I have a question on the subject of wheel damage here’s what I am fighting, I just bought these wheels from a member, I did not notice it until I was about to put them on that there was corrosion under the clear, I checked around locally the going price to repair each wheel is $90
Any ideas out there? Thanks

 

Nobody has an idea on how to save these wheels, I know they can be powder coated and painted but I would like to try and just save them for now.

 

these wheels are aluminum so they should not rust. it could be disc brake powder getting under the clear. at canadian tire there is a stuff that is ... well i dont remember the name but it transforms the rust to something different. you can try (clr clear) . if i can remember it remove the rust really well. not deap rust but surface rust. its my best guess. otherwise bed line them black they will look nice

 

Unfortunately, what you're seeing is early stages of corrosion. Only way to repair it is to have the rims resurfaced and cleared. It's an inevitable fact with machined face rims in salty environments. My 97 Cherokee had the same type of rims, and after a few winters with salt on the roads, they started to get like that.

You could throw them on your Jeep and try the dealer ... They might not know the difference and you could see if you could get them replaced under warranty?

This is what my 97 Cherokee's rims looked like:



I sold the set for $100 with the tires. Good luck with yours.

 

Yeah, you have to remove the white oxidation residue and apply the clear once again to get back to normal....but it will likely happen again..eventually.

You could also go get set of 18" Sahara wheels with the silver paint finish and this wont happen, plus they are much easier to clean off and do not show scratches.

Silver painted wheels were used on Sahara's untill about a build date of November 2007.

You may even get them cheaper if everyone else is looking for the machined finish ones.

 

It seems really strange that only the 4 on the ground had the corrosion The spare is perfect, I tried the dealer trick it did not take him long to see Sahara Wheels on an X, he seems to think someone used a strong cleaner, I guess I will just run them for now then powder coat them later.
Thanks for the responds

 

Not wierd, the corrosion gets there when they get scuffed by salt and brake dust.

You can prevent this when the wheels are new by keeping a good coat of wax on them. Now that they are starting to show the corrosion to the clear coat you should just get clear touch up paint and either paint over the bad areas or lightly sand and then paint over them. Either way it should help to prevent further spread and only ~$4-5 for touch up.

 

Someone clear this up for me, these are not the alloy Rubi wheels, or they are. Which is it, are these the stock steelies?

 

Besides the salt and brake dust that scratches the clear of the rims but the BIGGEST reason is the stupid wheel weights are placed on the outside of the rim from factory or the tire shops are lazy & cheap. Always ask the shop for the weights to be placed inside!!!!

Any new rims or vehicle I get...the rims go right to the tire shop and get the wheel weights mounted on the inside of the rim. It may cost a little more but dang it saves the rims in the winter climates where the salt, Calcium Bromide, gravel and sand are used each winter as the weight mounting will scratch throught the clear of these aluminum rims.

If you love the look of the stock aluminium rims and live in a winter climate....invest in a set of steelie rims for winter tires and run your aluminum rims during the spring, summer, fall months.

Only fix for those rims is to removal the clear and get repolished and re-cleared or think about powdercoating. Or use the $90/rim you are going to spend repairing them and get a nice set of rims for the nicier months and use the damaged rims for winter's.

 

Also don`t let dogs pee on them..the acid eats the clear off..no lie.

I wash my jeep every week and will do before I will put those fugly steel wheels plus I like a clean vehicle.If your factory wheels get corrosion but you actually take care of them,take it to the dealer.They will be covered under the corrosion warranty.