my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

So I have a 2008 IS350 with the sports package and the factory gunmetal split 5 spoke rims. On my passenger side from rim I noticed that when cleaning it it's doesn't feel as smooth as the other rims, it alsmost feels like there is paint overspray on it from the factory. However just yesterday I was scraping the overspray with my thumbnail and realized it came off with little effort and left metallic flakes unneath my nail. Now the overspray is all over the outter edge of the wheel in about 3 inches or so but beyond that to the center hub is not effected. Underneath the overspray is perfectly smooth wheels paint that has the clear over it. My question is this, is this really overspray or is this embedded brake dust? My front brake pads have not been replaced with the low dust one's yet which is why I will be having this done next week. I was going to bring this to the dealer to have them replace the rims but i don't know what this is or what else besides my nail that i can use to get it off.

quick123

iTrader: (2)

clay bar FTW

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

Yeah i tried, thumbnail is the only thing that works so far.

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

So i tried a claybar again with a little more elbow grease and this overspray would not come off. I them deciced to use automotive grade goo gone, i've used this stuff numerous times before on paint it's very safe. I used a microfiber towel and a lot of elbow grease and the overspray starting coming off leaving the good finish underneath. I got about 75% of the wheel done when I was working on an outer edge of the the wheel i noticed a black smudge appear with what i thought was tire shine. i used a little more elbow grease to get it off and realized it was not tire shine but rather the paint rubbing off down the bare aluminum. Needless to say i'm pi$$ed, it already cheap to paint rims on such a nice car but when the paint on the rims can't hold up and has overspray from the factory that's just insane. There is no way goo gone should take off wheel paint with a soft cloth. I'm going to bring it to the dealer as the rest of the wheel turned out perfect but the 25%remaining still has this overspray on it.

JMcDonald

iTrader: (2)

That sucks

Micaiah

I wonder if your wheel was re done for some reason (curb rash)? They do repair them at the dealers and they come out pretty dang good. Hoping you didn't rub off the finish of a repair job.

kuuqi

I had my stock wheels peeling all over the place. I called into corporate and complained. They sent me back to the dealer and they just had all four of my wheels refinished no questions asked. Came out great until I had new tires mounted and it was scuffed very slightly but nothing that you'd notice without going up close so I didn't bother complaining about it. You can always try that.

And to take note, I called saying they were all flaking off and I was concerned for safety reasons as I wasn't sure if they'd suddenly snap on me and my wheel comes flying off. They said no problem and took care of me. Didn't even mention the curb rash whatsoever.

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

I'm not sure but i'm 99% sure the wheel was never repaired. I've had factory wheels repaired before you can tell slightly. This just seems like a poor factory paint job. Ive seen multiple car manufacturers do this to wheels. They take a preeviosu year wheel and have them painted a new color to look like a new model but it's really just repainted. The gunmetal finish has an interesting effect to it where it looks great but it's not very durable to the elements unless cleaned quite frequently. I really think this has to do with the excessive brake dust still, i'm not quite convinced it's overspray but rather brake dust embedded into the finish which in turn weakened the finish.