Curb rash
12-03-13, 02:46 PM
#16
before this thread goes off in left field with the assumption you can touch up the wheel with some sanding and repainting.
these wheels are Hyper Black the painting process is to pain the wheel black first, then a special silver paint is applied very evenly and precisely. too much and it will be too silver, too little and it will look gray.
my 2013 GS had some curb rash, I took the wheel to a local wheel repair guy who tried to blend and match which did not go well at all. I took it to another wheel repair shop and they tried to paint the wheel over again without having one nearby to compare, it ended up too dark, he shot a little more silver and it ended up too light. now he is waiting for me to bring another wheel when I have time to have it matched while he paints the wheel.
trust me when I tell you, there is NO touchup paint that will match this wheel. it needs to be redone by a professional who knows how to match Hyper black, it is a step by step process and I guarantee you unless the guys knows what he is doing the repainted wheel will never be exactly how it came from the factory.
if you notice these wheels look almost chrome in the direct sunlight and almost charcoal gray in the shadows.
nothing you buy out of a spray can or a touch up brush will be a match.
but if you decide to try the touch up paint sewell Lexus sells your better off trying to just touch it up using as little paint as is necessary to hide the rash.
otherwise if your wheel guy knows his stuff you can get it 95% as close to a perfect wheel for about 100 bucks. the only other option is ebay to find a used take off (this is what I did for the GS) or buy a new one from Lexus.
I paid 350.00 on ebay for my take off wheel. perfect match. and now I have a spare I am trying to get painted the right color to either use as a spare or to sell once correctly painted.
these wheels are Hyper Black the painting process is to pain the wheel black first, then a special silver paint is applied very evenly and precisely. too much and it will be too silver, too little and it will look gray.
my 2013 GS had some curb rash, I took the wheel to a local wheel repair guy who tried to blend and match which did not go well at all. I took it to another wheel repair shop and they tried to paint the wheel over again without having one nearby to compare, it ended up too dark, he shot a little more silver and it ended up too light. now he is waiting for me to bring another wheel when I have time to have it matched while he paints the wheel.
trust me when I tell you, there is NO touchup paint that will match this wheel. it needs to be redone by a professional who knows how to match Hyper black, it is a step by step process and I guarantee you unless the guys knows what he is doing the repainted wheel will never be exactly how it came from the factory.
if you notice these wheels look almost chrome in the direct sunlight and almost charcoal gray in the shadows.
nothing you buy out of a spray can or a touch up brush will be a match.
but if you decide to try the touch up paint sewell Lexus sells your better off trying to just touch it up using as little paint as is necessary to hide the rash.
otherwise if your wheel guy knows his stuff you can get it 95% as close to a perfect wheel for about 100 bucks. the only other option is ebay to find a used take off (this is what I did for the GS) or buy a new one from Lexus.
I paid 350.00 on ebay for my take off wheel. perfect match. and now I have a spare I am trying to get painted the right color to either use as a spare or to sell once correctly painted.
Ill let you guys know how it goes tomorrow with my wheel repair and ill post the repair pics.
The company doing my repair was recommended from Lexus of Orlando. They swear this guy has fixed LFA wheels to perfection. Like I said ill let ya know tomorrow how it goes.
12-03-13, 03:15 PM
#17
Lexus Test Driver
what I would strongly suggest is that you take a picture before or after the noon hour. park the car with the sun shining on the wheels so you can compare the front and back wheels. this is the easiest way to compare the color.
then turn the car around so you can get a pic of the wheels in the shade and compare again.
if your passes this test you got yourself a great wheel repair guy.
I would like to see the results so I know it is possible to get it right. so far I have had no such luck. the first guy threatened to call the cops on me if I took the wheel, but as I explained to him I was not going to leave a 500.00 wheel and a spare on my AWD vehicle for another week until he got it right. so I took my wheel and paid nothing since he messed up the wheel.
for fun I will post the pic of the wheel I got back as I am sure you would agree you wouldn't pay for it either!
I don't have a pic of the repainted wheel, it looked perfect! just not the right color. he still has my spare wheel. and I am waiting for my IS to come in so I can put my new aftermarket wheels on it. this way ill have a spare Lexus wheel to leave so he can color match it (different wheel but correct color)
the pictures show what a crappy job looks like, never should have let this guy touch the wheels. he even got overspray on the tire, I don't know if he was color blind or what, but the finished product is was no where near finished in my opinion.
what do you think?
12-03-13, 05:24 PM
#19
someone like that will do a fine job I am sure. and please post the pictures. I know the guy here has the ability to match pretty close but without a good wheel to look at, it is impossible to get the color correct.
what I would strongly suggest is that you take a picture before or after the noon hour. park the car with the sun shining on the wheels so you can compare the front and back wheels. this is the easiest way to compare the color.
then turn the car around so you can get a pic of the wheels in the shade and compare again.
if your passes this test you got yourself a great wheel repair guy.
I would like to see the results so I know it is possible to get it right. so far I have had no such luck. the first guy threatened to call the cops on me if I took the wheel, but as I explained to him I was not going to leave a 500.00 wheel and a spare on my AWD vehicle for another week until he got it right. so I took my wheel and paid nothing since he messed up the wheel.
for fun I will post the pic of the wheel I got back as I am sure you would agree you wouldn't pay for it either!
I don't have a pic of the repainted wheel, it looked perfect! just not the right color. he still has my spare wheel. and I am waiting for my IS to come in so I can put my new aftermarket wheels on it. this way ill have a spare Lexus wheel to leave so he can color match it (different wheel but correct color)
the pictures show what a crappy job looks like, never should have let this guy touch the wheels. he even got overspray on the tire, I don't know if he was color blind or what, but the finished product is was no where near finished in my opinion.
what do you think?
what I would strongly suggest is that you take a picture before or after the noon hour. park the car with the sun shining on the wheels so you can compare the front and back wheels. this is the easiest way to compare the color.
then turn the car around so you can get a pic of the wheels in the shade and compare again.
if your passes this test you got yourself a great wheel repair guy.
I would like to see the results so I know it is possible to get it right. so far I have had no such luck. the first guy threatened to call the cops on me if I took the wheel, but as I explained to him I was not going to leave a 500.00 wheel and a spare on my AWD vehicle for another week until he got it right. so I took my wheel and paid nothing since he messed up the wheel.
for fun I will post the pic of the wheel I got back as I am sure you would agree you wouldn't pay for it either!
I don't have a pic of the repainted wheel, it looked perfect! just not the right color. he still has my spare wheel. and I am waiting for my IS to come in so I can put my new aftermarket wheels on it. this way ill have a spare Lexus wheel to leave so he can color match it (different wheel but correct color)
the pictures show what a crappy job looks like, never should have let this guy touch the wheels. he even got overspray on the tire, I don't know if he was color blind or what, but the finished product is was no where near finished in my opinion.
what do you think?
I cant believe that quality of work.
I wouldn't have paid a dime for that either.
Hopefully mine will be much better than that. Again,
I have to believe Lexus of Orlando is telling me this guy knows his ***** and does good work.
And the LFA comment the service guy told me makes me feel pretty confident.
12-03-13, 07:44 PM
#20
Lexus Test Driver
OMG that looks so Busch league.
I cant believe that quality of work.
I wouldn't have paid a dime for that either.
Hopefully mine will be much better than that. Again,
I have to believe Lexus of Orlando is telling me this guy knows his ***** and does good work.
And the LFA comment the service guy told me makes me feel pretty confident.
I cant believe that quality of work.
I wouldn't have paid a dime for that either.
Hopefully mine will be much better than that. Again,
I have to believe Lexus of Orlando is telling me this guy knows his ***** and does good work.
And the LFA comment the service guy told me makes me feel pretty confident.
first off the guy assured me it would only take 2 hours. then it ended up taking about 1.5 days.
i saw this wheel in the garage (he works out of his house! RED FLAG I KNOW! but was highly recommended by a guy i know that works at the local paint supply store.)
i asked the guy whats this?
he said he sprayed a little too much hyperblack in the area he was fixing. so i am thinking
"ok so you know you messed up, great! then why did you call me to come pick it up?"
the wheel was also clear coated, now why in the hell would you clear coat a wheel that you already know was not painted correctly?
you would have to be totally color blind to not notice!
now to set the stage, i brought a second wheel with me before picking up the old one to make sure they matched. (meanwhile my $60,000 GS is up on 2 jack stands in my garage)
so we took the wheels out in the sun to compare and they guy tells me if i am not happy with the wheel he will fix it. but then tells me that the clear coat has to cure for 30 days before he can redo the job. (which i later found to be accurate)
so i tell the guy, i can't wait 30 days for you to fix this wheel, so i loaded it in the back of my truck and we walk back into the garage where i find the wheel center cap covered with overspray. i ask about the overspray and he cleans it up with some solvent (surprised it didn't eat the plastic).
he then proceeds to fill out a work order invoice and wants me to sign and pay for the wheel.
I'm like "i aint paying for s#!T until you finish the job, and i am not leaving my car on jackstands, nor am i leaving my wheel here and it's not my fault you messed up the wheel!
YOU get paid when the job is complete.
he would have been way better off to just tell me over the phone he messed up, or didn't have the right paint, or something. i would have been happy to wait, but once you clear coat the wheel and now have to wait another 30 days, why then didn't you just fix your paint mistake before clear coating the wheel?
anyway he was now shaking like a leaf on a tree, was very agitated and became argumentative with me. started getting all tongue tied up and freaking out. so i tell the guy ill wait for the cops to arrive and see what they say..
after a couple minutes watching him thumb through the phone book looking for a number (i actually know the police department number by heart lol)
i finally gave him my business card and said, here's my contact info, call me when you got your **** together so you can finish the job and get paid.
in the mean time i got S#!t to do and ill talk to you later!
then i drove off.
haven't heard from him since that day and its been about 3-4 weeks now. so i guess he ain't gonna call me!
meantime the alloy wheel repair dude has my NOW spare wheel because i bought the ebay one and had the tire swapped out, put it on the car.
so in case anyone reads this and lives in colorado do not take anything to a guy names Howard at bumpersnwheels he has a website, actually looks like a legit business. but you saw it here folks, this is the work he does...
12-04-13, 02:52 PM
#21
Well the wheel has been fixed and Lexus of Orlando was correct...this guy did a great job. in fact I had to note the location of the damage in the first pics to find the correct area to scrutinize the repair.
The pics don't do it any justice but in the sunlight we placed the repaired wheel next to the rear wheel and the color is perfect, they only sprayed and blended to affected area.
Anyone in Orlando area use the guy on the picture ive posted. It was supposed to be $125, but he said $145 because of the 2 layer paint process plus clear and it took him 2 hours vs most jobs similar only take 1 hour.
I gladly paid it and im satisfied, several people from my office came out to look at it and they could not find the repaired area
these pics were taken in my garage ( a little dark with flash from phone camera) not the best. In person does it way more justice. No overspray on the tires or anywhere.
The pics don't do it any justice but in the sunlight we placed the repaired wheel next to the rear wheel and the color is perfect, they only sprayed and blended to affected area.
Anyone in Orlando area use the guy on the picture ive posted. It was supposed to be $125, but he said $145 because of the 2 layer paint process plus clear and it took him 2 hours vs most jobs similar only take 1 hour.
I gladly paid it and im satisfied, several people from my office came out to look at it and they could not find the repaired area
these pics were taken in my garage ( a little dark with flash from phone camera) not the best. In person does it way more justice. No overspray on the tires or anywhere.
12-04-13, 03:00 PM
#22
Lexus Test Driver
Well the wheel has been fixed and Lexus of Orlando was correct...this guy did a great job. in fact I had to note the location of the damage in the first pics to find the correct area to scrutinize the repair.
The pics don't do it any justice but in the sunlight we placed the repaired wheel next to the rear wheel and the color is perfect, they only sprayed and blended to affected area.
Anyone in Orlando area use the guy on the picture ive posted. It was supposed to be $125, but he said $145 because of the 2 layer paint process plus clear and it took him 2 hours vs most jobs similar only take 1 hour.
I gladly paid it and im satisfied, several people from my office came out to look at it and they could not find the repaired area
these pics were taken in my garage ( a little dark with flash from phone camera) not the best. In person does it way more justice. No overspray on the tires or anywhere.
The pics don't do it any justice but in the sunlight we placed the repaired wheel next to the rear wheel and the color is perfect, they only sprayed and blended to affected area.
Anyone in Orlando area use the guy on the picture ive posted. It was supposed to be $125, but he said $145 because of the 2 layer paint process plus clear and it took him 2 hours vs most jobs similar only take 1 hour.
I gladly paid it and im satisfied, several people from my office came out to look at it and they could not find the repaired area
these pics were taken in my garage ( a little dark with flash from phone camera) not the best. In person does it way more justice. No overspray on the tires or anywhere.
i think if you look really hard you might be able to tell a slight difference, but it's certainly good enough to pass inspection for me!
i hope my guy can get this wheel looking as good.
145 seems fair if he put that much time in, and i know this is a tough color to replicate, not many people can do it correctly.
12-04-13, 04:51 PM
#23
looks good! i know where the damage was because of the manufacturer insignia between the 2 spokes was where the rash was.
i think if you look really hard you might be able to tell a slight difference, but it's certainly good enough to pass inspection for me!
i hope my guy can get this wheel looking as good.
145 seems fair if he put that much time in, and i know this is a tough color to replicate, not many people can do it correctly.
i think if you look really hard you might be able to tell a slight difference, but it's certainly good enough to pass inspection for me!
i hope my guy can get this wheel looking as good.
145 seems fair if he put that much time in, and i know this is a tough color to replicate, not many people can do it correctly.
Lets just se how well it holds up long term.
12-04-13, 08:52 PM
#25
Unfortunately, curb rash is bound to happen with our low profile tires, especially without auto dipping side view mirrors (WTF!?). Instead of spending in excess of $100 to fix one wheel at a time for one incident - not to mention the inconvenience (no loaner vehicle) - I'd rather cover-up blemishes with the best matching touch up paint in the meantime and have multiple areas / rims refinished at once upon accumulation. Wondering what's the best paint to mask same. If our rims were like recent Mercedes-Benz AMG ones, there wouldn't be as much of an issue, as their dark finish rims still have a bright silver lips, which better masks curb rash.
Last edited by dbs600; 12-04-13 at 10:23 PM.
12-04-13, 10:00 PM
#26
Lead Lap
Join Date: Dec 2004
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^^^^^^^
I agree. Curb rash is par for the course
This car has everyone on pins and needles though lol. If it isn't curb rash we are worried about, it's us accidentally damaging the front grille or the lip
I agree. Curb rash is par for the course
This car has everyone on pins and needles though lol. If it isn't curb rash we are worried about, it's us accidentally damaging the front grille or the lip
12-04-13, 10:27 PM
#28
Right, and crazy our car's don't have auto dipping side-view mirrors, park distance sensors and/or a surround view camera system, all of which would significantly reduce 'driver error'.
