Wheel Repair

[Tuvalu]

I have damaged my passenger side front wheel while parking resulting in a deep gouge in the wheel. The coating has come off and some of the (alloy) is showing, I am assuming its alloy? Does anyone know how to fix?

Being a former New Yorker, I can parallel park using my feet, with my eyes closed while eating a sandwich but now that I am living in the South with actual parking spaces , I am running into and over things. Please help.

I can not provide picks, fairly new to the forum and I do not know how to.

2012 Journey AWD.

[parkstr8r]

Most larger cities have wheel repair companies who usuually do a great job. but there are bad ones, too.

If you can find a great upscale tire shop they should be able to point you in the right direction. Also - make sure to check Yelp for reviews.

It would help to know city.

thx

[Tuvalu]

Thanks for the info. parkstr8r. I was going to attempt a DIY but from reading some of the DIY sites it seemed to intricate, involving sand papering etc. Since it is only 3 mo old, I do not want to jack it up. I will do some research tomorrow for some local places. If anyone knows a good place in Maryland, VA or DC let me know.

Thanks again!

[meanie]

I started a DIY on my 19 in wheels using a dremel. Since I expect I will probably get more curb rash in the future I am relectant to pay someone to fix it and decided on DIY. I'm getting better, but low profile tires and curbs don't mix. If you google it you will find several folks describing how to dremel it online. I did it with the wheel on the car and it takes a little time but I smoothed out the spot I picked pretty well. Of course, I have more spots on that wheel as well as the front one. The wheels definitely have a coating on them so while the alloy underneath actually blends reasonably well with the wheel color, the transition from one to the other is visible as there is some discoloration where it changes layers. It really isn't very noticeable except up close. In the spring I will smooth both wheels fully but the primary problem I see is that I need to touch up the area with some paint and I am unsure how I can match the OEM color. I bought some that claims to be for alloy wheels but haven't tested it yet to see how close it matches.