DIY curb rash repair

[Dajerseyviper]

My wheels had some pretty significant curb rash from the previous owner parallel parking in Bethesda Maryland where he lived. It drove me nuts. I dropped the front 2 off to be repaired professionally cause they needed metal added to the chunks missing out of them, but I decided to fix the rear on my own and you can too for a few bucks.

Stuff I used:
1) corded 1/2" drill
2) Pneumatic angle grinder
3) air compressor
4) wet sand paper 500,600,1200
5) polishing kit
6) polish


Ok so here is the rear rims Before:




As you can see the rash is fairly deep but no chunks taken out.

Here is what I used to take the rash down but if you do not have an air compressor you could use a flapper wheel or dremmel to sand down the rash.



Here are the two different grit pads I used, i started with the rougher RED pad and to get the rash down then used the GREEN pad to smooth it down. Go slow, you dont want to take off too much material, and do it evenly going around the whole lip of the rim flattening it down to match how much you took off where the rash was.



Here is a picture of the sanding process and the end result.





Now clean it up and begin wet sanding it the entire lip by hand starting with 500 grit working your way to 1200 grit. You will be able to run your finger around the lip and feel how smooth it is at this point.





Now comes the polishing, here is the cheap kit I picked up at Harbor Freight for $6.99. I utilized the white polish and mixed in some other metal polish I had at home. Apply pressure and go slow at first, start easing up on the pressure and pick up the speed to buff it up. try to stay on just the lip cause the rim is clear coated and if you eat the clear coat off on the surface, your gonna have to strip the whole clear off and polish the whole rim, so limit the polishing to the lip.





Now clean up the rims and hand buff a little and here is the end result...much better than the before and literally cost me $6.99 for the polishing kit..I already had everything else.






Enjoy people!!!!

[swexlin]

Nice work!

[daytonprowler]

Impressive!

[Canadian venom]

Wow!!!

[BlknBlu]

This is fantastic, but some rims have a clear coat on them, is there a remedy for that?

Bruce

[Dajerseyviper]

This is fantastic, but some rims have a clear coat on them, is there a remedy for that?

Bruce

Mine appear to be clear coated, but the rash already removed the clear coat on the lip so all I was doing was grinding down the damaged lip, and polishing the metal back to a nice shine. I might strip the clear coat off the whole rim and polish the whole thing then reclear it myself, cause I have some white staining on my wheels from a harsh cleaner that was used at some point. If i do that I will do a write up on that but the weather needs to warm up, that is an outside job..

[Dajerseyviper]

The main thing I care about is that the once gnawed up lip is virtually unnoticeable..

[BlknBlu]

great point, thanks

Bruce

[Wiretech]

Awesome job! thanks for posting.

[Dajerseyviper]

No problem..I save a buck where I can.. I may reclear them in the spring, I have to decide when I see how the front 2 professionally done ones look.

[swexlin]

No problem..I save a buck where I can.. I may reclear them in the spring, I have to decide when I see how the front 2 professionally done ones look.

Now I know who to call if I need a curb rash repair. I'll buy the pizza and beer!

[C5Longhorn]

Also, I look forward to seeing how the rims you sent out turn out.

[Dajerseyviper]

Also, I look forward to seeing how the rims you sent out turn out.

Yeah me too, Ill do a side by side comparison..

[C5Longhorn]

I am planning on stripping the clear off my rims and polishing them. Eventually I'll get them recleared. I assume you would need to take the tires off the rims for the best results?

[Dajerseyviper]

I am planning on stripping the clear off my rims and polishing them. Eventually I'll get them recleared. I assume you would need to take the tires off the rims for the best results?

You can do it with the tire on just tape it off, but if you want to mount and balance, I would do it when I needed tires. Actually you could probably just buff the clear coat up really nice and call it a day if the clear is not damaged beyond repair.

[C5Longhorn]

Thanks, I'm looking to save money also and since the car isn't a daily driver, figured I can live with the polishing maintenance for a year or so. It's bugging me that I have hazy clear coat splotches (Probably from brake fluid or something). I am going to try a chemical stripper for the clear coat and then get busy polishing. I know it's going to be a lot of work the first time and may do one rim at a time.

Rick

[Dajerseyviper]

Thanks, I'm looking to save money also and since the car isn't a daily driver, figured I can live with the polishing maintenance for a year or so. It's bugging me that I have hazy clear coat splotches (Probably from brake fluid or something). I am going to try a chemical stripper for the clear coat and then get busy polishing. I know it's going to be a lot of work the first time and may do one rim at a time.

Rick

I got the splotches(white milky ones) from a green grease remover spray...Working one for a few minutes last night with the buffing wheel and some polish I was able to get them out. Try that first..Stripping is a LOT OF WORK...

[saxon_schmauderer]

Did one of mine last night
damage2.jpg
damage1.jpg
CAM00769.jpg

[Dajerseyviper]

Did one of mine last night
damage2.jpg
damage1.jpg
CAM00769.jpg

Lok at that!!! Cant even tell it was scratched!!! And those wheels dont even have a lip like the Gen 2 wheels I have, so you did some nice steady handed work there sir!!!

[saxon_schmauderer]

Lok at that!!! Cant even tell it was scratched!!! And those wheels dont even have a lip like the Gen 2 wheels I have, so you did some nice steady handed work there sir!!!

Why thank you very much. Hat's off to you as well. Isn't it great knowing we can save a few bucks here and there on these things? I am going to re-clear mine some time soon as well. The clear coat on them are old and scratched anyways, it will bring some new life to them.

[Dajerseyviper]

Why thank you very much. Hat's off to you as well. Isn't it great knowing we can save a few bucks here and there on these things? I am going to re-clear mine some time soon as well. The clear coat on them are old and scratched anyways, it will bring some new life to them.

Yeah I was just looking at mine and apparently "Simple Green" cleaner is NOT clear coat friendly..The worst milky spots are inside the holes and not on the front surface of the wheel so I think Ill hole off till next winter and send them out to be stripped and re cleared in the same place that did my fronts so they match perfect. But they look a ton better than the cheese grater they had on them. Im sure no one is gonna be like "Oh nice viper!!! Oh, nevermind,you have shitty looking wheels.."..

[MACH4444]

Great job and write-up. got me a new project to add to the list.

[FrgMstr]

How does that wheel balance now? Professional wheel repair businesses, at the ones I have dealt with, add material, then work it into the existing wheel, then remove to finish and polish.

[Dajerseyviper]

How does that wheel balance now? Professional wheel repair businesses, at the ones I have dealt with, add material, then work it into the existing wheel, then remove to finish and polish.

Dunno, I dont have a professional tire balancer machine in my DIY garage, Im just a guy who polished out some curb rash on a rear wheel. If you feel it will be that much of a problem then professional wheel repair is clearly your only option. When I drive my car in the spring I will let you guys know, it it is an issue with balnace, thats nothing a rebalance cant fix with a few small wheel weights..

[uvbnbit]

How does that wheel balance now? Professional wheel repair businesses, at the ones I have dealt with, add material, then work it into the existing wheel, then remove to finish and polish.

Repaired this one for an owner in PA (I think)