alloy wheels - keeping like new

[corinthos]

hi all,

just wondering how people manage to keep their alloy wheels looking like new, without any scatches, nicks, scuffs, etc. i just rubbed against a curb yesterday and got a 1" scratch at the edge of a rim..

have you guys gotten your rims refinished? if so, can you tell thru sight or feel that it's been worked on, or does it look and feel like it was when it was new?

also how do you avoid a mechanic scratching/nicking around the holes where the wheel nuts go, when they change your tire at the shop?

 

[XavierMace]

hi all,
just wondering how people manage to keep their alloy wheels looking like new, without any scatches, nicks, scuffs, etc. i just rubbed against a curb yesterday and got a 1" scratch at the edge of a rim..

I don't rub them against curbs.

 

[phucheneh]

Be more careful, pretty much.

I'm careful to not touch wheels with my impact. You need to be attentive, but it's certainly not hard to avoid unless the socket is super tight in the hole, which is usually an aftermarket wheel thing. In those cases, they make thin-walled impact sockets with plastic sleeves on the outside.

Tire machines used to have a metal foot, and you had to be careful to adjust it so that it was close to the wheel rim but not touching it as it spun. Scratches usually came from not adjusting it properly and letting it ride on the wheel. Or leaving clip-on weights on, which would hit it and get dragged around the wheel.

Newer machines have a plastic foot, often that intentionally sits on the wheel and does not require adjustment. These are what I like to call 'pieces of freaking garbage,' which were basically designed with the sole intent of keeping negligent people from causing obvious damage.

Curb rash...meh, no comment. I never understood how people could do that so frequently (...at all, really).

 

[ino uno soweno]

hi all,

just wondering how people manage to keep their alloy wheels looking like new, without any scatches, nicks, scuffs, etc. i just rubbed against a curb yesterday and got a 1" scratch at the edge of a rim..

have you guys gotten your rims refinished? if so, can you tell thru sight or feel that it's been worked on, or does it look and feel like it was when it was new?

also how do you avoid a mechanic scratching/nicking around the holes where the wheel nuts go, when they change your tire at the shop?

Can you post a picture,?