Striped, corroded and dented aluminum wheels clearly reduce the appeal of any vehicle, giving it a run-down and underappreciated appearance. However, aluminum is a fairly easy material to deal with for home repairs. In this article, we will explain everything you need to know to repair your aluminum wheels. You can visit this link for Palm Desert Auto repair.
An aluminum rim gives a car its own dynamics and sportiness. The range of designs is immense In the specialized trade you will find everything you want from the simplest models to the most extravagant. Aluminum is also ideal for making custom wheels. This relatively soft metal can be milled into any desired shape at an inexpensive price. Also, it is possible to coat the aluminum rims perfectly in every color you want. It allows both varnishings with oven-dried paint and powder coating. However, the latter is only suitable for repairing aluminum wheels on certain occasions.
Aluminum: a material with many advantages
Steel wheels are robust and economical solutions to prepare the vehicle for circulation. However, it has one major drawback: they rust. Although the damage caused by rustThey can be temporarily covered with hubcaps, a car enthusiast will always have a bad feeling with this measure. Therefore, most car owners who love their vehicles prefer aluminum wheels. The decisive advantage of aluminum is that it does not corrode as much as steel. Aluminum doesn’t really rust. However, the mixture of water and salt harms it so much that it tarnishes and its appearance worsens. Aluminum is a fairly soft metal and therefore sensitive to bumps against curbs, scratches, and dents of any kind. But even if it is soft, it can be polished perfectly.
Step 1: Examine the aluminum rim
Damage to an aluminum rim falls roughly into four categories:
– Dents
– Cracks and breaks
– Scratches
– Corrosion damage
Before repairing an aluminum rim, examine the product thoroughly. If the edge of the tire is dented, there is nothing you can do. Removing dents in aluminum rims is prohibited since it is an intervention that changes the internal structure of the rim material. The part of the tire where a dent has been repaired is much weaker so it can crack or split.
The same occurs with breaks and cracks up to 1-2 millimeters deep. Welding aluminum rims is prohibited. A tire with a split or deep crack is usually ready for recycling.
Scratches and corrosion damage, on the other hand, can usually be repaired by polishing and recoating
Second step: Prepare the tire
A tire is not a part that can be repaired in a flash. It requires in any case complete sanitation. Since you have to demount the rim anyway, you can calmly examine all the damage.
Third step: Eliminate the damage
With the multifunctional power tool, you can now polish the most serious scratches, nicks, and cracks. Be very careful, especially in the tire area. Do not polish the tire under any circumstances! Cracks and dents can progressively damage the material if left untreated. Grinding flat and concave will stop this process reliably. But remember, “the more the merrier” is not a valid premise for polishing. The more you polish, the more difficult it will be to unify the visual appearance of the rim.
Fourth step: From coarse to fine
Now it’s time for the laborious task of sanding the rim. Work from coarse to fine. With increasingly fine sandpaper you will even out scratches and remove them.
If you intend to seal the rim with clear lacquer, you should not use rim filler. Even if it is the same color as the rim, a putty spot is always obvious. In such a case the only solution is to sand by hand until there are no scratches. After sanding the rim, it is thoroughly polished. The polishing disc will help you. If you intend to resurface the rim, you can buff the deeper sanded spots and then buff them again. Follow the directions attached to the tire putty.
Step Five: Coat
If you want to wrap the rim, seal it with electrical tape to protect the tire. This will save your work on cleaning up afterward and look much more professional afterward. Before painting the rim, clean it thoroughly with silicone spray. Next, prime and clear the rim and seal it with a clear coat when it has dried. Clever. As an alternative to varnishing, you can also powder coat it. However, this is only recommended with limitations as powder coating is considerably more expensive than varnishing.
It is also more laborious because for this the tire has to be removed. But above all, it is much more effective. Wraps the aluminum rim so well that potential damage can no longer be seen. many buyers of second-hand vehicles nowadays are wary of powder-coated rims. So powder coating is good if you intend to stick with the car. But don’t buy a car with powder-coated wheels because you don’t know what it really looks like.
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