Metal polish- I used Meguiars NXT Metal Polish, and a terry cloth towel)

Photo 2: Start with the metal file (I used a 10'' Mill file) Make sure it's for metal, and not too aggressive.

Photo 3: Another photo using the metal file. (I didn't remove my tires since I did this in my driveway, however, if you are able I think it would make it much easier to remove and dismount the tire.)

rlw888

Photo 4: Once you have filed all the jagged edges down as far as you can, use fine metal sand paper to further smooth out the ding. Be prepared, it took me some time (about 20-25 mins) to do this part and to get the rest of the ding out. Get as much of the ding smoothed out as you can, depending on the depth of the ding, you may not be able to get it all out.

Photo 5: I was able to get out all the ding except a few minor spots that I couldn't get very easily without dismounting the tire.

Photo 6: Once you have finished smoothing with the sand paper, switch to the steel wool (I used final finish steel wool).

rlw888

Photo 7: Finishing up with steel wool

Photo 8: Now you should use a metal polish to get the final shine. (I used NXT All Metal polish)

Photo 9 & 10: I applied the metal polish using a terry cloth towel. Its good to have one to apply it and one to polish.

rlw888

Photo 11: I'm pointing to where the ding used to be. I still have some more work to do though, as you can see there are still scratches around the area that I removed the ding from . I think I need to use a finer sand paper, and re-polish again, but the ding is nearly all removed, and not really noticeable at all. MUCH better that it looked before!

Photo 12: If you get close you can see the smoothed spots, but from even a couple of feet away, you can't see where it was.

Hopefully this post is helpful. I'm very glad that I learned how to do this on my own, since it seems to be inevitable that I will continue to scratch my wheels, and it only takes a total of about 1 hour or so (depending on the depth of the ding) to remove it.

If you have anything to add, or a better technique, please post about it. Since this is my first time doing this, I'm definitely a novice and am looking for better ways if there are any.

Take it easy.

-Rick-

"Shanika"

It looks nice. A lot better than just to leave it alone.

kwescott

wow, that is a big commitment to start sanding on your $$$$$$ rims with a metal file. I don't think I would have the gutts to try it.

As a pricey alternative, I once had my Billet wheels (from another vehicle) polished at "Mag Masters" in Santa Ana. The wheels were pretty badly oxidized beyond what I could change with the standard cleaners and polishers, and had some scratches (no dings)...and they turned out like brand new for 35 bucks a wheel.

StealthFox

yeah that takes ***** to put a metal file to some volks, its like cleaning up the mona lisa with a steel toothbrush.

how come you didn't fill it so the lip is even?

dankgummy

it really use to eat me up, but now, its whatever.. obviously i wish they werent scraped, but oh well.