Clean Coat Wheel Scratch

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Radster1986

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Hello, I had a piece of crud that got onto the tire machine and scratched the outside circumference of the wheel. I did them myself, so I am the only one to be held liable.The wheels are OEM machined bare aluminum finish with a clear coat. The scratch isnt actually all that bad but it is annoying knowing its there. One is whitish, and the rest are just lines. I tried to use some very mild polish to see if it would lessen the appearance, and it did somewhat. I am afraid to go any further as I have read the clear on wheels is not to be treated like clear on paint, and using a paint polish or compound can actually make the problem worse by hazing out the clear. If this was a car finish I would just keep using the least to most aggressive, then wet sand and buff if need be, but before I go any further I would like some advice.

What should I do to help lessen or "mask" the appearance of the scratches? It's not worth spending it to have it refinished as I could really live with it at that point. Obviously I know I wont be able to eliminate them, and thats ok, I just want it to be one of those if you didnt know it was there you never would as my best outcomes. I can post pictures later.
 
I think the consensus is that wheel clear is at least as tough and thick as body panel clear. I wouldn't hesitate to polish it as you would the rest of the car. If you want to fill it, one of the polymer glazes like Poorboy's White Diamond, or Prima Amigo, or one of the CG's glazes, or really any LSP is going to mask it to some degree.
 
That's what I thought, I had read a few things about it actually being a polymer type coating similar to plastic (causes the haze effect)

What about wet sanding with 1500 grit if none of the other methods work to my liking? Sound dangerous? I don't want to go to deep and screw up the nice milling machine pattern on the face of the wheel.
 
Radster1986 said:
That's what I thought, I had read a few things about it actually being a polymer type coating similar to plastic (causes the haze effect)

What about wet sanding with 1500 grit if none of the other methods work to my liking? Sound dangerous? I don't want to go to deep and screw up the nice milling machine pattern on the face of the wheel.
Click to expand...

You're talking about powdercoat. Most factory wheels IME are painted, but you haven't told us what type/year vehicle this is.

If polish worked, but you stopped because you were afraid of taking off too much clear, why on earth would the backup plan be 1500 grit paper? If the scratches are deep, you're not going to get them out, period.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
You're talking about powdercoat. Most factory wheels IME are painted, but you haven't told us what type/year vehicle this is.

If polish worked, but you stopped because you were afraid of taking off too much clear, why on earth would the backup plan be 1500 grit paper? If the scratches are deep, you're not going to get them out, period.
Click to expand...
I stopped before I went any further without asking questions about the effect of the wheel clear vs. car finish clear, and what would happen if I used a product with more cut to it than a mild polish.
 
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