Painted Alloy Wheel Repair Guide

Guide to Wheel Scuff Repair on Alloy Wheels

Alloy wheel repair... Using Wurth Silver Wheel Paint to touch-up curb scratches.

PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE

Wurth German Alloy Silver Wheel Lacquer
Wurth German Alloy Silver Wheel Lacquer
Wurth High Gloss Clear Lacquer
Wurth High Gloss Clear Lacquer

by NASAracer, Audiworld.com

Well, there I was...backing into a parking space against a curb and I was in a hurry and I heard it...SCRAPE! One fraction of a second...barely moving. Got out and looked at the rim...OOOOOOWWWWW!

As you can see, this is minor wheel damage with very little paint and metal repair required. It could be touched up with a paint touch up stick, but it would not look right

Well, no need to fear. I've done this enough times to have an easy way to do home repairs with a few simple items. Note that this procedure only covers light scuffs. This isn't meant to be used to repair a damaged wheel or one where the scuffs cause significant damage to the rim. This is only for those annoying superficial scuffs, which seem to happened to me more times than I care to admit.

There are plenty of good services which can do this for very reasonable money. Many of you will happily use a service, but I'm inpatient and have the free time (generally) to spend a couple of hours on a repair. Plus, it really takes the edge off "donking" my wheels when I know I can simply fix it myself.

So if you are interested...here's what you need:

  1. Wurth Silver Wheel Lacquer

  2. Wurth High Gloss Clear Lacquer

  3. Primer

  4. Bondo Spot Putty

  5. 240 and 400 wet & dry sand paper

  6. Paint thinner

  7. Masking tape & masking paper

PLEASE NOTE: Although this is a Porsche wheel, the Wurth Silver Wheel Paint is a perfect match for Porsche, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and some VW wheels. It can also be used to completely refinish any wheel. The following technique, explained in nice detail by "NASAraser of AudiWorld.com", is a good way to do a small area repair if you curb your wheel or otherwise damage a small area.

Step 1. Clean... Clean... Clean...and did I mention CLEAN!

This is one of the most important steps. Use paint thinner to THOROUGHLY clean the ENTIRE area around the damage...you need to get ANY wax or polish or anything off the wheel...I'm going to remind you EVERY step...I probably end up wiping down these surfaces 10 or more times before painting...if you don't do this, the rest is pointless. Also, we want to work ONLY on the area that's damaged...don't go nuts and try to paint half your wheel on the car...for this technique to succeed we want to sand and paint the area only IMMEDIATELY around the damage.

Use a lint-free cloth for cleaning your wheel. Prior to cleaning with paint thinner (Prepsol is even better), scrub the tire and wheel with dish detergent (Dawn) to remove as much silicone (tire protectant) as possible. Dry thoroughly.

2. Sand and Putty

like to START by masking the tire from the wheel...get the masking tape WELL behind the rim.

Next, sand the area to a nice "feather" with 240 grit sandpaper and wipe some spot putty on. IMPORTANT...this ENTIRE project will work best if the wheel is in the sun and its a nice warm day...the drying time of spot putty is minutes but if it's cold or damp, this project is likely to not work out too well. Remember...keep your sanding to the IMMEDIATE area around the damage. Trust me on this.



So once you've done the first round of putty, switch to the finer of your sandpaper (400 grit in my case) and sand and putty until it FEELS and LOOKS flush. Note that I use the paper wrapped around a piece of wood or rubber eraser to make a flat sanding block. It's best to sand with a flat block to get the smoothest finish.

Note that up to this point...including waiting 5 to 10 minutes between coats of putty that the whole project has taken about 40 minutes.

3. Mask and Primer

Okay, here's where a bit of laziness is going to create an entirely new project. The silver metallic paint will get everywhere. I'm talking permanently attached to the fender on the opposite corner of the car. Mask carefully and cover the entire car with an old sheet or equivalent.

I've used the scratch-filler primer and sanded it and put a bit more putty on. Note that this is the first place where I use my special technique. Immediately after I spray the primer (or paint) I clean all of the overspray off the spokes of the wheel (clean rag and paint thinner) and the area around the inside of the rim. I do not want to try to get the paint to smoothly adhere to the entire wheel! We only want to paint the REPAIR. Only the clear coat will be sprayed without wiping off the overspray. Wait for the primer to fully dry and lightly sand it with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper.

Use a lint-free cloth for cleaning your wheel. Prior to cleaning with paint thinner (Prepsol is even better), scrub the tire and wheel with dish detergent (Dawn) to remove as much silicone (tire protectant) as possible. Dry thoroughly.

5. Painting

VITAL: Read the instructions on the can! If you try to use this paint in cold temperatures (or in damp conditions) it's going to be a mess. Shake the can for at least a full minute and push the spray nozzle as you sweep across and release at the end. Spray on, spray off. Spray on, spray off. Apply as a very fine coat. You're not trying to make it glossy. That's the job of the top clearcoat.

This is roughly the distance I used the can from the wheel. I highly recommend practicing on a scrap part to get used to the distances and thickness this paint sprays.

Now we should be nearly done but (as always), Pete got inpatient and sprayed the clear way too soon. As a result, the clearcoat lifted the silver paint and messed up my job.

Here's the paint lifting due to the clearcoat being applied too soon. Be sure to give plenty of drying time.

This is no biggie. Take a deep breath, get out your rag and the paint thinner and take it all off. The thinner I used did not eat into the primer so I simply cleaned the wheel (again) and re-sprayed the silver paint.

Okay, fast forward a few minutes... I had to roll the car forward a bit to keep it in the sun and I had cleaned (and let fully dry) the wheel and RE-sprayed the silver. Now I'm carefully removing the silver overspray.

After the silver colorcoat dries (overnight is best), you can apply two thin coats of clear with about 20-30 minutes of drying time between coats. After the clear dries (another day) you can use 1500-2000 grit wet and dry or a fine cut compound to feather in any traces of the repair. Use a final polish to restore full gloss.

Here's the nicely repaired and painted wheel!

Article and Pictures by NASAracer, Audiworld.com.

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 10:22 am and filed under Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

Detail Addicts - car care forum.


http://forums.finalinspection.com.au



for all your detailing and car care needs.

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 10:17 am and filed under Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

Alloy wheel Repair specialists Sydney, OZ

This is a topic that needs no explanation. I mean what more can be said about this kind of work.

http://www.wheelrepairs.com.au/ - on location in botany.

http://thewheelman.com.au - on the car at your location. I guess that means they come to you.

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 10:12 am and filed under Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

Washing and Waxing your car

New car and need to care for the paint...
well as ive read so far it can be as indepth a process as you want it to be... and as expensive as your willing to imagine.

Basic Products used are Meguiars found at www.meguiars.com.au
Products to look for would be NXT 2.0 wax and the Gold Class Carnuba.


For a hardcore look into what products to use when detailing your car go to

Below is a qoute taken from a forum thread regarding basic car care

first off, the end result of waxing is ALL about the prep. this includes the wash, dry, and claybarring (which is a very very good thing to do, just this alone will make your paint look and feel a whole lot better, it creates a non-contaminated finish to apply your wax to.)

first things first, best way to keep your car looking clean is to prevent micromarring/swirlmarks... these arent as apparent on lighter colored cars, sometimes completely hidden by silver, but micromarring will gradually cause the finish to dull.
put simply, the best way to prevent micromarring is by washing and drying carefully and with the right tools, (aka, use a quality wash mitt, turn it often, go in straight lines when lathering up the car,[you dont want to rub that dirt and dust all over the paint] always rinse it in a bucket of clean water seperate from your soapy water to keep the dirt from getting back on your cars surface and being rubbed in..)

i would strongly recommend drying with a high quality waffle weave microfiber towel... i wouldnt pick one up at a car parts store unless you have to, as their microfiber isnt exaclty the best, there are several websites however that offer MF towels at good prices.. pakshak.com autopia car car and some other. even using a cotton towel can cause horrible micromarring that will be very apparent on black cars. neevverr use beach towels!!! old laundry does not make good drying cloth! use MF if possible, or at the very least, 1000% cotton.

ok, now, to clarify something, POLISHES are not wax, not do you apply it over the top of a wax. Polish is like very fine grit liquid sandpaper. you usually apply this by machine (like the porter cable 7424 buffer for like 80$ at homedepot) or sometime by hand. what it does is when you rub in the polish, it gradually sands a super thin layer of your clear coat off causing the top of the paint and the bottom of light scratches and swirls to get levelled out. you usually start off with a medium cut polish for minor swirlmarks and then finish with a fine cut polish/glaze.. just like if you were sanding anything else, you start roughest and finish finest. but always start with the least roughest possible and decide from there whether or not you need to get more aggressive.

once you have polished the paint and levelled all scratches and swirls, (note: if you can feel a scrraatch with your fingernail, polishing will NOT remove it. this is for the swirly, holographic sometimes, spider web looking scratches in your paint that you usually see in the sun) you can apply a wax. the paint will be very clean and smooth and waxing is absolutely a must to protect your new finish from the elements.

heres where this thread comes into play... it all depends on what you want with your wax.. from what i have heard and tried, the best thing to do is to start off waxing the car with a wax known for its longevity... this would be something like Zaino or maybe NXT if u cant get zaino or klasse. these waxes are very durable and last a long time but mostly lack the depth and wetness of carnuba waxes (aka mothers and meguires solid waxes that come in the tubs) its best to wax the whole car per the instructions with at least 1 coat of the durable synthetic wax, then after it has cured (day in between coats and 2-3 coats is best i think, anything more doesnt seem to help.) after your synthetic has cured, you can follow up with just about any carnuba wax to get that depth that the synthetics just seem to be missing. carnubas dont last very long at all however.. I personally can tell about after a week that my carnuba has evaporated off. i usually wash each weekend and apply carnuba again, then every 6 months to a year i will strip off all wax (even the durable stuff) and start over.

a good combo might be NXT topped with meguires gold class. I would suggest not using liquid waxes whenever possible, because they are liquid at room temp makes me assume that they will evaporate rather easily and they never seem to last quite as long as the solids. paste wax is alright but i think the tubs with solid wax always fare the best.

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 2:01 pm and filed under Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

Garmin Mobile XT 5.00.20w - Windows Mobile


Looking for Garmin Mobile XT for you windows mobile device.
this is the quickest simplest way to get it going.



Application resides here along with detailed instructions.

Coupled with this Australian Map.. ( you need both parts )

If you want to get your points of interest you will need this software installed

Along with the POI and Speed Camera files

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 11:27 am and filed under , , Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

VW Bora Front DISCS Rotors and Brake PADS

Ive spent a lot of time on my car as described here.

and recently the brakes have been calling out for attention.
Ive had a warning light and warning chime blinking and sounding off every time I turn the car on or whenever I take my foot of the brakes as I'm driving. MAN, is the warning annoying.

So, Its time to replaced the brake pads.

Its actually not very hard at all to replace the pads and once your replacing the pads you'll realise its even easier to replace the rotors, actually, its only one small screw that holds the rotor in place. Amazing really.

Instead of buying rotors and pads from Volkswagen spare parts centre I purchased my pads online from www.autohausaz.com in Arizona USA and my rotors came from Weldon brake and clutch in Sydney.

at the time that i bought these i paid

  • Front set of pads. One set required per car. $40.50 USD
  • Rear set of pads. One set required per car. $28.45 USD
  • Front Set of Rotors. Two sets per car. $95 x 2 $190 AUD
  • Rear Set of Rotors. Two sets per car. $55 x 2 $110 AUD

if your looking for a step by step guide to replacing the pads you can go to vwvortex and look for the DIY thread here.

Its all very easy and you might have all the tools necessary already in a your general tool box,
although the rear brake caliper piston cold be hard to retract without the right tools.

Some ingenuity and it can be done but be careful you don't want to brake off the fluid line.
The brake caliper piston gets ratcheted on one click at a time every time you pull on the hand brake, its fail safe mechanism to make sure the hand brake is consistently taught and firm.
Without the correct tool to push the piston back in, id recommend getting a friend to help you turn and push at the same time.

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 3:53 pm and filed under Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

VW Jetta MKIV "Bora" repairs and sourcing parts

Of the past few months Ive been looking into repairing the trusty runabout i own, a Volkswagen Jetta MKIV "Bora" 2.0 litre 4 cylinder engine.

Why ? well below is a list of problem that we were having with the car.

  • Ticking - Lifters were ticking rather aggressively. It started a year ago but wife continued to drive it and didn't really bother letting me have the car for long enough to have a good look into it.
  • Shocks - They have been getting worn over time but in the last year these worn shocks started to leak and when we went to re-register the car it failed due to the leaking.
  • Brakes - pads are OK... but the discs are now due for replacement.
  • Major Service - considering the car has never had a proper VW service and considering we are now sitting on 105000km, i think its due for a Major service with the lot. Which I thought should include : Timing belt and tensioner, accessory belt, fuel filter, oil and oil filter, air filter, thermostat, new coolant and water pump.
some of the resources that really helped and guided me along were

http://www.vwvortex.com
http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au

VWVortex is where I recommend you look for proper technical discussions regarding all things VW.

DIY thread for the 2.0 litre engine Jetta / golf MKIV is here

Either way if your going to undertake a job such as this without any previous knowledge of mechanics I recommend you study what it is that your actually doing and why you are replacing / repairing / cleaning that part. Some are obvious such as timing belt needs to be done at a certain time but some things arnt.Otherwise its going to be an expensive exercise.

Saying that you will need to get yourself the VW MKIV Bible, the Bentleys Volkswagen Jetta / Golf MKIV Service Repair manual.
This is the download i collected from the net somewhere, its close to 200mb of PDF and it will be you one true source of information. Download all three parts uncompress and be prepared for bolt by bolt detailed instructions.

  1. http://rapidshare.com/files/15966006..._OCR.part1.rar
  2. http://rapidshare.com/files/15964398..._OCR.part2.rar
  3. http://rapidshare.com/files/15958102..._OCR.part3.rar

OK, so you've made it this far you should have the knowledge, now you need the parts.

When I first started asking around about what it might cost in repairs and labor, especially parts, i was a bit shocked at prices quoted. So with that in mind i started to look into alternatives.Even if I didn't want to do the work myself i was sure i could find parts cheaper. Below is a list of some of the online stores that offer parts :


All three have very good prices from what I can see on OEM spares and after some deliberating I chose to purchase all my goods from Autohausaz.com. Mainly because of their willingness to provide help, assistance and guidance over the phone and via email. I had an issue where I didn't receive some controller arm bushings in my order. They agreed to resolve the issue quickly by re posting the missing items. No questions asked. I will definitely be going back to them when ordering parts.

list of Items I ordered are as follows :




Part NumberMakeDescriptionList



1J0407365C Meyle Ball Joint; Front Left for Control Arm$19.20



1J0407366C Meyle Ball Joint; Front Right for Control Arm$17.40



MDB2040 Mintex Brake Pad Set; Front With Sensors; OE Compound$34.99



MDB1377 Mintex Brake Pad Set; Rear; OE German Supplier Compound$25.80



050109309H Ina/Meyle Cam Follower/Hydraulic Lifter$15.77



1J0407181 Corteco/Meyle Control Arm Bushing; Front Left/Right Control Arm; Rear Position$8.83



06A129717 CRP-Contitech Intake Manifold Gasket; Upper Plenum to Lower Section$2.57



72211Bosch Oil Filter$3.67



6DPK1195 CRP-Contitech Serpentine Belt/Ribbed Drive Belt; Dual Sided Grooves$22.75



802070Sachs-Boge Shock/Strut Mount; Front Left/Right$6.10





1J0412249 Ina/CRP-Contitech Strut Bearing; Front Upper$4.65






59121119VictorReinzThermostat Gasket/Seal; O-Ring; 50x4mm$0.37






050121113C Wahler/Behr Thermostat; 87 Degree C; Without Gasket$14.36






1J0422811B Meyle/TRW Tie Rod End; Outer Left$20.90






1J0422812B Meyle/TRW Tie Rod End; Outer Right$20.90






06A109119C CRP-Contitech Timing Belt$24.99






06A109479A SKF Timing Belt Tensioner Pulley/Roller$35.10






06A103483C VictorReinzValve Cover Gasket$9.33






6A121011L Graf Water Pump; With Gasket$59.47






200955522SWF Wiper Blade Refill/Insert; 22 Inch (Trim to Fit)$4.65





After we have a good knowledge of what we need to do with manuals and instructions on how to complete the task at hand, then also collecting the parts.

Next step is to make sure you have all the necessary tools to get the job done.
I recommend buying some quality tools. I know it might sound expensive to pay extra but if your going to start out doing repairs like this then you should considering having tools that are fit for the job. Simply put tools that wont fail on you after a single use. I know people have different ideas on quality.. I mean Id love to have the 8000 piece Snap-on tool kit but realistically you can get away with buying specific tools for the what your doing and build your tool kit piece buy piece over time. Just make sure they are made of quality material and they have a reasonable warranty.

List of must have items.

  • HEX key set Metric
  • Allen key set Metric
  • Socket set Metric with extensions and elbow joints.
  • Wrench Set Metric
  • Screw Driver set
  • Mallet
  • Pliers needle point and large ones
  • Vice Grips
  • Trolley Jack
  • Jack Stands
  • Torque wrench small and large
  • cleaning products brake cleaner, degreaser etc
  • lubricant
Some VW specific tools that I ran into that you might want to consider are

  • Timing belt tensioner wrench - I got away with using carefully using the vice grips but id reconsider this next time I took on this task.
  • Strut mount wrench - I purchased a 21 mm spark plug socket with a square outside edge so I could grip it with a wrench. The spark plug socket is a through socket with will allow you to feed a allen key through the middle as you would need here.
  • Strut brace spreader - This is a TOUGH job. Id recommend you find a tried and trued spreading tool/technique. Ive seen and heard of wacky wild ways to part these jaws of death. One way is to get an Allen key and file two sides of it down to create an EYE shape. Either way good luck.
After doing the Suspension a few times I am confident in being able to carry out this task pretty quickly, like maybe 1 hour to replace the lot BUT it took a lot of hard work and skinned knuckles before I got to this stage. I guess its all about technique and tools. Don't take on this task halfheartedly.

ANOTHER thing you may consider is air tools if you have them anywhere near your disposal. GET THEM.

My plan was to remove the valve cover replace the lifters at the same time replacing the timing belt, accessory belt, water pump and thermostat. Everything comes apart pretty easily, if you follow the DIY and the Bentleys book. You shouldn't have any problems pulling the engine bay apart the trick is pulling it apart in such a way that you can then remember how to put it together again. One thing that I learned as I went along was to place every part that i removed in a single filed line on the floor with the bolts I needed right next to each item. That way when I was piecing the engine back together I knew the sequence of fitting the parts on. I Cant tell you how much this helps when your attempting to put everything back together again.

As you work you should also clean of the dirt, grime and oil from everything everywhere. You will be thanking yourself as you put them all back on. When replacing your timing belt just make sure your engine timing is SPOT ON! this is the most important part

There is a trick used here and its not something that's talked about it books.
  1. Before removing the old timing belt, you mark the gears and the belt with nail polish or paint or white out. So as to show where the teeth on the gears meet on the belt EXACTLY.
  2. Once the belt is removed you place the new and old timing belts side by side or on top of each other, then you proceed to mark out exactly where the teeth should be on the new belt.
  3. With the new belt marked you put it in place getting your markings exactly..
This should line everything up perfectly and take some of the guess work out.


good luck!

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 7:39 am and filed under Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

GPS for ALL!

A couple of websites that have brought me sweet GPS relief in a that time of need.

http://www.gpsunderground.com - which is a forum based around all things gps.

http://www.nav4all.com - an initiative based around getting free gps on pretty much anything with an operating system.

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 8:04 am and filed under , , Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

Crutchfield - Complete Car Audio

Crutchfield Electronics and sales website.

The most useful tool i can see on this website is the "OUTFIT MY CAR" application they have. Which, once you enter you car, will outline all the components you need to upgrade, install and modify your car audio system.

Hit the link to 'OUTFIT YOUR CAR'

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 7:55 am and filed under , , , Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  

IN Car PC "entertainment unit" - unfinished.


Ok ive already built my dream PC a few times so instead today Im going to try something a little different. Im going to build my dream car PC.

Have to remember this isnt something I cooked up to play 1080p content on a 60inch screen. This is to bring the versatility and the functionality of a PC into the CAR - it needs to have all the features if not more than say the leading in car entertainment unit and be the same price if not cheaper than For example the Pioneer AVIC HD3 retailing at $3000.

Hardware Built totally built yourself - total without delivery : $1328.91

Hardware prebuilt - total without delivery : $1588.99

This entry was written by Nozzi and posted on 1:30 pm and filed under , , Bookmark the permalink . Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post . Post a comment ( in a new window )  
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