Volk Curb Rash!

[artero]

Well yes it happened to me. Right rear Volk GTS rim ugly curb rash. I went to Wheel Specialties in Tempe only to hear them say they could not do it due the finish on the Volks. Sooo, I am checking with the Prime brain trust for suggestions. Any ideas, besides not looking at that wheel on the car?

 

[Sir Stunna Lot]

picture?

 

[pgilliam1]

I filed the rash smooth and buffed the aluminum on my chromed Work wheels. You can see it if you try to look for it, but it's not that noticeable. It depends on how deep into the wheel the rash is.

 

[angus]

The secret here is you want to preserve the original anodizing as much as possible , what I usually request is that they machine the lip enough to get rid of the damage , and then polish it, leaving the "deep dish" part alone.

If it is really bad then you have no choice but to weld, machine , strip anodizing and re polish the whole lip , losing the anodized finish .

Post a pic and I will let you know.

 

[Big_D]

That sucks :frown: I baby my Volks.

 

[artero]

Ok, so don't cringe to much but here are the pictures.

 

[Sir Stunna Lot]

i just had 3 of my wheels repaired for curb rashes today (most came with the car)

my rashes werent as bad as yours but definitely visible from a couple of feet away. now after repair, one will really have to look hard for it within a few inches to even find it.

i'll put some before/after pix up in a day or two

... btw, i live in sacramento, i doubt u'll want to drive out this far :tongue:
... im running works meister with polish barrel

 

[angus]

Ok, so don't cringe to much but here are the pictures.

If you can find the rigth wheel repair shop , you can have only the 1/4" or so macined off the lip to make it flay again them polished to make it shiny , what you will end up with is just a small area that has no anodizing, this way most of the original finish is saved.

I have had this done more than once and done right no one will ever know.

 

[synth19]

Sorry to hear! Interestingly enough, not all volks have the anodized clearcoat, but no such luck with the GTS. Only a handful of places in the country can re-anodize your lips, but it's not worth it. A wheel repair place should be able to strip the coating, repair the lip, polish, and re-clear. It may not have the exact same luster as before, but it will be very close. Chitown NSX did this for his GT7's and to be honest, I really couldn't tell what was repaired when I saw it in person. He went with Wheels America. See if they have a location near you.

 

[swerve2007]

Only a handful of places in the country can re-anodize your lips, but it's not worth it.

no really true. if you can get the wheel disassembled etc then ANY aerospace coating place will clear anodize it for 100 bucks.

 

[synth19]

semantics.

Edit:
Only a handful of wheel shops in the country can re-anodize your lips, but it's not worth it.... unless you take it to ANY aerospace coating place.

 

[angus]

Anodizing is actually way cheaper than that - the issue is that they will not polish it for you and if others polish it first you will be stuck with however it turns out in the end - trust me I have been down this road...

Best way is to try saving as much of the anodized part as possible , see if they can just machine the edge.

 

[artero]

Is it possible to order just the rim from Volk?? or a supplier.

 

[angus]

Yes , you can replace one if you need to , I would still try the repair since most people wouldn't even know unless you showed them where it was repaired.

 

[hardy]

i'd do it for you if you were closer to me...

if you wanna DIY (sanding):
1. protect part of the lip that doesn't need sanding with heavy duty clear tape (packaging tape will do).
2. sand down with 60 then to 120 grit sandpaper.
3. wet-sand with 200, 400, 800, then 1000 sandpaper (use plenty of water).
4. remove tape.
5. polish with mother's billet metal polish.

 

[artero]

Was this done by hand or were you using any power tools? Did you see my picture? I am assuming you have done this?

i'd do it for you if you were closer to me...

if you wanna DIY (sanding):
1. protect part of the lip that doesn't need sanding with heavy duty clear tape (packaging tape will do).
2. sand down with 60 then to 120 grit sandpaper.
3. wet-sand with 200, 400, 800, then 1000 sandpaper (use plenty of water).
4. remove tape.
5. polish with mother's billet metal polish.

 

[angus]

You will not be able to do that with yours , it's too severe.

 

[aluminiumdream]

Ever thought of having all four tires machined. What would be left is a gunmetel annodize all over and just the outer lip polished. If i was in your position i would do this. I think trying to match it to your others is gambing. If you are obsessive about your car like me :biggrin:, you will always notice the "blemish' whatever it may be. On the plus side, if you ever curb your rim again you can go through the same process and still match your other rims.