If you are worried that chips and scratches have appeared on the disks of your car, so inopportunely spoiling the appearance, and the weight of the wallet does not allow entrusting cosmetic repairs to specialists - do not worry! You yourself can solve this problem.
You will need the following:
1) Our scratched rims
2) Two-component epoxy paste
The color does not really matter, as we will paint over it. True, if it is too bright, it can shine through, in which case it will be necessary to prime with a primer before painting. I used white paste, so I didn't have to prime.
3) Sanding paper grit 300-400. And a finer 600 grit
4) Adhesive tape, if we are not going to remove rubber from the disc
5) A can of paint and varnish. There are a lot of paints on sale in color that differ little from the old coating. Everything to your taste and budget.
With sanding paper 300-400 we clean the place of scratches so that bumps are not felt to the touch.
In order not to stain the rubber during painting, we glue it with tape.
We knead components A and B of the epoxy paste, one by one. We apply it on the cleaned scratches so that it completely fills them from the inside, and there is only a thin layer on top.
We dry. The longer the better. If we want to speed up the process a little, we can use heat (for example, place an ordinary incandescent lamp closer, or an electric fan).
After the epoxy has dried, we clean it with fine sanding paper for coloring. Everything should be perfectly smooth, both in appearance and to the touch.
The next step is painting. With the help of a balloon, it is very easy to do this - after shaking it well, we spray the paint in thin layers from 20-30 cm. We try to avoid noticeable transitions, for this we apply two or three layers, each drying for about half an hour. To prevent dust from getting on fresh paint, it is best to paint in a pre-moistened room.
After the paint has dried, we apply the varnish in two layers, just as in the case of the paint, dry for about half an hour between applying the layers. After the top layer, dry for longer (you can again reduce the time by resorting to heat sources).
When everything is completely dry, we moisten the fine sanding paper itself with water and, barely touching, smooth the varnished place.
To create the perfect factory shine, the disc can be polished.
Even experienced drivers, no, no, yes, will press so hard against the curb that they will scratch their alloy wheels. The situation is very common. Of course, this is not critical, you can ride like that, but it is better to make a little effort and eliminate visible scratches. It's not difficult, you don't even have to remove the wheel.
It will take
- Glass cleaner or any other detergent and degreaser.
- Sandpaper.
- Felt or wool for polishing.
- Primer.
- Silver paint.
- Protective varnish.
Do-it-yourself scratch removal on alloy wheels
As I said, it is not necessary to remove and sort the wheel. Although it will not be superfluous to check its balance after mechanical impact, but this is at your discretion.
The first step is to clean the disc of dirt and degrease. For this, a glass cleaner is perfect, which will kill two birds with one stone.
Now you need to remove the scratches. We take a large sandpaper and go through it until the visible marks are completely removed.
We cover the tire with paper to protect it from paint.
Using a primer-spray, prime the surface before applying paint. It is advisable to apply 3-4 layers. After that, you must wait 10 minutes and, if necessary, correct the surface with fine sandpaper.
After the primer dries, paint with silver paint. In 90% of cases, the normal silver paint will be invisible, but sometimes it does not match the paint that is already on the disc.
Here you can choose the paint by adding black or white to silver, choosing the right tone.
There is an option to paint the wheel completely, but for this you will have to paint all 4 wheels, so I do not consider this option.
We apply a protective varnish in 2 layers.
It is very difficult to keep the wheels in their original form. They are constantly exposed to external influences that adversely affect the surface. This causes scratches and chips. Many drivers often ask the question, how can I remove scratches from a disc? Today, this has become possible thanks to the latest coating restoration technologies.
Repair Features
To restore the coating and remove scratches, it is necessary to first study the nature of their occurrence. For example, working with forged products is much more difficult than processing alloy wheels. To achieve a good result, it is best to seek the help of professionals.
Models made in the USA, Japan and European countries are perfectly repaired. To restore a scratched disc, a variety of technological processes are used:
- You can use the method of polishing the top layer of the coating.
- Partially paint over damaged metal surfaces.
- Install branded emblems on branded samples.
- Use special spare parts.
- Apply alternative ways to remove visual scratches.
Polishing of the disc is very popular, after which the scratches are completely removed. However, this technique does not always help. If the depth of the scratch reaches the metal, it will not be possible to remove it by polishing. More complex work will be required. Fortunately, modern technology makes it possible to completely restore any disk.
Painting and polishing work
Coping with small scratches on the wheel disk is quite simple. It will be enough to polish the surface until the scratch disappears completely. This operation can be performed at home using coarse-grained sandpaper (200 - 600 R), together with polishing paste.
You can restore the disc from scratches right in the garage by painting it in the appropriate color. Unfortunately, it is impossible to use the powder method of applying a special material at home. To do this, it is necessary to have a polymerization chamber that works only in the factory. But if you use a specialized high-quality paint and follow the correct painting technology, you can achieve a durable coating.
To achieve high quality, it is necessary to carefully prepare the disc before painting. For this, the following operations are performed:
- Removal of obsolete coverage.
- Degreasing,
- Applying a primer.
The nuances of painting work
Only specialized high quality materials should be used.
Deep scratches are pretreated. The surface is leveled.
The front part is subjected to a thorough inspection, revealing the presence of dents and chips.
In the event of a complete violation of the appearance, the old materials are completely removed, the disc is repainted.
Alternative option
Epoxy paste can be used to repair a scratched disc. It contains certain components:
- Hardener.
- Paste.
Before applying the paste, it is necessary to perform the following technological operations:
- Cleansing.
- Sanding.
- Degreasing.
Then the components of the paste are mixed. The resulting composition closes the scratches. Excess paste is removed. It remains to wait until everything is completely dry. Drying time indicated on the paste package.
Professionals advise using white paste. It will not show through the layer of paint that will cover it.
For faster drying, you can use ultraviolet lamps.
If you decide to repair the disc without removing the rubber, you must first cover it with masking tape.
When the epoxy paste has set well, the surface treatment is carried out. To do this, use fine-grained sandpaper. It will completely remove all the bumps. It remains to paint the surface with acrylic paint, then varnish. For shine, it can be additionally coated with polish.
A modern car is a complex system that is very easy to damage. To restore its optimal condition, it is very often necessary to resort to the repair of various mechanisms.
All these processes are quite complex and in some cases even impossible without special equipment and skills. Well, you can buy new high-quality tires and wheels. A wide range and affordable prices will not leave you indifferent!
Disk classification
Support structures of this type perform not only technical tasks, but also allow you to give the car a unique design. Car wheels can be divided into several main types:
- Stamped products. Discs of this type are steel structures that are notable for their low cost. Such products are among the most common, as many manufacturers sell them as a kit with every car.
One of the advantages of stamped discs is that they do not split on impact, but bend. This allows you to align them, giving the previous shape. The disadvantages include significant weight, which exceeds similar indicators of other models. - Alloy wheels are made from aluminum or magnesium alloys. They are lightweight and have good thermal conductivity. It should be noted that the material is very fragile. Therefore, a sharp blow to the disk or its falling into the pit can lead to its splitting. It is impossible to repair such damage and the entire structure should be completely replaced.
- Forged wheels. Perfectly withstand loads and are not subject to destruction during impacts. But at the same time, the material is very springy, which leads to the transfer of all energy to the vehicle suspension. This leads to rapid wear of all its components.
Restoring the disk structure
Many drivers scratched the surface of this structure on hard surfaces, which in most cases are curbs. Repairing such damage is quite simple. This can be done in several basic ways:
- Varnishing. This approach is mainly used for alloy wheels. Properly selected varnish is able to perfectly close the scratch.
- Painting. Similar operations can be performed with any type of discs, after leveling and grinding the surface.
A prerequisite before coating the disc with protective agents is degreasing, leveling (if necessary) and grinding the surface.
During operation, the rims scratch, fade, cracks and chips appear on their surface, and the factory paint peels off. As a result of this, open areas of the metal appear, which are destroyed by corrosion processes. Damaged elements not only spoil the appearance of the car, but also negatively affect driving performance.
The service center "Autoscratch" carries out the restoration of car disks. We carry out works of any complexity to eliminate damage of various types. The technological capabilities of our center allow us to work with disks of any size and manufactured using various technologies:
- cast (light alloy);
- steel (stamped);
- forged.
Their repair is a complex process that includes diagnostics, damage repair and painting.
| Disk size | Price (for 1 disc) |
| R-13 | from 500 rub. |
| R-14 | from 600 rubles |
| R-15 | from 800 rub. |
| R-16 | from 900 rub. |
| R-17 | from 1 100 rub. |
| R-18 | from 1 300 rub. |
| R-19 | from 1 700 rub. |
| R-20 | from 1 900 rub. |
| R-21 | from 2 100 rub. |
| R-22 | from 2 400 rub. |
| R-23 | from 2 700 rub. |
| R-24 | from 2 900 rub. |
Disc painting
Restoration of car disks is carried out on specialized equipment that allows you to eliminate axial (horizontal) and radial (vertical) runout. The elimination of axial displacement is one of the most time-consuming repair processes, since minor damage can hide significant structural failures that complicate the work. When repairing scratches on alloy wheels with fragmentary damage, special additives are used to completely restore the element. If straightening is necessary, experienced professionals use techniques that exclude spot heating and roller rolling, thereby preserving the structure of the metal.
The use of modern materials and advanced technological solutions makes it possible to guarantee the complete restoration of the factory geometric and aesthetic characteristics of damaged areas. We have been working in this direction for many years, so we know the technological subtleties of this process. Our specialists are constantly trained and improved, improving their skills, so all work is provided with an official guarantee.
