xyberai

I was wondering if you guys could advise me on how to fix these rims, i think the discoloration is from using an abrasive wheel cleaner and i was wondering if theres a way i can repaint it myself. I'v searched for wheel repair and all i get is curb rash repair. I'v searched google and this site using other keywords but i couldn't quite find the same situation i have. The fronts look alot worse than the back and if i could find a temporary fix for the fronts, i plan to buy new wheels in about 3-4 months. I'v tried wheel cleaners and anything found in common auto stores. Here are some pictures of what im working with.





Is there any way to fix this discoloration? Advice is very much appreciated!

Kevins350z

iTrader: (36)

i think thats brake dust on your wheels..try to apply clay bar on them first and see if that takes care of your problem.

xyberai

Well usually brake dust comes off fairly easy and when its black on other sections i can scrub it off with no problem and with alot of cleaner. This though i cant get off for the life of me.

Ill try clay bar today and see if it helps though. Thanks for the info and ill post back if it worked. Any certain kind or just any clay bar for cars will work?

VO...

iTrader: (25)

+1 on the claybar. You'd be surprised at the wonders it can work...

xyberai

Well i prayed you guys were right but i clay bared it and it still didnt work. It made the spots look lighter but i think thats just cause it lifted the contaminants. I'm afraid the paint/finish is damaged or something. Anyone else have any more ideas!?

clark_carty

Two of the rears on my 35th anniversary looked like this. Another one on the front has very light spots too. It's finish damage from the cheap process that Nissan uses (actually I think Rays makes these too).

I got Nissan to replace the two rears under warranty. They wouldn't replace the front one that barely looked bad.

Let me tell you, that it took 3 months and a visit from the district warranty administrator to get them replaced.

I drove off the lot in the rain with the car when I picked it up (never do that again), so I didn't noticed the discoloration until the first time I washed it.

If you try and get it replaced under warranty, don't say anything about tire dressing.

Chako135

iTrader: (31)

try that organic green stuff...they should sell it pretty much anywhere

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Depends how badly the clearcoat is stained. You might try a light compound like 3M #39002.

clark_carty

Nissan guy told me there is no clearcoat. I said it looks like there was missing clearcoat because the fronts of mine looked shiny, but the sides of the spokes were rough and discolored. He said it's a single stage coating.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Correction: Depends how badly the paint is stained. You might try a light compound like 3M #39002.

xyberai

Hah, my warranty runs out in 500 miles . Wont they say its some kind of neglect on my part. Cause their gonna ask if i washed the wheels and they could say i used the wrong cleaner and screwed them up. For some reason it might seem hard to get it replaced under warranty. Im actually tired of dealing with nissan and getting things checked out.

I know they are tired of me, haha. I'v had them check my clutch 3 times and each time they said it was fine. Finally the last time i told them to check it, i told them to put it in neutral with the clutch out and rev to 3-4k and you could hear the clutch or something whining (it wasn't before) and they were like "you sure are tachin it up there arnt ya?" "If your revin up that high course your gonna hear something" then i chimed in that i didnt mean drop the clutch in gear while at 3-4k (sounded like they thought i meant that) and he still had this whole "still thats pretty high up there". Like taking it over 3k is bad for the car? Its a damn sports car! They just overall seem like idiots and i have a feeling they will avoid trying to replace my rims.

As a note this has developed recently, the very insides of the rims have had a dark stain and went outward some but the spots only came up recently. They have changes my tires when the rims weren't so bad so they might try to say i did something to them.

cavallino33

I wipe of my wheels when I get back to the garage every day. Keeps the brake dust from sticking and building up.

xyberai

Iv made a habit of this ever since i got the car but im the second owner and there has always been a bit of discoloration but its gotten worse lately.

cavallino33

Yeah keeping wheels clean is really a matter of keeping on top of it. Once brake dust starts getting stuck on there it seems to get exponentially worse.

xyberai

So is there anyway to get rid of this discoloration? Is it possible to sand and paint it then clear coat or such? If so does anyone know how to do this exactly? I don't want to mess them up anymore than they already are .

BeejZ

iTrader: (1)

MY wheels were the same way when I bought my car. Its an 03, I have tried everything to get them to look beter, and they still look like crap. The wheels are ding free and nice but the finish is just horible. Same exact look at your wheels. As much as I clean them they always look dirty. I also tried to clean the inside of the wheel and I couldnt get half the brake dust off there.

gqong

iTrader: (13)

Doesn't look like discoloration...yeah you will definitely need to use alot of elbow grease and hopefully that takes it out.

xyberai

Ok, ill swing by and get some today and try it. Im keepin my fingers crossed that this works. Im still trying to replace crap the original owner messed up and i guess rims will now be one of them. (Dont even get me started on how messed up the front bumper is!). Thanks again guys and ill report back after i try the clean magic eraser!

Korki Buchek

iTrader: (4)

When I was in the market for the Z, this guy was selling one that was SS with stockers. The stock wheels were all discolored, but it didn't look like there were any scratches. And I mean discolored like a car which had been out in the sun for 15 years or something. I didn't get it, he couldn't explain it. Nor could he explain the rough idle which he tried to attribute to a CAI. So, I explained why I couldn't buy.