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How-To: Repair and restore rims (Surface pitting, chips, curb-rash)

218K views 29 replies 22 participants last post by  Gravey ZX5 
#1 ·
Greeting Fellow Focus enthusiasts.
We all love rims, but cringe at the moment we feel contact with a curb, etc.





This thread is a basic how-to, and information regarding how to go about fixing, and repairing rims that have chipped paint, gouged surface from curb-rash (I call it curbage), gravel pitting, etc.



Basically, short of bent, or structurally damaged rims, I will show you how to repair, and restore rims back to original condition.

Check-list before initiating project:
1) determine whether the damage to the rim is surface damage. If no bends, or structural damage that can ruin integrity of the rim, continue.
2) materials:
-- Lots of sand paper of various grits (100-400)
-- Metal file
-- JB-Weld
-- Disposable surface, and stir rods, or Popsicle sticks.
-- Lots of nitrile or, latex gloves.
-- Laquer thinner / Paint- thinner
-- Etching primer
-- Paint
3) remove wheel weights, tires.


Methodology:
Repairing rims, is rather simple, and if you glanced at the above materials, you should be able to guess what I am about to say...
We will begin 1st with a Pre-rinse, Metal-file the bead of the rim, Sand the rim, thoroughly clean the surface. Apply JB-weld. Let cure, Sand smooth, Prep rim for Painting.

The Process:
Begin by pre-washing the rims. A simple garden hose will do. No need to spend a lot of time, just clean it well enough, so you wouldn't mind picking it up, and moving it without ruining your clothes, and getting your hands black.

Basically, we will begin by using a metal file. go along the rim, in one direction, going up and down, until you remove protruding, sharp edges from the curb-rash.

now, you can go across the face of the gouge, or curbage damage... leaving with you surface that looks like this.



Now, put on your gloves, and wipe some JB-weld on there. I used an expired card I had laying around. Get a little glob of JB-weld on an edge, and swipe the card against the bead of the rim, where there is curbage.

Apply enough to fill in the damaged area, and a little more-some, so you can finger wipe it across. You should have bought a box of gloves, because yes, you will go through them like crazy.

While JB-weld is drying, you can sand the rim, sand over pitted surfaces, and note other areas on the surface of the rim where you could apply some JB-weld.

In 4-8 hours, you should be able to sand off the JB-weld. I didn't chance it, and I waited until the following morning.

Sand the rim smooth, and add more JB-weld if necessary.
Now prep the rim by wiping it clean with paint thinner or lacquer thinner...
Lot's of brake-dust on the inside of the rim? Spray Goof-Off aerosol. wipe clean with a towel you will throw away.

Apply 2 thin coats of Etching primer. Wait 5-10 minutes. Spray your paint. 3-4 coats usually does the trick.

Let rims cure for a few days, before mounting and balancing tires.
Hold off on cleaning your rims for as long as you can. NO chemicals, solvents, or cleaners should touch the rim for the first 30-45 days.
If you need to clean your rims, use only Water, and a clean microfiber towel.

Now, I present Pics of my recently acquired ASA KA3s.

Before:





Just getting started:





Applying JB-Weld:



Sanded JB-weld:



Applying Etching-Primer: (2 thin coats)



Painted, and Done-Dealio: (4 coats of Duplicolor Silver wheel paint)




Cheers, and enjoy...

I'll have these mounted and balanced by next week-end I hope.
I had all 4 wheels sanded and prepped for painting after 2 days, 6 hours labor each day.

I was going slow, taking my time, as well as over 200 pics available for viewing at Full resolution at my gallery I just setup.


http://gallery.fosho.org/thumbnails.php?album=4
 
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19
#2 · (Edited)
Very interesting.

To keep this on topic if you don't mine I will add my : how to get rid of the clear coat pealing off and mag lips polishing.





If someone has wheels in that condition :













320 Sand paper :







400 Sand paper :










600/1000 sand paper : note : Wheel on the car still has factory clearcoat ( not done yet )







2000 sand paper : note : Wheel on the car still has factory clearcoat ( not done yet )







2000 again :note : Wheel on the car still has factory clearcoat ( not done yet )












When done with the wet sanding stuff , all you have to do is use any paste to polish aluminum and more you polish better it will get..



You can also fix minor curb rash , I had a few , here's a example..note : I guess you know by now..:)









I used a drill with a san paper wheels to sand down the deep scratches , it can fix some pretty nasty scratch after it will all go away with the wet sanding procedure explained earlier.





Here's a before and after pictures , it is the exact same wheel.










After.. Bah....Note Why not....: Wheel on the car still has factory clearcoat ( not done yet )













It took about 2 hours per wheel and I have 8 wheels like that , I even did the wheels who had no issue with the clear coating , I wanted all of them exactly the same..



Since you're a moderator you can edit or delete my post if you think it doesn't belong in your thread [grinking]
 
#3 ·
Great how too info. I also suggest that if you are good with a Dremel rotary tool, it can be used to reduce hand sanding and filing with the appropriate grinding wheels and sanding discs. Be careful though, as they can cause more nicks and scratches if you're not on your toes and paying attention.
 
#4 ·
mpcv, thank you very much for your addition. I have one wheel (Rota) that looked like curb rash and gave me a heart attack - 1) wheels bought new less than a year ago. 2) wheels NEVER curbed! 3) wheel that looked curbed was driver side front... kinda hard to curb! Anyway, a close look showed the peeling clearcoat to be the culprit... I'm going to mark this thread for future reference!
 
#7 ·
if the questions were about my wheels ( the polished one ) I bought the car and they were there , after destroying one ( put hole ) I bought the last one the distributor had ( No longeur available ) , so no more if I break another one , I found a used set for $400 CDN with good tires on them so I have 8 wheels now.



















To get back on topic , the finish of the lips is so perfect that you can see the sanding if you look very closely , so I will suggest to be very patien if you start this project , wet sanding is very cool , easier to feel all the imperfections on the surface so go ahead and make it smooth you'll see the difference. After doing all 8 wheels , I picked up the first one I did and started all over and came out as good as the 7 others , I was getting good at this...











Let's try to keep the "How to" on topic.....



I'm advising myself.... [:p]
 
#9 ·
Well, now that I've had a chance to think about it, my wheels are GunMetal, so sanding the clearcoat is not going to fly. Any other tips?
 
#15 ·
ill be doing this. i bought rims for my civic. i only bought them cause i saw this. there was one bad curbish like your first pic. it dropped the wheel value by 500 dollars....so crazy. i used jb weld on my focus oil pan. held up for over a year. and i sold the car
 
#16 ·
I just wanted to say thanks for providing this great resource. My rims went through two Minnesota winters and look horrific. You can see the salt corrosion taking the clear coat off and their was a salt/dirt buildup that definitely did not come off easy!

Here's what the rims looked like (all 4). You can clearly see how bad they got (I washed them a few times during the winter but I'm not from Minnesota and had to learn the stupid way)



Another shot. I used to cry myself to sleep after I saw what I had done to the rims and I thought they couldn't be fixed.


Then I did some research and found this thread and all the smart Focus owners and their saavy ideas... yeah! Cha ching



Here's all 4 finished up.


I used wet sand paper of 4-5 different grits, first I washed the rims lightly by hand, then I sanded them down with soapy water. The soap was really helpful with the condition my rims were in to remove the gunk as well as the clear coat. I essentially removed all the clear coat from the rims and then I used an aluminum polish and rubbed it in for about 30 minutes on each rim. You can see I left the tires on, although this was more difficult I don't have house, a garage, or any car equipment so I did this behind my apartment building and had to keep the tires on. They aren't perfect, but I spent about 16 hours of work doing the whole process over a weekend and I am proud of it... so thanks to the Focus forum! Ya'll rock [headbang]

Now I'll head back to my B15sentra.net forum and brag about how saavy you guys are.
 
#20 · (Edited)
awesome thread!! [:D] i have two wheels with 'curb rash' and i'm happy i can fix them now ^__^ the hardest part was looking for JB Weld! [thumbd] i browsed online and not Kmart, Walmart (no surprising), Lowe's, Home Depot, nor even Pepboys seemed to carry it.. Advance Auto Parts did though :)
 
#21 ·
this is by far one of the best resources I have come across on the web on DIY rim repair! thanks foci and mpcv for the step-by-step. sorry they don't have anything like this on the FitFreaks forum....I must tell Fit owners about this thread!

I have a set of 16" Rota Grids with the same problem - clear coat on the lip is starting to bubble, and one of the rims have minor curb.

I'm new to this - how do you attach sandpaper to a dremel? can I just do what mpcv did by hand? mpcv / jimbObaby did you folks reapply clearcoat after sanding was complete?
 
#24 ·
I've always leased my cars, so I'm new to pretty much anything aftermarket. That being said, I have Primax 772s with lots of curb rash and salt corrosion. Only info I can find on them is that they're "machined" and "polished gunmetal". Does this mean any extra work, such as stripping off clearcoat or any other finish, and then again having to reapply it?
 
#25 ·
Question about some rims i'm looking at

Hey guys i'm in the market to buy these rims from a private seller I was wondering if you guys could look at the pics that I post and tell me I am going to give him $230 for all 4 this way if i need to buy a new rim I won't break the bank to much. Is this bend repairable or it the rim shot?
Thanx




 
#28 ·
As another alternative to hand sanding or Dremel tools, 3M sells a 2" grinding/sanding/polishing kit (part # 03050) that has a base that you can put in a variable-speed drill chuck, and a graded series of abrasive cloth and Scotchbrite pads that screw onto the base. Got mine at my local Schuck's/O'Reilly's store.
 
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