It was bound to happen sooner or later. Even the best of us make mistakes. I got a little too close to a curb in a drive-thru and scuffed up two of my wheels. One on the front had a small scratch, while the one on the rear had a much larger one. I knew I had to repair the alloy rims dinged by curb rash, so I set out to find the best method to fix them.
After doing some research, I found two methods for repairing alloy rims with curb rash. The first method was for minor scratches where the aluminum wheel didn’t have any deep gouges. The second method was for deeper cuts that needed to be filled. I gathered all the necessary materials for the repair, including sandpaper, touch-up paint, clear coat finish, bondo glazing, and spot putty, and polishing compound.
I started with the first method, the quick fix. I used 60 grit sandpaper to flatten the surface of the front wheel where the minor scrape was. After sanding and cleaning the area, I applied thin coats of touch-up paint and waited for them to dry before applying the clear coat finish. The before-and-after shots showed a noticeable improvement, and from a few feet away, you could barely tell the difference from the original.
Next, I moved on to the second method for the rear wheel, which had more damage. I protected the areas that didn’t need to be sanded with blue painters tape and used the 60 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rough areas. I then applied bondo to fill in the gaps and gouges, sanding and repeating the process until I was happy with the smoothness of the finish. After applying the touch-up paint and clear coat finish, the before-and-after shots showed a significant improvement in the appearance of the wheel.
Overall, the repair process was fairly straightforward, and the results were satisfying. While I may not be a perfectionist when it comes to painting, the quick fixes I did on my alloy rims were good enough for me. For even better results, I could spend more time on sanding, apply thinner coats of paint, and possibly sand in between coats for a smoother finish.
In the end, I was happy with the outcome of the repairs I made to my alloy rims. It was a learning experience for me, and I now know how to handle curb rash on my wheels should it happen again in the future. Remember, even the best of us make mistakes, but with the right tools and techniques, we can fix them and make our wheels look as good as new.
