It is tough to keep your car’s wheels in pristine condition. They are constantly exposed to external influences that adversely affect the wheel surface, causing scratches and chipping and can eventually result in a curbed wheel.

Damaged elements not only spoil the vehicle's appearance but also hurt the driving characteristics. During use, your wheel rims’ coats become dull, cracks and chips appear on the surface, and the factory paint flakes off. This results in exposed areas of metal that are destroyed by corrosive processes. And since wheel rims are integral to the car’s overall look, this aspect should always be in perfect condition. 

Many drivers often wonder: what is a curbed wheel, what causes it, and how do you fix it? Today, it’s possible to service a curbed wheel at the service center with the latest coating restoration technology. However, few car owners know that they can repair curbed wheels themselves. Let’s find out how to do it.

Car manufacturers are increasingly turning away from steel wheels, with aluminum-alloy and all-aluminum wheels becoming standard or available on most new vehicles. A curbed wheel, often referred to as curb rash, is a term used in the automotive world to describe a situation when a vehicle's wheel rim has sustained damage from being rubbed along a curb or when the driver has slightly misjudged a parking maneuver.

It is essential to know that while cheaper stamped rims are not repairable or restorable, cast and forged products should be regularly cleaned and repaired.

There are numerous ways to spoil your rims apart from rubbing them along a curb, for example, cleaning off the baked-on brake dust on the wheels using steel wool. This is a mistake that’s relatively easy to make. Steel wool scratches the clearcoat off clear-coated rims and grinds the metal of rims that don't. You might end up having to refinish your wheels. 

The product you use to clean your rims makes a huge difference. Apart from steel wool, there is also acid. Anything that purports to be a wheel cleaning fluid but instructs you to rinse it off within 5 minutes is probably an acid-based cleaner. It burns tough brake dust off your wheels along with your clear coat. After a few applications, air and water will start getting under the edges of the clearcoat and corroding the metal, creating a white spiderwebbed pattern in the finish that you can’t wash or polish away.

Another common cause of curb rash − which may be a surprise − is a misalignment of the steering wheel, which leads to the car hitting the curb when you don’t expect it. In this case, you must check your vehicle for misalignment.

Quality European, Japanese, and American rims are easily repairable. To remove a scratch or chip from an auto disc, you must first understand its nature. You can learn more about your car’s wheels after a visit to an auto mechanic. In many cases, polishing your car rims can give them a pristine look.

Liquid enamels and lacquers are more convenient when you need to repaint wheels under garage conditions. The powder method of applying paint material is only possible with a polymerization chamber. However, such paint does adhere better to the surface of the part.

The repair requires thorough preparation; it includes the removal of the old paint coating, degreasing, and priming the surface.

It is easy to remove minor scratches from car rims. You can usually solve this problem by polishing, which you can do yourself. For this purpose, you’ll use 200, 400, and 600-grit sandpaper and abrasive polishing paste. Let's take a closer look at how you can return your wheel rims to a great look and remove scratches and chips.

Before you begin to renew the discs and remove scratches, it is necessary to prepare your work area. Clear the area of dust and debris, and then (if possible) clean the walls and floor with water to remove any remaining dust. This way, dust and particles will not be deposited on the surface of the painted part of the car.

You will need the following tools and materials to perform the work yourself: 

We recommend using paint and primer from the same manufacturer to refinish rims and remove scratches. Also, if you have a mini washer available, you can clean the wheel rims with it.

You can take some measures to protect your wheels against picking up curb rash so you don’t have to deal with the consequences afterward. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but you can at least try to do your best. 

Real insights from real owners

© 2023 J.D.Power. All rights reserved.

© 2019 J.D.Power. All rights reserved.