Can polished aluminum rims become pitted? I need help!............ - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

FAST 5 · 28th March 2003, 04:32

Hi Guys,
Here is my situation. Approx. 1 month prior to getting my beast, I ordered new Racing Dynamic RS II three piece rims from
RD SPORT, located in CA. Once I got the rims, I did a quick inspection of all the rims and they appeared to be fine. I then stored them in my dry and clean basement until the M5 car arrived. A few days ago, I went to the BMW dealer to have these rims installed with new tires. The tires are Pilot Sports, 285 for the rears and 255 for the front. When I dropped off the tires and rims to the dealer the rims were in its original box, closed and not exposed to anything harmful. Once I picked up the car from the dealer I drove the car straight back home and parked it inside my garage. I didn't really examine the rims until this morning. The front rims look great. The lip area is a highly polished aluminum lip and it actually looks like it is chrome. thats how shiny it is! The problem is the two rear rims. The lip on both rims is very dull and hazy in apearance. When I look a real close look at the lip area opf the rim, it seems as though it is "pitted". There area very small size whitish stains all over the lip area. It reminded me of galvanized metal. Thats what it looks like. I rubbed the hazzy/dull lip area of the rim, hoping to rub out whatever was on the lip of the rim. No success. I tried metal polish and again no luck. I have no idea what this could be. I know the auto technician applied a special lube all over the edge of the rim and the bead area of the tire so the two would slide easy when mounting the tire onto the rim. Could this be the cause of the discoloration dullness of the lip of the rim???? I thought maybe the solution that was used to lube the rim and tire dried on the lip area and became caked on and I can't get it off. Can this be the case??? At first I thought it was a waxy type overspray that had to be removed. The lip[ is so hazzy in comparison to the front rim lips, thats why I thought it might be some kind of wax on the lip. I tried "Mothers" Rim Polish and it did nothing to improve the lip area of the rim. I also used a mild citrus degreaser thinking it would cut through whatever the haze was, but it didn't work. I realize that it will be hard to assess my situation through this message but I figured, what can I lose! Can the lip area be repolished? If yes, how can it be done?
I called the vendor in CA and they couldn't provide me with much help over the phone. The last thing I want to do is ship my rear rims back to CA. My stock rims are gone/sold, so I would have any other rims to use, while the rear rims were away. Please help me with your advise. Any thoughts and commnets are welcome and appreciated!
Thank you very much.
Robert

Teutonaddict · 28th March 2003, 04:51

Quote:

Originally posted by FAST 5
I know the auto technician applied a special lube all over the edge of the rim and the bead area of the tire so the two would slide easy when mounting the tire onto the rim. Could this be the cause of the discoloration dullness of the lip of the rim????

Can the lip area be repolished? If yes, how can it be done?

Robert-

Hard to say what may have cause the hazing/fogging of your polished aluminum; it could have been anything. It is quite possible that the lube they used to mount your tires in fact had that effect. I noticed a bit of hazing on my Kinesis' polished lips after I had my new Pilot Sports mounted.

I learned the very hard way how susceptible that non-clearcoated aluminum is to virtually any sort of contaminant. In my first month of custom wheel ownership, I took my car to the dealer for service. In their attempt to do right, they had their porter wash my car before pick-up, and he unknowingly used some pretty strong wheel cleaner on my wheels. That single well-intended act took my picture perfect chrome-looking polished lips and turned all four into hazy, cloudy crap!

The good news is that practically anything short of curb rash CAN be polished out of naked aluminum wheels. I even have taken to doing it myself, with less than $100 worth of goodies and an electric drill motor. You can return your lips to showroom new in an hour or two (each). I would definitely try this route before returning them, since you'd have to dismount the tires to do that.

Here's where I got my polishing goodies--an altogether tremendous resource for many things in the automotive upkeep arena. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Wheel Buffing Kit, item # 13105, $40.
www.eastwoodco.com

FAST 5 · 28th March 2003, 05:33

I plan on ordering the supplies you recommended tomorrow morning. Question, can I attach the buffing tip seen in the photo onto a dremmel tool ? How much did this kit cost you? Thanks buddy.
Robert

Teutonaddict · 28th March 2003, 05:55

...the 'arbor' or post that the polishing (cloth) wheels attach to uses a 1/4" chuck, like an electric drill. I believe a Dremel uses a 1/8" chuck.

I spent about a total of $100 on this and related goodies. In retrospect, this $40 kit would have done the job just fine....

FastFwd · 28th March 2003, 06:15

Quote:

Originally posted by FAST 5
I then stored them in my dry and clean basement until the M5 car arrived.

Robert,

You know, it might have something to do with the storage in the basement. There's a lot of moisture in every apparently dry basement, especially this time of year. Moisture readily comes through concrete floors or walls, though it looks dry. Maybe the two rear wheels were the ones sitting on the floor?

Good luck on getting out the haze. It should come out with the application of plenty of grease... elbow grease, that is.

Bert

FAST 5 · 28th March 2003, 06:26

When I stare at the hazzing all over the lip of the rim, I see tiny little whitish marks everywhere on the lip. These marks look like dried water stains that may have contained some amount of salt. Does this make sens, what im trying to describe?
The two front rims are PERFECT! So, im not sure the dealer did this, to my rear rims. But how else could this of happened?????
i'd think that if the dealer was going to ruin the two rear rims, the same thing would have happened to at least one of the front rims. It weird that the two rears are hazzy as described and the two front rims are in perfect shape.
Thanks so much guys!
Robert
PS Im ready to have a heart attack over this problem!!!!!!