Scratched My Rim...

[MrElussive]

dudley, I read the whole rim repair page thoroughly and the guy warns that this process only covers light scuffs and I think my two scratches are a bit deeper than that of this Porsche. From what I understand, the guy who is going to fix my rim, wants to wet-sand and then polish the rim. Have you (or anyone on this forum) ever tried fixing this "curb rash" on a rim yourself? If, so is it hard??

 

[xLibelle]

the rim fix dudley posted is great for painted rims, you will probably benefit from the wet sand and polish since you have a machined finish rim. besides, the scratch is minor, other than the fact that its easily seen.

 

[Average Jae]

i'm actually thinking of getting winter rims and dunlop m3s.. yea AGAIN, now i just gotta come up with around 1.5k for the set.. just can't stand my car sitting in the garage all winter long..

well good luck and hope everything works out well for your rims. until your next hopping incident that is

 

[MrElussive]

Thanks for the info, xLibelle. I am definitely going to go through a repair shop as I feel like anything I may try to do to fix the scratches will only make things worse, heh.

Jae, I definitely agree...As soon as spring/summer comes around and TireRack stocks up on snow tires again, I am definitely purchasing a set of Wintersport M3's or Blizzak LM-22's. Even if I don't go driving around in the middle of a snow storm, any kind of snow is dangerous for me to be in and the snow tires should make things a lot safer !!

 

[MrElussive]

Okay, I talked to the body shop guy on the phone. He said he has to look at it...if he can do it at the shop, it takes $225 and two days. If he can't do it, he has to contract it to another guy and that costs $425. Either way, I'm not parting with my car for more than a day and $225 is a lot (they have to re-paint the whole rim). I am just going to try that wheel repair link that was given on the first page as the scratched are barely noticeable. I know the picture I showed makes it look bad, but the scratches are no longer than an inch, and it takes me a few moments to find them every time I need to. If I screw up and it gets bad, then I will send it to the guy.

 

[xLibelle]

put the rim on the rear passanger side and suck it up!

 

[MrElussive]

Hell no !! I messed up and now I gotta fix it. I just ordered the primer, the wheel paint, and the clearcoat paint. As soon as it arrives, I'm gonna fix it (or at least patch it up so it looks decent). If I fix this crap perfectly, I'm gonna post exactly what I did as like a little DIY so others can fix it. And if I can do it, then anyone else can definitely do it.

 

[epj3]

If you cant get it fixed, just buy a single wheel from nissan.

 

[MrElussive]

$840 for a single wheel. No thanks.

 

[CosmosBlack]

Ellusive, I wouldn't spray the whole wheel. I would spray just the patched area, sweeping out towards the tire away from the wheel, in an arc motion. If the paint matches well that should work coz' it's only a small area.

 

[xLibelle]

Yeah, dont spray the whole rim!

 

[MrElussive]

Yeah, word. I'm willing to this crap, but I'm not gonna be all artistic and try to spray the whole wheel. And I'm not about to cover half of my car in newspaper. The paints are only available in spray form, so I'm just going to spray some of the stuff onto a newspaper (so that it forms a little wet puddle) and use a paintbrush and paint it that way. Or will spray-painting it provide the best finish?

 

[CosmosBlack]

MrE,
I would fill the scratches very neatly, so I don't have much to sand. Then I would sand it with a very fine paper, till it's all smooth and flush to the touch. That means sanding over the filler and the wheel surface immediately around it as well. I would remove the wheel, take it away from the car. Mask the tire with tape and newspaper or plastic. Spraying is preferable for a better finish. Don't spray too close to the spot, and use a sweeping arc motion, coming in from outside the wheel over the patched spot and going out away from the wheel again. Do it over several light coats so you don't get a blotched look over the original paint. If you mess up, quickly wipe the paint off with a paper towel immediately and re do.

Hehe...good luck!

 

[xLibelle]

dont risk painting near the car (or bother covering it for that matter), take the rim off for shit's sake!