audiworld.com_WheelScuffRepair.pdf

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NASA Racer 2002

Home Guide to Wheel Scuff Repair

Note that although this is a Porsche painted wheel, the WURTH wheel paint (silver)

is used for ALL German painted wheels. Same techniques apply for an S4:

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!

Well, no need to fear...I've done this enough times to have a easy way to do home

repairs with a few simple items. Note that this 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 like

happened to me more times than I care to admit. Now there are PLENTY of GOOD

services which can do this for VERY reasonable money...most folks will happily do

this but I'm inpatient and have the free time (generally) to spend a couple of hours

doing this and 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:

I have a can of scratch-filler primer, the WURTH wheel paint and clear (got mine at

Performance Products), some paint thinner, Bondo spot putty (or equivalent), sand

paper and some 240 and 400 grit sandpaper (if you are REALLY anal...get some

600 grit).

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.

2. Sand and Putty

I 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 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.