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Cheap Curb Rash Fix

rocketboy

By rocketboy,
in Tutorials / DIY / FAQ

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rocketboy Enthusiast

rocketboy

Posted
Posted

HI all, I don't get on the forums much these days, but I thought I'd share am easy way to fix gutter rash/minor curb damage on your rims.

Note: This will generally only work on silver/polished rims with small lip on edge of the main lip (if ya get what I mean!). But may be able to be used on other wheel for various functions such as sanding before paint/powder coating etc.

A while ago I bought some second hand Brabus rims for my ride. They were in good general condition, with the usual minor nicks here and ther. One of the front wheels had gutter rash all around the outer lip. It wasn't too deep, but it was damn ugly. Now, I am a cheap bastard being half asian, but I also love giving things a crack. I had heard the local rim repairer couldn't do 19" rims, but never bothered to investigate, so I decided I'd give fixing these a go myself.

First I went out and bought two cheapish files, a straright cut bastard, and a plain flat bastard. I was having new tyres put on, so had the current Hankooks removed as I was gonna sell them off anyway. While the tyre was off I got down to work and did this.

First photo is of original curbage when I bought them. And I have used the same method twice, second time was for my bros small curb incident. (He did send me a nice set of Bahco files though!)

Original curbage around lips lip! All the way around

Curbrash.jpg

Tyre is removed from wheel, car is jack up (axle stands used of course!) at the back and rim put on. Essentially this is the poor mans lathe. So to clairfy. The cars rear end is up, and on axle stands. I can't remember if I removed the othe side wheel, but I think I did. I tryed the car in 1st gear with the engine at warm idle. It was a bit too slow.

Image0111.jpg

I found second gear with the car at idle to be a great speed for the wheel to spin at. And basically I sit there with the files (straight cut bastard and a standard flat bastard) and work the curb rash away. Here you can see metal I have worked from the rim. After the rash was removed, I did a rough sand, then a finer sand. I can't remember the grits, but I'd imagine 180-200 and 300-400.

Image0109.jpg

First time I did it, I was having new tyres put on anyway, and second time round I had the tyres rotated (staggered set, directional tyres,can't rotate whole wheel). So all up it cost me only time and about $30 for the two files.

After the file I sanded it to a smoother finish, then applied a little metal polish. No need to paint as it looks fine how it is!

Pretty easy and cheap for an arvos work. As you can see, this won't work on all rims, but may be adapted to do some of the work yourself if you are having your wheels painted/powder coated etc.

Please also note that safety must be considered paramount at all times. Axle stands must be used at all times and a second person should be there in case of emergency. Keep hands away form the wheel spokes. You get a hand caught in there and your in a whole world of hurt. I take no responsibility if you are injured trying this process out.

Good luck, I hope this helps some of you!

Richie

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Wacky Dee Veteran

Wacky Dee

Posted
Posted

yeah what they said .. if you're broke and can't afford a proper fix worth a try I guess. But seeing as how most pros charge $60-100 per wheel depending on damage, it's hardly worth the effort imho.

I got quoted $200 by Magman in Sydney to fix 2 wheels .. both have pretty bad gutter rash all around the outer lip and one of the wheels has a rather large chunk of metal (about 3-4cm) sticking out and needs to be welded back on

  • 2 weeks later...
ashneel Grand Master

ashneel

Posted
Posted

so your sitting there with a file rubbing against the wheel while your car is jacked up and running on second gear. your broke but are you retarted as well? i would never trust jack/axle stands with the car running in gear at the same time. fromt he viberations of the cars running gear if the car falls you will get hurt pretty bad and your car will get damaged also.

i eman the results you got are great

but your method is very risky and id rather drive my car aroud with gutter rash and save up rather then doing it this way

  • 6 months later...
SXY_33 Collaborator

SXY_33

Posted
Posted

I dont know what some of you are complaining about. if you set it up properly it is perfectly safe.

i just did this, works great. after i finished with the file, i used some 120 sand paper and then finished off with 400.

i saved myself $150 a wheel and i actually enjoyed doing it.

mad082 Grand Master

mad082

Posted
Posted

i would be more worried about people hurting themselves with the tyre levers trying to get the tyre off the rim than actually hurting themselves filing the rim (i've changed a few sets of tyres on rims manually before and have had 1 or 2 close calls with tyre levers going flying up into the air). if you were worried about running the car to smooth out the rim, you could always just take the rim off and sit it on the ground and file it. wouldn't come out as nice though.

  • 3 weeks later...
mad082 Grand Master

mad082

Posted
Posted

you could always just hold the file on the outter side of the wheel so if you do slip your hand simple goes into the wheel arch, and if it does happen to hit the wheel it will only be the outside of the rim.

but to the people who are actually scared of this, there are a hell of a lot of more dangerous tools out there. basically all he is doing is using the car as a lathe. nothing scary there. i'd be more scared of a simply angle grinder than doing this (and i'm not scared of an angle grinder, although i am still cautious with them).

  • 3 months later...
Factory 5 Mentor

Factory 5

Posted
Posted

Dont do this in an enclosed garage either... exhaust poisoning anyone???

But seriously, there are some people out there who should not be near tools, if they can handle them selves, and are farily good with this kind of thing... BIG dollar savings to be had.

I have done this in the past, just as long as you use common sense you should be ok. I also had a 2m kilswitch line rigged up too, so if you need to... hit the big red button. everything will stop rotating soon enough (especially in gear)

2nd person nearby is a VERY good idea aswell.

SargeRX8 Grand Master

SargeRX8

Posted
Posted

Not too shabby of a method. Provided you have a nice flat surface. People worrying about losing their hands. I doubt very much you need to apply such pressure onto the bastard to start shaving the wheel. Light pressure and keep your hands away from the gears. I would have tried this except my rims aren't silver, they're painted and I cbf matching the paint.

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