[DividedSky]

I just bought a new set of black wheels/rims. When I was unloading them from the back of my truck, one of them tipped over and I got some scratches along the outer rim edge.
:crying:

Any suggestions on how to fix it? Tape around it and spray-paint? Use a small "art" brush for touch-ups?

What kind of paint should I use?:dunno:

 

[Uncle_Charlie]

That sounds like a question for the manufacturer.

 

[StevenD]

Suck it up and buy a new one. It will forever bother you.

 

[Fttam]

Pics, bruh

 

[OldGuy43]

I agree with what has been said already...you will look for those scratches every time you walk out to the truck and "cuss" yourself out.

If you don't want to spring for another wheel, what I have done for blemishes on black or dark finishes is simply use a black Sharpie to color in the scratches to disguise them. This "repair" will probably be invisible from three feet, but that will depend on the size of the scratches. I'm thinking a wheel should have been hard to scratch in the first place, and that the scratches will be small.

This is obviously a temporary fix, but it WILL give you some time to adjust to the idea of having one imperfect wheel. After a few months, you'll forget about it...if not, then just keep re-touching until you do.

 

[mrmachinist]

I bought some used wheels that had some imperfections. I never notice them but I also am not obsessive about my truck being spotless and perfect.

It really depends on you. If you try to touch it up I would get some car touch up paint. I guess it depends how bad. If it’s solid black you could re powdercoat it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OldGuy43]

...Use a small "art" brush for touch-ups?

What kind of paint should I use?:dunno:

If you want to try for a more permanent solution, then use an art brush (size appropriate for scratch width) with plain black enamel. Depending on your skill, that can give you a satisfactory result. Just try to keep the touch-up paint inside the scratch; get sloppy, and excess build-up on the sides of the scratch will make the repair look amateurish. This repair, depending on your skill, can also be invisible from about three feet.

Lowes or HD sells a Rustoleum enamel in half-pint cans. It comes in flat black or high gloss black; chose which works better on your wheel finish. I used this product to paint the spoke pockets on some old "Hurricane" style wheels I had after using an acid-based cleaner (wheels not clear-coated). Normally, this would be a tedious, thin-coat process with spray paint and masking. The brush-on approach gave a superior, high-thickness coat with outstanding appearance; in a warm area, the brush marks will tend to "flow-out" to a fairly smooth finish.

I simply cleaned the wheels with the cleaner, allowed the surfaces to dry thoroughly, then painted the enamel. I then carefully cleaned any "goofs" off the spoke faces with lacquer thinner on paper towels. That process gave me a much sharper line than ever possible by masking.

Cleaning with lacquer thinner shouldn't be necessary for your "touch-up", just keep the paint "inside the lines". In fact, use of lacquer thinner IS NOT recommended for your application; you might end up with a larger "dulling" problem that you'll need to fix.

 

[Jdmsw20]

Dependable how deep the scratches are. Pictures will help. Most of the time light sanding and paint over the scratch surface works.

 

[OldGuy43]

...Lowes or HD sells a Rustoleum enamel in half-pint cans. It comes in flat black or high gloss black; chose which works better on your wheel finish. I used this product to paint the spoke pockets on some old "Hurricane" style wheels I had after using an acid-based cleaner (wheels not clear-coated). Normally, this would be a tedious, thin-coat process with spray paint and masking. The brush-on approach gave a superior, high-thickness coat with outstanding appearance; in a warm area, the brush marks will tend to "flow-out" to a fairly smooth finish.

I simply cleaned the wheels with the cleaner, allowed the surfaces to dry thoroughly, then painted the enamel. I then carefully cleaned any "goofs" off the spoke faces with lacquer thinner on paper towels. That process gave me a much sharper line than ever possible by masking.

Just to be sure you understand: Don't use acid-based cleaner on any but raw aluminum wheels. The phosphoric acid based cleaners are not intended for painted wheels, and may dull the gloss. I only intended that example as a success story using the Rustoleum enamel.

Soap and water cleaning is probably all the prep you need for the small touch-up. I have found it is extremely difficult to limit sand scratches to a small touch-up area without it looking worse than when you started. The wheels likely have a sand-cast or moderately rough manufacturing texture, and that will provide enhanced bonding of the enamel.

 

[DividedSky]

Thanks for the additional details!

 

[blizz86]

If its not structural damage, you can get a wheel repair to refinish it..

 

[Atomic City Tundra]

Just go wheeling and bang up the rest of your wheels to match.

 

[DividedSky]

Took the advice of JDM and OldGUy. Picked up some satin black enamel paint and it totally matched. Now that I know how well it matches, I'll probably go back and do a bit more sanding and then repaint.

Thanks guys!!