wipeoutlol

Scroll down to where it says end of story to get to the point of the post. And Pictures.
This is just a background story of how I got to this point.

I just brought my G37 to Chile.... Was considering putting my stock rims on til I get used to driving in these ****ty streets. But I like how the VOLKs look too much, and the cheap lock for my spline drive lug nuts i bought from Advanced Auto Parts got stripped, so I kept them on.

I normally have no problems with curbs.. But as I was driving a rental for 6 months waiting for my car. I got too used to it. (Chevy Spark, city car, size of my left nut).

So anyways, as soon as I got my ride delivered, I went to get it inspected for insurance. And judging by how HORRIBLE the drivers are here, and having to parallel park, I tried to get as close as i could to the curb and SCRAAAATCCHH. I was too used to that narrow Chevy Spark and my curb rash virginity was popped.

And I had to have someone drive my car to get it through emissions testing since it was rejected by the Chilean Ministry when I took it because I had CONICAL air filters (Seriously what the mother trucking hawk sucking kind of law is that?)... He knew someone on the inside, so that was the only way my car would be legal here (I threw away stock air intakes).

SO. not sure when, im assuming this dbag or the dbags at the testing place curb rashed my rear 2 rims too. So I decided to fix them.

-----------End of story, Beginning of the point of my post)-----

Wheels: Volk GT-7 20"

I fixed the curb rash on one of my rims. It was really deep. I wont judge my own work, and it was my first time attempting something like this. I don't trust Chilean people to work on my car.

THE PROBLEM: Well. After I fixed the damage, the issue is now the (paint? clearcoat?) of the rim. Where I fixed it, it looks a LOT shinier than the rest of the rim because I sanded and polished it. It's like a frickin mirror now, and different from the hazy look the rim originally came with.

The curb rash is pretty much completely gone so thats not the issue anymore.

Quick question: Anyone know if they put paint on these rims? Or is it just the clear coat that makes it look hazy from the manufacturer?

The Damage:
(my rims are dirty, dont judge me, I usually kept them clean. Med School does not permit me to have a life, much less clean my car as much as I used to.)

Description of the pictures at the end of the images.




After the "fix" and the beginning of the problem:













Ok, as I said, now the part I repaired is polished and shiny like a mirror. The white halo (or "glow" if you will) around the edges are scratches from the sand paper or wool ON what I think is the clearcoat.

I know the pictures suck cause I took them at night after hours of working on them, I will upload daytime pictures tomorrow.

And thats about it. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to paint/clearcoat/primer/anodized and the such. I was under the impression these wheels were polished aluminum. But if that were the case, I would think it would match the repair.

I actually kind of like the look of the spot I repaired and how clean and shiny it looks, but I really DO NOT have 500 hours or the patience to sand and polish the barrels of all four rims. Heck, I dont even know how to take the spokes off, I'll probably do it wrong and end up having the barrel fall off while I'm driving.

I would appreciate any help or advice anyone can give me. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

TomieG

iTrader: (5)

Hey that white haziness you see is the anodized layer on top of the lip. Volk wheels come anodized from the factory & when you sanded the rash off you stripped it off.

You get the same effect when you use an abrasive wheel cleaner. It will strip away the anodized coating and leave you with a milky haze that is impossible to get rid of.

My suggestion would be to consider stripping the anodized coating off completely. I've done it on my Volks and they look just as good as when brand new.

Just use some oven clean to strip the coating, then wet sand, then polish with aluminum polish and wax. Voila better than before! It's alot of work so GL with whatever you do op.

-Tom

wipeoutlol

Thanks for the quick response, Tom.

Dang, had no idea it was anodized. I thought anodized metal wasnt as hazy as the barrel of the rims appeared new from the box.

But in my opinion, if the barrel was stripped of the anodized coating, I think it would look even better than new from the factory.

What are the consequences of doing this? I imagine you have to keep polishing them often to avoid discoloration. Also in summary, did you take the spokes off and just worked on the barrel, how did you do it and how long did it take?

I think there could be benefits of stripping the anodized layer. You get a shinier, cleaner look (if you clean them often), wont have to stress over water spots corroding clearcoat, and also you can fix minor imperfections and curb rashes without worrying about stripping layers :P Correct me if I'm wrong though.

I know the benefit of the anodized layer is because it makes the rim a lot stronger, so hopefully it doesnt affect the overall structure of the rim (cracking).

Is just the lip anodized?

Also what grit sand paper did you use?

Sorry for the tons of questions.

Thanks again.

TomieG

iTrader: (5)

Hey,

Honestly maintenance on the wheels is very simple as long as you keep a layer of wax on it. The wax should last about a month and you can just rinse off the wheels with water once a week.

To polish it use an aluminum polish (I used Mothers or Brasso) along with a Mothers polishing ball. The finished result looks SOOO GOOD! Almost chrome like.

Well after you use the oven cleaner to strip the anodized coating it will leave a haziness that you will have to sand off of the lip. I started with 300 grit all the way up till 2000 grit wet sandpaper. I did remove the face of the wheel from the barrel to make things easier but you don't have too.

Overall i would say it took me about 3-4 days working on/off to get it to where i was satisfied with it.

GraphiteG37S

iTrader: (29)

Include a picture of your rims before and after (if you have some) so that we can see the difference.

whiddles

iTrader: (2)

will this work on vossens as well? I have a sight rash on my front drivers side?

wipeoutlol

Nice of Volk (Rays) to mention that their wheels are anodized.

But after doing some research, I think I'm going to completely strip off all the clearcoat/anodized coating on all rims. And probably would have done it anyway if I didnt already strip a bit of the anodized layer.

I've seen a bunch of before and after pictures and it's just amazing the difference, and if I get any scratches, nicks, or whatever, itll only take me 10 minutes to make it look like new again.

I've also read on some forums that theres an industrial grade aluminum sealer that lasts 6-9 months that will keep that wet look and mirror-like look lasting longer.

Here is one of the links I've found regarding the topic, along with before and after pictures of clearcoat vs. raw polished aluminum on volks:

Volk GT-7; DIY Stripping clearcoat & Al polish on lips - MY350Z.COM Forums



The only part that worries me is figuring out the torque spec and removing the spokes.

wipeoutlol

I'll try take some more pictures during the day of the polished aluminum segment next to normal finish (and with a real camera).

The finish on my rims other than the part I worked on are like-new. I've always cleaned and dried after rain with de-ionized water and used P21S cleaner when cleaning.

The link I posted above is a great before and after with Volk rims though.

beerme986

iTrader: (2)

the tricky part is the torque spec when putting the face back onto the barrel. volk will not release the torque specs for whatever reason.. mackin is worthless to get any type of support.

i have called several wheel shops and many claim they know the right torque spec, i assume from years of experience. it is definitely possible as people refinishing their volks is not uncommon

TomieG

iTrader: (5)

I used about 13lbs. Shouldn't need more since the bolts are so small.

Be careful though, i ended up snapping a couple and was not could not get a hold of Volk since they are based out of Japan...i ended up going to a local shop and they were nice enough to take some off of a demo wheel for me.

Just make sure when tightening them to use some locktite & go in a star pattern.

GL op.

TomieG

iTrader: (5)

These arn't my pics but the results are pretty similar.


BEFORE








AFTER

wipeoutlol

Looks a lot better raw and polished than the anodized coating for sure..

Hmm.. Anyone have a suggestion for a temporary solution to make the portion i stripped match the best possible way to the anodized coating?

I ask because I don't have the time, tools, or space at the moment to work on them..

Thanks

wipeoutlol

I haven't had the time or the guts to remove the face off the wheel.
But, I'm selling the car now and moving back to the USA. Want to make it look presentable.

Has anyone tried sanding/stripping and polishing JUST the vertical part of the lip? Pics? I searched all over the net but haven't seen any mention of this method.

Also would oven cleaner really be necessary if sanding?

Thanks!!!

GTLAW

iTrader: (4)

This is what happens when you drive to much.. haha