I'm so stupid! ...Hit a rock...but, I got away with it!
07-11-2007, 08:52 PM
#1
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I'm so stupid! ...Hit a rock...but, I got away with it!
It finally happened...backed over a big rock...crunch, crunch. I was sick when I saw my beautiful Iforged wheel scarred and damaged. I thought for sure I would have to send it off to them, never to be seen again judging from their customer service issues. But the more I looked at the damage, the gouges were only about 1/16 in. deep. HMMM....maybe I can fix this myself. I wanted to avoid having the tire removed as well, so I went at it hoping my materials background, experience with jewelry making, and guitar finishing would get me through this mess. If you have Iforged wheels you know the risks of mounting and dismounting these babies, not to mention balancing. The less they are handled by tire shops, the better.
I started out with a rough file and removed all the deep gouges and defects. I took my time and did this in the sunlight so I could see the reflection pattern as I filed. It turned out the tire bead raised edge acted as a guide for the file. Next, took out the striations from the rough file with a fine one, then hit everything with 180 grit paper, followed by 320, 360, then 400. Next I got out the jewelry polishing compounds...tripoli and white diamond in that order. Final hit was with Mother's billet polish...the best there is for polished aluminum. 3 applications of Mother's and it was good as new.
So, as much as we complain about maintaining polished aluminum wheels, there is an upside in that they are easily repaired. If this were chrome, a mismatch would have occurred...powder-coated, just couldn't be done without complete wheel finishing. Took me 3 hours, but I saved myself a lot of grief having to depend on tire shops and Iforged getting things done correctly (I don't assume anything anymore), not to mention 0 cost doing it myself. Maybe others can benefit from this.
I started out with a rough file and removed all the deep gouges and defects. I took my time and did this in the sunlight so I could see the reflection pattern as I filed. It turned out the tire bead raised edge acted as a guide for the file. Next, took out the striations from the rough file with a fine one, then hit everything with 180 grit paper, followed by 320, 360, then 400. Next I got out the jewelry polishing compounds...tripoli and white diamond in that order. Final hit was with Mother's billet polish...the best there is for polished aluminum. 3 applications of Mother's and it was good as new.
So, as much as we complain about maintaining polished aluminum wheels, there is an upside in that they are easily repaired. If this were chrome, a mismatch would have occurred...powder-coated, just couldn't be done without complete wheel finishing. Took me 3 hours, but I saved myself a lot of grief having to depend on tire shops and Iforged getting things done correctly (I don't assume anything anymore), not to mention 0 cost doing it myself. Maybe others can benefit from this.
07-11-2007, 09:03 PM
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Burning Brakes
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OK, that did it....I'm impressed
Don't think that I would have tried that until now.
When I hit a rock with my Fikse's, back to the factory it went (bent). But luckily Fikse gave me excellent customer service and a quick turn around!!
Don't think that I would have tried that until now.
When I hit a rock with my Fikse's, back to the factory it went (bent). But luckily Fikse gave me excellent customer service and a quick turn around!!
looks great, informative post too, thanks for the info.
07-11-2007, 09:13 PM
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Great job! Try that with your chrome CCW's!
07-11-2007, 09:14 PM
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That's good to hear. I believe Fikse has much better follow-up with its customers. Did they repair, or replace?
07-11-2007, 09:57 PM
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Awesome job, thanks for the tip... ...I've got some curb rash on two of my FIKSE wheels on the outer rim area that are also polished...I might just have to give your technique a try....
...I've got some curb rash on two of my FIKSE wheels on the outer rim area that are also polished...I might just have to give your technique a try....
07-11-2007, 10:32 PM
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