Wheels With Slight Scratches

[alpha1]

Hey guys,

When I bought my car, (pre owned) - the car had some scratch marks on the wheels, I guess the guy who had it before me was using the wrong tools, and has caused scratching. A lot of them look like little swirl marks too, I don't have a picture of the scratches but I do of the wheels. What will be the best way to get these off?





Thanks!

[jamesboyy]

If the scratches does not catch your nail you may could just polish them, and the swirls out by hand with a compound/polish on hand though if you wanna go the route of machine then about a 3' backing plate, and pads might help with your situation

[julius071]

If the scratches does not catch your nail you may could just polish them, and the swirls out by hand with a compound/polish on hand though if you wanna go the route of machine then about a 3' backing plate, and pads might help with your situation

3' backing plate is huge!

[DogRescuer]

3"

[allenk4]

Are the wheels painted, dipped or powder coated?

If painted, are they clear coated?


A close-up picture would really help you get some suggestions that ate dialed in

[swanicyouth]

My guess is the paint on those wheels is hard as rocks. I would try a drill with a Dyna Cone (Meg's) and some Optimum Compound first. But, that is just my gut feeling on what may help. However, that may not be aggressive enough (foam).

You may want to try the smallest Wheel Woolie (synthetic wool) chucked in a drill with some compound. That can polish anything and is pretty aggressive.

I use it to polish inside of chrome exhaust and the polish up fairly easily. The Wheel Woolie has some flex - bit if you just work normally you won't brake or damage it.



These are the results you can achieve with my Wheel Woolie set up:



But, you'll have to do test spots to see. To do this correctly, the wheels must pulled, cleaned well, clayed, & IronX'ed. You don't want to be polishing with embedded brake particles on the surface.

Maybe try the faces with 3" MF pads...

My gut tells me if you go at it by hand you be frustrated and want to quit after 1 spoke.

[alpha1]

Thank you so much for your replies!

I have Meguiars Ultimate Compound, would this be okay to use on these wheels? Here is a close up picture of them.



They are pretty much worse on some of the other wheels.

Thank you swanicyouth !

[allenk4]

Thank you so much for your replies!

I have Meguiars Ultimate Compound, would this be okay to use on these wheels? Here is a close up picture of them.



They are pretty much worse on some of the other wheels.

Thank you swanicyouth !

You should definitely contact the manufacturer to confirm the composition of the wheel and it's surface

I would also share the photos and ask what they suggest to correct these scratches



Best practice is to always start with the least aggressive method 1st. In your case it would be Megs Ultimate Polish on a foam applicator by hand. Follow Mike Phillips advice on polishing by hand. Do a small Test Spot to confirm you are getting the correction you desire and are not damaging the surface of the wheel

[alpha1]

Great stuff. Thank you for the advice!