Restoring an Aluminum Wheel

Like many types of wheels and wheel materials, aluminum style wheels need to be painted or coated to protect them from corrosion. Most aluminum wheels are protected by a polyurethane clear coat or urethane cloak which makes sure that the natural color can shine through. The advantage of using aluminum wheels is that they are more resistant to corrosion. Steel wheels will often rust with exposure to the environment and oxygen but aluminum wheels will corrode in a different pattern which leaves a series of surface pits. These pits can often lead to air leaks, problems with the wheel knotholes, loose wheel nuts and more.

Prevention

One of the best ways that you can stop this corrosion is to work at proactively preventing it. Keeping your aluminum wheels clean can help to prevent some of the abrasives from making their way into the protective coating. Making sure that you are waxing your wheels once or twice a year can also ensure that you have a preventative measure from pitting. You can eliminate most types of minor corrosion and pitting through wheel restoration. If you have started to notice the signs of pitting, you should highly consider going to see an aluminum wheel restoration specialist. To perform aluminum wheel restorations a skilled mechanic will take the following steps.

Jack up the wheel to rotate and inspect it.

Use masking tape to protect the tires and then clean them

Dry sand the entire tire to remove any pits

Polish and wax to seal in the wheel

Potentially recode or repaint your wheel to prevent further damage.

If you have noticed the early signs of pitting in your wheels, contact us today to learn more about restoring your aluminum wheels!

This post was written by Justin K, owner of Wheel Identity. Wheel Identity is Tampa Bay’s premier custom shop. We carry custom wheels in Tampa for every vehicle, custom suspension kits, and all accessories for the interior or exterior of your vehicle. We only hire highly trained technicians using state of the art equipment with experience in all areas of tire, wheel, suspension, and 4×4 needs.