Got cut off...curbed rim :@

[camarozzzz]

As the title says, was turning left and the guy turning right cut me off and turned into me - decided last minute he wants to go left too.... To avoid him turning into me I turned left very sharply and hit the curbed of the road I was turning into.

Damage is about 2.5 inches wide

These are the wheels I have: mine are the gloss black ones...so I am not sure how I would get that same gloss black finish if I painted the damaged area.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292326


Anyone know how I would repair these and attain the same gloss black finish? I have done a little bit of research but figured I would ask the pros on here first! I know I can get this professionally fixed but I am sure I can manage doing it myself!

Thanks a lot for the help!

[CamaroJim56]

No help from me, but you are lucky that is all you got, slamming into a curb.
I did worse than that on a curb in a fast food line.
Good luck!

Jim

[TigerFA]

just use sandpaper make it nice and smooth again, polish maybe and then over paint it, you might see it afterwards but it should look ok. Check your tire for cracks or cuts. And let the rim get rotated with new weights, you never know if it got a hit.

[camarozzzz]

Originally Posted by TigerFA

just use sandpaper make it nice and smooth again, polish maybe and then over paint it, you might see it afterwards but it should look ok. Check your tire for cracks or cuts. And let the rim get rotated with new weights, you never know if it got a hit.

Thanks for the info!

I check the tire and the weights and all seemed to be in line. I t was definetly a hard clip - i felt it as I turned out of the way. But I am not sure if it was hard enough to damage anything.

I have read online that you use 600 grit sand paper for that nice clean smooth finish then use bondo to layer it back to the same shape and size. Then just paint it and clear coat. My biggest concern is matching it up color wise and getting the same gloss black look - as these rims came gloss black I don't want it sticking out funny.

[TigerFA]

Originally Posted by camarozzzz

Thanks for the info!

I check the tire and the weights and all seemed to be in line. I t was definetly a hard clip - i felt it as I turned out of the way. But I am not sure if it was hard enough to damage anything.

I have read online that you use 600 grit sand paper for that nice clean smooth finish then use bondo to layer it back to the same shape and size. Then just paint it and clear coat. My biggest concern is matching it up color wise and getting the same gloss black look - as these rims came gloss black I don't want it sticking out funny.

there you go! it will never look like the same but close, the best thing but expensive, get a new rim and get over with. But try, maybe you get tired of the looks of it and get a new one anyway.

But Don´t just look at the rim and thing the weights are ok, you have to get it rotated, you never know, if it was a hard clip the rim itself could be winded or (crocket) let it get checked out. If it was hard enough you might need a new one. You know its just aluminum not steel even a bolt could be cracked and you don't see that. Just to be sure.

[SemperGumby]

I feel your pain, was going to a buddy's house a couple weeks ago and had an oncoming car in the opposite lane halfway over into mine not move, forced me to make a really hard decision between just hitting them (probably would have if the wife and daughter weren't in the car) and going into the curb. Passenger rear wheel has about 3" of rash now.

[CruisingSpeed]

Man i bet that felt horrible! I was in the parking lot and a dually was taking the majority of the 2 way aisle that I was turning down and i thought i was clear because my front bumper was like 2 ft from their 'unnecessary' extra outer wheel. When i turned i felt the back of my car rise up like 4 inches. I gritted my teeth and stopped right in the middle of the aisle to check it. Thanks to my LS donut tires, they were scuffed a little on the rubber and thats it.

[angryv6]

The people you have to share the road with these days.

[Kleeeb]

Sucks, but could have been worse. Be glad he didn't hit you! Hope you get your wheel repaired soon! Best of luck!

[camarozzzz]

Originally Posted by Kleeeb

Sucks, but could have been worse. Be glad he didn't hit you! Hope you get your wheel repaired soon! Best of luck!

Thanks a lot everyone for the positive comments. Ya....its not the first time I have seen this kind of thing happen..I still remember that feeling though the grinding was so rough and firm....makes me shudder hard. Whole time I kept mumbling please don't be curb please be a tire hit....

[mrpyle]

I recently had a similar experience. Same looking wheels too. I used a dremel to smooth it out, few different bits. And then some regular old body putty to fill it in, build it up and smooth it back out. Followed up with a little matching paint. Of course there is a paint line where the masking tape was, but standing six feet away, you can't tell.

[camarozzzz]

Originally Posted by mrpyle

I recently had a similar experience. Same looking wheels too. I used a dremel to smooth it out, few different bits. And then some regular old body putty to fill it in, build it up and smooth it back out. Followed up with a little matching paint. Of course there is a paint line where the masking tape was, but standing six feet away, you can't tell.

Hey This is fantastic!!! Thanks a lot!!! Gives me a ton of hope just seeing it get fixed! Are yours the ZL1 replica from the forum as well? I know there were two vendors selling almost identical wheels expect with minor differences from one another. I was thinking of just picking up some 400 and 1000 grit sandpaper and smoothing it out then using bondo.

What kind of body putty did you use? How long did it take you to do this? Did you clear coat the paint after you applied it? Or just use gloss black paint? Where did you get the paint? Haha sorry for all of the questions...

I definetly want to get it done as soon as I have some free time. It is driving me nuts seeing it rashed up like this.

[mrpyle]

Mine came from Factory Reproductions ... FR wheels for short. They are the matte finish. So I just used some matte black rattle can paint that matched the closest.

Body putty, you can find at walmart in the auto section... dries rather quick and is easy to work with. However, it may not hold up to a tire change very well. Which I will find out soon, since I am getting new tires in the next couple weeks.

The whole thing took maybe an hour or two. 400-600 grit on the putty should be fine. Don't polish the rash smooth, or the putty won't stick as well, leave it something to grab on to. I used a dremel to knock the high spots down.

Tape everything up around your area so you don't scratch the rest of the wheel. Use decent 3M tape, not cheap masking tape.

As for color matching ... buy a couple different brands of rattle can paint and spray some scrap metal or tubing if you have any. Let it dry, then check it next to the wheel. You may not find 100% match though.

When masking to paint ... run the tape along the edge of the spoke to "hide" that paint line. You'll have a small paint line across the spoke though. Some people might say that wet sanding and polishing will get rid of the paint line. I choose not to since mine are a matte finish. I plan to replace the wheel this summer some time, so absolute perfection wasn't necessary for me.

Maybe contact the wheel vendor and ask about a paint sample??

I have a background in automotive paint and body, it's what I went to school for many years ago ... so the job wasn't tough for me. But if you're handy, it shouldn't be hard.

[Jenner]

Lucky it was just a small rash. Today 2 miles up the road of where I work some guy in a Harley got cut off and fell off his bike. The bike was on cruise control so it rolled for 2 miles and hit a curb right in front of where I work. The dude was fine, I'm saying this so maybe you feel a little better about your wheel.