Last night I rubbed a curb in the Z and fu<ked up my front rim. The rims are the OEM Z06 wheels that I had refinished with black centers and a machined lip. Well the machined lip is rashed pretty good. About 6 inches worth. Has anyone had any success in fixing their own rash? Using a file? Sandpaper? Dremmel tool?
I would like to try to touch it up myself before I have to take the wheel off and bring it to a shop.
Use a fine toothed file to get the worst of it off the lip. Depending on how deep the rash is it may come out a little lower than the rest of the lip. Once you file down the "chunks" off of the lip then use a real fine sand paper 400 grit to start. If the wheel is clear coated, you may want to get the clear coat off of the rest of the lip so it will be uniformed when you re-coat it, if that is the plan. Make sure to use wet/dry sand paper and wet sand with the 400 grit, then garduate to 600-1000 grit. Make sure to keep it wet. Dry it with a soft towel and then use a polishing compound, I usually use Mothers Polish. Use a very soft towel or rag. As you polish it will turn black. That means its working. Wipe it off with another cloth and viola!! For a higher polish, just keep polishing. Go in circular motion, just remember the "Wax on, wax off" rules.(LOL) Clear coat it and your done.... One thing though, like I said before, it may have a low spot where the rash was. It will be more pronounced when light hits it just right. No one but you will probably see it though.... Good luck....
Andrew
(edit: Make sure to file slow and don't go back and forth with the file. That is a no-no. Go forward with the file so it cuts and clean off the file as you do the work. Going back and forth ruins the file, its designed to cut not sand. Its not so bad with aluminum but any tool guy will tell you the same thing. Again, good luck...)
Thanks alot for taking the time to type all that info. Any specific brand or type of file I need to find? The rim actually has a clear powder coat over it so I guess I will just leave the rest of the lip alone.
We get our files from Graingers but any brand will be just fine. A single or double cut will do the job. Use a smooth (Fine tooth) flat file and stay even with the lip as you file to minimize how much you file. It's mainly to just smooth the rash, the real work is the sanding.
Andrew
Corvette Store
Suggestions on fixing curb rash yourself?
