Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

[cicatriz63]

I ordered a set of used wheels off of ebay, and of course the guy that send them put no packaging at all in the boxes, so they got pretty scuffed up from bouncing around in the box. Is there anything that I can use on these to restore them to at least decent quality? If they could be saved I would rather do that than go through the hassle of returning them. Here's a pic, you can see the grayish spots where it looks like it was rubbing on the box. If i wet them they go back to black so I'm hoping maybe I could use something to polish them out? You can really see on the bottom how bad it is though it doesn't look like it is all the way through the paint. Any suggestions?

[The Guz]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

Looks like faded paint to me. But I could be wrong. Are these a factory colored OEM wheel?

[cicatriz63]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

Yes they are factory painted. Here is another picture showing the whole wheel so you can better see the original color. You can see the marks on the right and lower right that look like the cardboard box lines rubbing on it.

[Jarhead0754]

I would go ahead and try to make a deal with the seller for a partial refund stating how they were damaged and say it will cost x to repair and that he should refund that much and if he doesn't want to do that then go ahead and either return them or just forget the whole thing and fix them urself. Even if u plan on fixing it urself u should still ask for sum money back since u didnt fully get what u paid for. I gurantee he be willing to return something rather than having to go through the trouble of trying to resell them.

[cicatriz63]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

I would go ahead and try to make a deal with the seller for a partial refund stating how they were damaged and say it will cost x to repair and that he should refund that much and if he doesn't want to do that then go ahead and either return them or just forget the whole thing and fix them urself. Even if u plan on fixing it urself u should still ask for sum money back since u didnt fully get what u paid for. I gurantee he be willing to return something rather than having to go through the trouble of trying to resell them.

Yes I am absolutely going to ask for some sort of partial refund if I do decide to keep them. The main question is if they can be restored. Is this something that you think might just polish out? They look a lot worse in those pics due to the lighting, here is one more with the natural sunlight on them. Sorry for the gigantic pics.

[Jarhead0754]

I really don't think they can b polished out, but If ur pretty handy I would just go ahead and repainted them urself. And if u don't have a spray gun, u would b surprised at the results u can get from a rattle can. But u have to put the work in the prep stage to get a good finish. But u could try to polish it out first, def won't hurt anything. But I really think it will need a respray.

[Spazzz]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

First thing I would is use some polish on a test spot.
Do you have any polish? (Not TW) Walmart carries Megs Ultimate Polish.
What do you have to lose. A bottle of Ultimate Polish laying around is always a good thing.

[cicatriz63]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

So the only polish I had was some mother's and it didn't do a whole lot by itself, however I also had some 3m rubbing compound that I tried out on a small spot and it did seem to help, so I think I could get them in decent shape if I decide to keep them. I will pick up some ultimate polish and see how that goes. What would next aggressive option be if that's not enough?

[The Guz]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

Ultimate compound would be the next aggressive product. You should have both in your possession. They are both great products.

[The Guz]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

I forgot to ask what Mothers polish you used.

[cicatriz63]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

I forgot to ask what Mothers polish you used.

Mother's California gold scratch remover is all it says. I'm thinking I just need some a tad heavier or maybe that's just the wrong thing altogether.

[cicatriz63]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

One thing I noticed is that the edges where it looks the worst and looks faded is actually just a ton of small scratches. The scratch remover did work on some of the lighter areas but the heavier stuff needs a little more oomph. I think with the right product I think I can get them at least acceptable.

[The Guz]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

I would say ultimate compound will be the next step up. You can try in a small test spot to see if it makes things look better. You can follow up with M205 or ultimate polish if you wish.

[cicatriz63]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

I would say ultimate compound will be the next step up. You can try in a small test spot to see if it makes things look better. You can follow up with M205 or ultimate polish if you wish.

So here's a quick update. I picked up some ultimate compound along with some ultimate polish. So far I only used the ultimate compound, but man what a difference does this stuff make! I just applied some by hand using a microfiber towel and rubbed in on as the bottle said. Here is a before an after shot. There are still a bunch of scratches but unless you get up close and personal with a light you can barely tell. From 3 feet away they look great. This stuff is the real deal.

[The Guz]

Re: Can these wheels be saved? pics inside

They do look better. UC and UP are a good 1-2 combo.