TwentyTen

CL,

In desperation, I made the mistake of going to a gas station car wash today and it was THEE most VIOLENT experience my car has ever suffered.

This is the first time any car wash has touched the car. I used to use a touchless car wash but it was too acidic for the rims and I've been washing by hand since September. Well, it was cold and I was lazy so I went to a car wash.

I thought it was going to break the windshield!! The washers knocked both side mirrors closed and all I could think of were SCRATCHES in the paint.

When I got out and looked at the car BOTH rims on the left (driver's) side have hundreds of hairline scratches on the outer lip of the rim! I could've kicked myself because I KNEW better than to send the car into one of those Death Chambers --but did it anyway.

I called Wheel Techniques in San Jose to get an estimate on repolshing the rims but they won't get back to me until Monday afternoon.

Any ideas? Anything I can buy over the counter? Can I get a polishing bit for my drill or Dremel? Anything? I'm afraid the wheel shop is going to charge $100 a wheel to repolish.

Thanks in advance.

//Darius

LXOGOOD

Do not, I repeat, no not try to use your own buffing techniques with a buffing pad on a dremel. Try using some mequires scratch out and a micro fiber towel. If that doesn't work, contact the wheel shop and have it done right.. good luck bro

Ken

PS: Don't you hate these horrible learning lessons...

LS4fun

Can you post of a picture to see how big these scratches are?

TwentyTen

Thanks for the heads up Ken, and yes...I do hate these horrible lessons to be learned.

Dr.G

iTrader: (1)

Speaking from experience, expect to pay $100-$150 per wheel to have repolished depending on whether or not your wheels are chrome, polished aluminum, etc. (chrome being more $$) However, IMHO this is well worth the expense in getting it done right, not to mention they will also check for bends and be able to round the wheel if needed (not to say this happened in the car wash but may be something you're unaware of as in my case!) The work should only take 2-3 days also.

TwentyTen

Sure, first thing in the morning!

TwentyTen

Thanks for the confirmation that I need to have it done by a shop. They are polished aluminum....

Think I could drop off the whole wheel so I don't have to pay another shop to remount and balance the tires? Excuse me if that's a dumb question....never had to do this before.

bluelex

OMG. big mistake..but its done o now lets c what we cand o to fix it. definately post pics so we can see. i would think some scratch-x would definately(can't hurt) but it reallt depends on how deep they are. i think your wheels r non clearcoated of so u have and advantage over clear coated. mayb try that 3 step process , (i can't remember the name, i'll find out for you)

edit- its called Wenol

Dr.G

iTrader: (1)

Yeah Darius, the shop should unmount, remount and balance as all part of the service...At least that was the case for me and I had my old SSR's done on two seperate occasions. Damn Atlanta roads!!

AutoCoutureSC

iTrader: (8)

Darious man! that sux. Such a beautiful car with rims to go with it.

if you were in so cal, i know a place that will polish those puppies for roughly $40 and they will do it with the tires on! sorry about the misfortune...

I've been in a similar situation with America's Tires....

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Darius

Give me a call when you will stop by Wheel Tech and I'll drop by to try and influence a fair price.

They always need to see the rims to make a proper estimate.

Their prices always include mounting & balancing if neccessary. You actually always want them to mount the tires, since they really take great care. I've seen many Lambo, Ferrari and Viper rims there, so you gotta trust them.

Most likely they will just pop the bead on your tire but leave it on and just buff the lip edge if that's all that is scratched.

JohnGS4

I had a similar incident to this also. First set of rims i had. I went to a car wash before going out so the car would look good, so i pulled it, and it was the kind where your tire drops into that slot for you to stop.....well, when it said to pull forward, the tire slipped coming out of the slot, jerked the wheel to the left, and BOOM, 3/4 curb rash! I thought i was going to throw up. Horrible, haven't been to a drive in car wash since.

Moral of the story: i feel your pain, sucks learning the hard way....STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM AUTOMATIC CAR WASHES!

John

fireballs gs400

should not cost too much 125-175 per wheel

TLW

callllllllllll meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee know maN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

TwentyTen

Thanks Lee! Hey $40.00 is a good price. I would have all four done for that! Still looking forward to your next trip up here Bro!

Thanks Glen, I appreciate that! I've got your number in my cell. I'll definitely keep your posted. After seeing what they were able to do with your rim there is NO DOUBT that Wheel Techniques is the place. Not to mention the gunmetal painting they did for Synergy's Dronnel's . I didn't even consider another shop .

Thanks Adrian (spelling), I have the three step Wenol (Red, Blue, and Pink) so I'll try it and take before and after photos but the scratches are pretty deep .

That's exactly what kind it was. I wasn't even thinking about that when I pulled in, I was just thinking "After a week of rain, I'll get the basic 5 dollar wash just to clean it up a little before I go out".

That feeling of wanting to throw up - Got it! Haven't lost it yet! I hate learning lessons like that! Off topic - how's the insurance handling your break in?