Fix curb rash?

[daveyd]

I just purchased a 2003 325i with a set of 19" Hamann HM2 on it. Each of the rims has a fair amount of curb rash on them. Is this something that is easily fixed or would my best bet be to take it to a speciality place?

If so, anyone know of a place to fix the rims in South Central PA? Any idea on the cost? I know they are pretty expensive rims...are they even worth fixing?

[jamesthevaliant]

bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/wheel-repair/wheel-scuff-repair.htm

I have done it 2 or 3 times on my wheels, and it always looked great. All you need is bondo putty, some fine grit sandpaper, masking tape, primer, matching wheel paint, and a clear coat. Take my advice and take the wheel off the car and do it inside, and as with most painting, 5 or 6 or 7 light coats instead of 2 or 3 heavy coats is better... patience!

[jamesthevaliant]

one more thing- this article shows him doing part of the wheel. That didn't work out too well for me the first time I tried this. I found the best way to get even color an texture was to repaint the entire wheel.

[daveyd]

What if the rash mark are pretty deep?

[jamesthevaliant]

do you have photos?

[bme61679]

I recently used the same link and the results turned out pretty good for a little money and bunch of labor. The biggest things I can probably emphasize are take the wheels off the car, prep work saves you in the long run, and do not rush. Clean everything multiple times over and in between steps. Let the bondo, paint, and clear thoroughly dry. Lots of light coats work much better than a few thick coats. I have had little success with masking a specific area and trying to get the overspray to blend. Like someone mentioned I found it best to spray the whole wheel. The Weurth Paint is an excellent color match, I did not try a regular can of Krylon silver though.

As for the deep stuff, I carefully used a dremel tool to knock down the rash above the face of the wheel and then filled in the low spots with the bondo. The deeper the rash the more time the bondo needs to dry but you can build that stuff up pretty thick. The time consuming part is sanding the fixed rash flush and smooth with the face of the wheel so it looks like it was never there.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

[daveyd]

Thanks for the info...I'll try and get some pics up

[Colby Kent]

do you know about Wheel Collision Center in Bath, PA.
That's located just above Bethlehem.

They do a fine job on repairs to that kind of damage.
Good luck,
Colby

[bb0ytom]

is it curbed on just the lip of the rim? is the lip polished? if so, you can just sand down the curb rash, it will get rid of a fair amount that is pretty deep. you just keep using finer grit each stage until you get a nice polish and use some wheel polish after to bling it out.

[sirtiger]

curious, are professional much better at this?...as in near perfect? or is it a more of a DIY type thing?

[daveyd]

is it curbed on just the lip of the rim? is the lip polished? if so, you can just sand down the curb rash, it will get rid of a fair amount that is pretty deep. you just keep using finer grit each stage until you get a nice polish and use some wheel polish after to bling it out.


Most of the damage is around the lip of all the rims. Some are down to the metal.

Any idea of what I could get for the Rims/Kuhmo combo if I were to sell the set of 4?

[themadhatter]

do you know about Wheel Collision Center in Bath, PA.
That's located just above Bethlehem.

They do a fine job on repairs to that kind of damage.
Good luck,
Colby
they screwed up a pair of my HM2s that I had. I wouldn't give them my business.

---

which version of the HM2 do you have? The polished lip or the stainless steel lip?

-Ron

[daveyd]

which version of the HM2 do you have? The polished lip or the stainless steel lip?

-Ron


Polished

[wheresmym3]

I'm curious to this as well. I bought mine from another BF member here and the fronts had a good amount of rash since he was running 225's on em. I have the polished lip as well.