I hit a curb yesterday, and the polished lip on my wheel has a big rough scrape on it. Is it possible to sand it down, and repolish it somehow?

 

sure thing.. take it to a local [good] wheel shop and they'll be able to make it look decent.. make sure you rebalance whe wheel afterwards.

 

Yea it's very easy, but many of the nicer polished wheels (like yours) are sprayed over with a clearcoat, and if that needs to be done then it is best taken to a professional. Otherwise just grab some Mother's Mag & Aluminium polish and hit the rim!
-Cyrus

 

Cool, will I have to sand it down? Can I just do the scratched part, or should I do the whole lip?

How much would it cost at a shop?

 

$100 i am guessing.

 

I just tried sanding the lip and the results are mixed. The clear coat is the problem here. After you sand it down; I used a dremmel kit and I slipped a couple of times and the sanding job was aweful. I tried to save money here by doing this myself but if you are as picky as I am take it to a professional and have it done right. If anyone else can chime in on how to do this yourself please post. I'm a novice so maybe you can DIY job; all we need is the proper technique. You can see where the clear coat is affected by doing this. It looks as if it's flaking off. Anyone with guidance!!!

 

use the polishing wheels on the dremel after you get the deep scratches off, then polish it up with the Mag & Alum polish.. get it nice and shiny, up to the edge of the clear coat that has been stripped off, then clean it with a soft toothbrush and some dishsoap or something (to get the rest of the wax and stuff off), and hit that spot with a layer of clearcoat.. they make stuff especially for wheels, so see if you can find it. if not, then the only thing you can do at that point it so polish it up and keep wax on it all the time..

spraying the clearcoat over the damaged area should help to make it blend in a little better with the rest of the wheel, but no guarantees. I've fixed several things like that over the years with good results, but one of them didn't turn out so well (my first try, go figure).

 

Thanks, I will try this method before giving it to the experts. It's a good feeling when you can DIY.