[AKSarkar1]

The first cut/knick is always the most painful. I still clearly remember the exact pothole where my first car got gashed. Years later the pothole is still there (only bigger now) and is still giving cars scratches on a daily-basis, my point being that is really tough to avoid minor dents and dings like that. Sadly driving on Indian roads the likelihood of something like this happening is quite common.

So relax and take a step back, maybe the next time your car goes in for a service you can ask them a professional solution to this. Any DIYs may may the looks worse than what it is now.

I got all my alloys repainted after 7 years of owning the car with a scratch or two on each wheel and within 3 weeks of painting them I already have new ones. Moral of the story: I have learned to live with it!

[Raghu M]

It feels bad to look at. Like many others have suggested, just take a deep breath and relax. It's a minor one, will not cause any damage and will not lead to any untoward incident. Keep that worry out and enjoy your drives.

[VW2010]

There are two ways to look at this.

1. It is not a Bently or a rolls Royce or a Ferrari where it makes no sense to run it like that. It is a honda and a city car that is meant to take this abuse. It is a simple scratch and you already confirmed that 16k is not worth spending on this. Now accept the fact that these things will happen. Forget about the tyre shop, everyone here, atleast once scratched their wheels against some curb in their lifetime. Usually rub off and move on in such cases as in case 1.

2. This is a bently to me while it may be a honda or any other ordinary car for others. If that is the case, think about spending a little more to take care of what you price as a possession. If you put an excel and track your expenses, you will be spending more on horrible things than 16k on a wheel that makes you feel good about owning it.

I am leaning towards 2 as if you were type 1, you wouldn't have taken time to even get into a forum like this. Car is not just a medium of commute to you and it is very personal. So please change the wheels. The old wheel will offset probably 10k of that cost easilly.


I am of the first kind. Honda is just honda and not something I will take effort to replace every small things like these.

[mkaysaw]

Hi Dead_Pedal,
Us car guys in India have no way of repairing diamond cut alloys in India, atleast in a simple manner...

First off, There's no way that small gash is going to rust in the future. So you can relax in those terms.

But yes, aesthetically every single time you walk up to your car you will constantly see this gash and it will leave you wanting.

I had a similar problem where I had two gashes on one wheel of my daily driver and the wheels on my 14 year old car were badly damaged due to the laquer failing (common problem with older diamond cut alloys)

I decided to take things in my own hands and although the process is costly at the current moment, i hope someone in India comes up with a cheaper solution in the future.

The process I am following is:
1) Remove tyre from alloy.
2) Send alloy for 3D scan of outside face.
3) Weld-In excess aluminum to fill up the gashes where required.
4) Shot-blasting of alloy to remove old paint.
These steps now completed, i actually like the matte white colour of the base alloy and am torn between reverting to paint/diamond cut but let's see.
5) Powder Coat base paint layer (grey/black in my case)
6) Diamond cut on CNC Lathe
7) Clear coat of Paint/powder coat clear.

And this will restore my alloys to their previous glory.
A tedious task because currently steps 2+6 can be combined by a special alloy cutting lathe with a probe to trace the original design of the alloy.

Anyway. Attaching some photographs on various stages and will post when done.

Hopefully everything works out.

M

[Cresterk]

You can try one of the specialised repair shops offering alloy wheel repair. A quick google search showed one such shop near me that offers such services :http://www.procolor-bodyshop.com/all...el-repair.html

Note: I am not affiliated with this bodyshop in any way nor have I used their services. Website seems promising though. Should be similar shops in other metros.

[Dead_Pedal]

Thanks a lot everyone for all the suggestions. I decided to get it patched and told myself "first and last" of these OCD instincts.

Reasonable job done by the fitter I must say. No complaints. I'll get some good sleep tonight.

Peace.

[Garud]

So, can anything be done as prevention? I was looking at alloygators but was wondering if such things are available in here. As a new car buyer and a new driver, I want to do my best in protecting the sheen.

[Dead_Pedal]

Originally Posted by Garud

So, can anything be done as prevention? I was looking at alloygators but was wondering if such things are available in here. As a new car buyer and a new driver, I want to do my best in protecting the sheen.

I don't think it's available in India, I may be wrong though. There are some alloy rash protectors(applied on the circumference) available on amazon but how good are they and do they work is anyone's guess. Then, there's an option of getting a ceramic coating done too but I'm not sure if that's going to add any protection.

[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by Dead_Pedal

Reasonable job done by the fitter I must say. No complaints. I'll get some good sleep tonight.

Peace.

Hi dead_pedal, May I know how the alloy was fixed? Was it just sanding? Or sanding and then painting? My City's alloy too damaged more or less same way, so I am exploring options to get it repaired in Kerala.

[Dead_Pedal]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

Hi dead_pedal, May I know how the alloy was fixed? Was it just sanding? Or sanding and then painting? My City's alloy too damaged more or less same way, so I am exploring options to get it repaired in Kerala.

Hi, I'm sorry I really couldn't comprehend what he told me not did I try getting it clarified as I was in a hurry. He used the word "laser" though. He speaks too fast and on that day, I accepted the fix and left the place.

[kesh4munni]

Originally Posted by Dead_Pedal

Hi, I'm sorry I really couldn't comprehend what he told me not did I try getting it clarified as I was in a hurry. He used the word "laser" though. He speaks too fast and on that day, I accepted the fix and left the place.

I scratched my JTP alloys while trying to park close to a raised Kerb. 3 deep gashes and I'm looking at getting them "touched up". Did you go to A1 itself in Jayanagar?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by kesh4munni

I scratched my JTP alloys while trying to park close to a raised Kerb...

IF you aren't already doing it, quick tip for future kerb rash avoidance. Turn the kerbside ORVM down while parallel parking so you can see exactly where the wheel is w.r.t. the kerb. Better than guessing, or asking a passenger to guide.

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by Garud

So, can anything be done as prevention? I was looking at alloygators but was wondering if such things are available in here. As a new car buyer and a new driver, I want to do my best in protecting the sheen.

I think this person Ajay used to deal with Alloygator - +91 95443 31551, however he quoted some ridiculous prices when I was looking for these protectors for my OZ's.

Originally Posted by kesh4munni

I scratched my JTP alloys while trying to park close to a raised Kerb. 3 deep gashes and I'm looking at getting them "touched up". Did you go to A1 itself in Jayanagar?

A1 seems to be amongst the most commonly chosen alloy repair shops in Bangalore. I have no personal experience, but a friend got Momos that had cracked repaired by them and was satisfied.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by HighRevving

A1 seems to be amongst the most commonly chosen alloy repair shops in Bangalore. I have no personal experience, but a friend got Momos that had cracked repaired by them and was satisfied.

Where is the A1 in Jayanagar?

I have a slightly bent alloy. Is there any place in BLR that does a proper job in straighten it? I do not mind paying more for a quality work

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Where is the A1 in Jayanagar?

I have a slightly bent alloy. Is there any place in BLR that does a proper job in straighten it? I do not mind paying more for a quality work

A1 is here: https://goo.gl/maps/9jDhRz6ra1sJLxX46

Bent alloys are a difficult proposition. There is hardly any way to fix a bent alloy than heating and sort of reshaping it, which takes away the strength of the wheel, making it easy to crack/break. I would not ask anyone to fix a bent alloy as it could make matters worse from a safety perspective.

If it is bent slightly, try the road force balancing that will show the best match for bent part of the wheel with the appropriate part of the tyre, negating their weaknesses with each other. The wheel and tyre can then be manually matched by the tyre shop mechanic, to reduce the vibration to a minimum. If the wheel is bent to an extent where there is judder or feedback is sent to the steering wheel and brake pedal, the wheel is best replaced with a new one.