Can I Repair My Alloy Wheels?

Ever have one of those days when you’re in a rush to get everywhere and as you are parallel parking you hear that noise no car lover ever wants to hear… SCRAAAAAAPE… closely followed by some choice words, knowing your pristine alloy wheels have been permanently damaged by those darn unforgiving gutters.

Have no fear, you have options on how to rectify this annoying occurrence.

If you’re feeling handy and have a couple of hours up your sleeve you can repair minor scuffs yourself, if you’ve really ploughed into the gutter and gouged the wheel my advice would be to bring in a specialist to fix it.

Minor scratches are easily the most common issue with alloy wheels as you slightly misjudge the distance between your wheel and the side of the road.

It is not a difficult mistake to make but extremely frustrating nonetheless.

Ok Mr or Mrs or Miss or Ms or (you know what I mean) Handyman, let’s get started!

You will need the following items:

• Cleaning cloth (lint free)

• Paint thinner

• Sand paper (eg.240 grit & 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper)

• Spot putty

• Masking tape and paper

• Primer

• Alloy spray paint

• Final polish (optional)

READY, SET, GO…

STEP 1. Clean, Clean and Clean again. And then Clean some more!

This may be the most important step in this entire process, if you get this step wrong you may as well have not started, it’s that important.

Using your paint thinner clean all around the area that you are repairing, not the entire wheel but ensure you clean at least 5cm outside of the damaged area.

You need to meticulously clean the area removing any polish or wax that is on the wheel itself, I cannot stress the importance of this step enough, starting with a clean surface will improve your chances immensely for a successful outcome.

Keep your cleaning cloth handy, you will be using it many, many times during this process.

STEP 2. Masking and Sanding

Grab your masking tape and tape up all around the damaged area onto the tyre, ensuring you get the masking tape right in behind the rim.

You can add your paper now if you like, but it won’t be required until you get to the spraying stage. Using your coarsest sandpaper (I like 240 grit to start with) lightly sand the affected area to remove any burrs creating a relatively smooth surface (except for the scuff marks).

As a tip I like to use a small wooden block or even a rubber eraser to wrap my sandpaper around which gives me a nice square surface with which to sand with.

I do this so to create a smooth finish on the surface, if I just use my fingers and fold up the sandpaper I could create a groove into the wheel, which is less than ideal.

STEP 3. Putty and More Sanding

Using spot putty fill all marks on the wheel, trying to make sure you don’t go outside of the scuff marks, I mean, why create more work for yourself!

For me I like to make sure the car is parked outside in the sun, so each process we do will dry a lot quicker than if I was in the garage.

Once your putty has dried (should be minutes on a nice warm day) use your 240 grit sandpaper (or similar grit sandpaper) and sand back to a nice even surface that is in line with the rest of the wheel, you do not want a lumpy looking wheel when you’re done, so be painstakingly meticulous here.

IMPORTANT! Remember when you used to tell your kids to colour within the lines, you MUST sand only the affected area or you will just be creating more work for yourself.

There is no issue in dry sanding throughout this process but wet sanding does work better, just make sure your putty has dried first and be gentle until you get into a good rhythm.

Once you have removed the majority of the excess putty take your 400 grit sandpaper and finely sand back until it looks and feels as your wheel should (no lumps or burrs).

STEP 4. Primer

However good you think you are with a spray can, you’re probably not!

At this point I strongly suggest you add paper to cover your wheel and tyre to save yourself more headaches in trying to get paint off either of these.

Just leave the damaged area exposed for priming and painting.

Be careful if it is a windy day, you may need to paper over panels on your car closest to the affected area, you don’t want your beautiful red shiny car to have a lovely shade of grey added to it!

Using the primer, spray the area, keep your cloth and thinners nearby if there is any over-spray.

Once you’ve applied the primer you may be able to see little pin holes which you will need to spot putty and re-sand.

When you are happy with the smoothness, apply the primer and after it has dried very lightly sand with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper if you have it.

STEP 5. Paint

Follow all instructions on the can prior to painting, shake can for a minute and test spray on a piece of cardboard or anything before using on the wheel.

Apply a very fine coat, not getting too close to the wheel (try and hold can at least 20-25cm away), using a sweeping motion and make sure you don’t over-spray.

Again have your thinners and cloth handy for any mishaps.

Once paint has dried completely you can apply a finishing coat or two, depending on how glossy you want your finish to be.

If once done there are minor traces of colour difference, use 2000 grit wet and dry sandpaper to feather the colours into one.

Your other option is to get a professional to do it for you and with pricing from around $100 per tyre for minor damage it might be well worth your while.

If you’ve got damaged alloys and don’t think anyone will buy your car, talk to me. Call Paul on 0411 362 229.