(HELP) wheel polish gone wrong

[Ctyler93]

I noticed some black stains/marks on all 4 rims of my girlfriends 4Runner. I scrubbed with wheel & all purpose cleaner which didn’t do anything so I tried some polish and a microfiber applicator pad. I went after the largest black spot only to reveal what you can see in the photo, a more flat/raw looking alloy. My first thought was I had got down to the metal/base coat but what was even more strange is I noticed wherever my pad made contact with an area that wasn’t a black mark instantly became black with just a few rubs.. as if there was a ridiculously thin clear coat.. over grey paint, over black, over grey! I know it’s unlikely to have been painted 3 times but it is an older truck. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this.

[Eldorado2k]

Looks like the original color [top layer] of the wheels was silver and the black is the primer underneath. If you’re creating a larger black area with your polishing it’s likely due to you removing that top silver layer of paint revealing the black primer.

You’ve gotten those wheels as clean as you’re going to get them. What they need is to be repainted.

That’s what I’m guessing based on your picture.

[Eldorado2k]

as if there was a thin coat of grey paint, over black, over grey! I know it’s unlikely to have been painted 3 times but it is an older truck.

Why is that so unbelievable? Aluminum is silverish/grey, primer is black, original wheel color is grey/silver + the top layer of clearcoat over the silver. It very well could’ve been painted 3 layers from the factory, except the replace the bottom bare metal layer with the top clearcoat to make 3.

[Danube]

Repaint is your only option, you went too far with the 2” microfiber cutting pad.

You basically shaved off the paint, clear and some base coat.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Do a Google search on mobile wheel refinishers. They do amazing work and will come to your house and work out of the back of their truck. The only other option is price out a nice set of wheels comparable to the cost of the re-finish.

[oneheadlite]

Do a Google search on mobile wheel refinishers. They do amazing work and will come to your house and work out of the back of their truck. The only other option is price out a nice set of wheels comparable to the cost of the re-finish.

As a tech that's seen a lot of refinished wheels, I'd be leery of the mobile guys. They may look fine for short term, but I can't tell you how many wheels I've had that: A: Obviously look refinished or B: The paint blows off in large chunks due to poor adhesion.

Maybe that's just the guys in our town, but I've seen it on cars from dealerships far apart enough I doubt they're using the same guy in a trailer.

I'd favor looking into a brick and mortar type place that put the wheels through a full refinishing and more thorough paint process.

Either way you look up (mobile or fixed), I'd definitely look at what their warranty is and their reviews.

[Eldorado2k]

Plasidip is another option. Black isn’t the only color available.

[Ctyler93]

thanks for the replies guys! we reached out to the previous owner and it turns out the wheels had been painted black (poorly) then back to the OEM color (very poorly) so ill be dropping it off for them to be powder coated properly and just be done with it.