18" polished wheels with the white lines all over in the clear coat, any quick fix?

[Spence340]

I have seen people mention the problem on the clear coat of the aluminum wheels and they all include a lot of sanding buffing and clear coat re-spraying. I have very light lines running all over the wheel and they don't look too bad from a distance but up close not so nice. Before I get into a big project, I thought I would check to see if someone has a miracle cure.

 

[1 Alibi 2]

A pic may help, does it appear to be under the clear coat ??

 

[Spence340]

Yeah, one of these days I will figure out how to put pics up here. It is very fine lines of what I am guessing is some kind of corrosion if not under the clear certainly in the clear. When I look on line for Mustang wheels you see a lot wheels with this problem, some worse then others.

 

[rocknrod]

 

[DieHarder]

I have seen people mention the problem on the clear coat of the aluminum wheels and they all include a lot of sanding buffing and clear coat re-spraying. I have very light lines running all over the wheel and they don't look too bad from a distance but up close not so nice. Before I get into a big project, I thought I would check to see if someone has a miracle cure.

Yeah, new wheels.

Second option - sandblast/bead blast w/plastic; polish and clear coat.

Third option - If the wheels can be turned - cut a small amount from the surface and clear coat.

All 3 options are viable - how much do you want to spend?

 

[Samos3]

View attachment 98838

Or, if you quote someone or scroll down to the bottom of the posts to the posting box, click on 'Attach Files' and go to your gallery and select the pics. Sometimes one method is easier than the other.

 

[MasterofDisaster]

I thought my wheels were clear coat, and the white lines and spider webbing drove me nuts. Polishing didn't make it better.

Chrome Rustoleum spray paint is a really good match. I just happened to have some in the garage, and I tried it on an empty beer can. The sprayed can matched my rims.

 

[Spence340]

 

[Spence340]

I have been meaning to try out RocknRod’s tip and now I see how easy it is to post a photo. Thanks. As you can see there is white cob webbing on the wheel and no doubt it is under the clear coat so there does not appear to be an easy fix. Looks like major sanding polishing and new clear coat application is the only cure.

 

[86GT351]

Try a good wheel polish ad see what happens. A little Elbow grease might not hurt

 

[GriffX]

Thats aluminum corrosion below the clear coat. There is probably no easy fix. I have a few of these threads but that is a lot.

 

[DieHarder]

You can take care of that with a variety of sanding rolls to get the clearcoat off; then polishing compounds and lots of effort. Not worth it to pay someone else; likely cheaper to spring for a new set of wheels.

 

[MrBhp]

Find a car that's for sale that has the same wheels, but in good shape. While on a test drive, swap out the wheels.

Don't try this at home.
MrBhp is not responsible for any legal troubles or fees resulting from anything illegal.

 

[Mailman]

I had similar damage on some Chevy truck (2000) wheels and had them powder coated white. They looked great on the white RCSB truck. Only problem I'd see now is that coating would cost damn near the price of some of the lower priced new wheels at Tire Rack, etc. Good luck.

 

[Spence340]

I’ll try the Chrome Rustoleum on a few spots where it is really bad like in the photo and see how it works. The only other way does appear to be heavy sanding to get by the clear coat and remove the corrosion and then fine sanding and polishing and then reapplying a clear coat.

 

[MrBhp]

Easiest is to bead blast with walnut shells.

 

[Spence340]

Well, much to my surprise MasterofDisaster’s Rustoleum chrome rattle can trick worked amazingly well for a quick and easy fix. The chrome metallic paint does match the wheel finish almost exactly so it’s great for areas around the center cap that can get really messed up over time.

 

[MADGT]

^Well, heck, not bad at all...