While this is on the back burner, I would eventually like to have my SRT-6's aluminum wheel's curb rash removed.

If someone has gone through this, how did your's turn out, and what was the general cost? If it was done in the general LA, CA area, I would appreciate their name and address - unless you were really disappointed.

My concern is how do you add metal to aluminum wheels other than welding all of the edges? I could live with the outer edges rounded off to some extent, as long as it is the same on all four.

 

I have had two Srt wheels redone. First the wheel was stripped to remove the paint and clear coat, secondly, The face of the wheel is re- cut on a cnc machine. The depth of the cut depends on how severe the curb rash is. I was lucky and was able to remove all the rash on my wheels, sometimes this is not possible because of the amount of material needed to be taken off the wheel can make the bead area to thin. I paid $75 per wheel and I elected to paint and clear myself. There are a few excellent machinists on this forum that can explain the cutting procedure way better than me. The cutting procedure used can make a difference in the finish and this is where I'm not an expert. My guy looked at the wheel and determined how it was cut originally and duplicated it. They came out excellent and " new".

 

Did he take an equal amount of material off the opposite side of the wheel to help maintain the balance?

It would concern me if he didn't because that would leave wheel weights to make up the discrepancy.

 

Think about that statement some more.

 

Why? Perfectly accurate statement.

 

You need rotational balance only. If that was true , any rim with an offset would need a ton of weights.

 

I am referencing rotational balance as well.

 

Can you explain why and keep it simple, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer!!!

 

I think I know what you are gettin at. When you said opposite side of wheel, I was thinking back side of wheel. Did you mean opposite of curb rash on same side of wheel? The wheel is fastened to a rotational device and the cutter is introduced to the rotating wheel, thus if it takes a .0001 off , it takes it off the entire rotational path keeping the wheel in balance.

 

I am talking about the use of a lathe as the normal method to remove the damage and restore the machined surface to the original profile.
No one would remove just the damaged area unless the damaged material was to be replaced by laser welding or the damaged area was so small that it would have minimal consequences on the wheel balance.
The wheels are machined to match the original shape when possible so that the wheel still looks the same.

 

I would think it would take a pretty large lathe to 'clean-up' 18"/19" wheels. I'm aware that later lathes are set-up, using a program, to automatically re-shape (as required) the wheel. However, a programable CNC has the ability to go in and out as the cutting progresses.

I watched several videos and two used cnc machines. One was a home-made one which seemed to work quite well. However the last one was set-up to press out dents (with the help of heat) and came with a number of various shaped cutters.

I am curious as to the cost of the two wheel's 'rebuilding' and how long the shop took to do the work.

This is one of the worst curb rash areas. Two of the others aren't far behind. Why-oh-why do some people insist on parking by sound?

 

Yes, opposite of curb rash on same side of wheel. And yes taking material off the entire rotational path would keep all things equal rotationally. I have read some pretty crazy stuff in the name of removing curb rash.

 

Like this example of cosmetic repair with no regard to balance...

And this was done by the "professional" mobile repair!

Showroom Auto Care - The Professionals

 

Regarding balancing: (A) Don't use a mobile service to remove the curb rash. (B) Don't agonize over wheel balance once the curb rash has been professionally removed. (C) Do have your wheel/wheels rebalanced after the tire is reinstalled.

(D) Anyone who has had it done on their SRT-6 wheels, please give me an idea as to how much it cost per wheel.

 

There is a do it yourself on youtube, do a search, doesn't appear that hard. May need rebalanced, may not. Still cheaper than someone doing it on a lathe. Refinishing and may have to still re-balance.

 

If the wheel is balanced before it is refinished and the metal removal is correctly done then there will be no need for a rebalance. The weight removed will not be too much at all.
Huge gouges should be welded before hand, and we are not talking of the use of much heat here.
The alternative is to remove the material that may sit higher than it did originally, fill the the gouges with body filler, carefully smooth the surface and repaint the surface, this is OK on the NA but poses a problem on the 6 for obvious reasons.

 

The video I posted was by a "professional." Yea right! Anyone who wants to take a hand grinder to their wheel to fix curb rash at home can be just as "professional."

Kudos to the poster who can say how much out of balance a wheel can be before a manufacturer calls it bad and scraps it. Double kudos to the poster who can say what the tolerance for run-out and out of round are for a wheel.

 

How to repair minor scrapes on the NA wheels.
CLICK

 

OMG the guy is 'spray painting' the Schrader valve without 'taping' the stem. Not only is he getting paint INSIDE the valve but the stem is the antenna and he is 'insulating' it...

 

I would just contact a local wheel repair vendor in the area. There are usually several; just find one with a good reputation for quality work.

Later,