Touch up paint for aero wheel

[CharleyBC]

Sorry to revive an old thread but thanks to all the great advice here I'd thought I'd share my 2 hour job as per your paint suggestions.

Dupli Colour Dark CX Grey, 3 layers of paint, 2ish layers of clear coat.

My advice to myself if I had to do it again would be to do a fine polishing step with 2000 grit sandpaper before applying clear coat, so that it doesn't look as... blobby.


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You did a way better job than I have bothered to do. Nice work! I’ve filed down the rough stuff, painted, and called it quits. That’s enough so that I and others don’t notice the damage unless I go looking for it. Said another way, I’m lazier than you!

 

[Rothgarr]

I installed wheelbands over the holiday break to hopefully prevent curb damage like this.

I recorded a video doing install/review, I should have it done in a few days. The ones I got are with a white reflective insert so they provide a little more visibility at night.

 

[buddhra]

I installed wheelbands over the holiday break to hopefully prevent curb damage like this.

I recorded a video doing install/review, I should have it done in a few days. The ones I got are with a white reflective insert so they provide a little more visibility at night.

View attachment 497671

I like the idea of wheel bands, but I was not impressed with them when I put them to the test. They likely reduced the damage, but they also pulled paint off the wheels causing their own damage. YMMV.

 

[Rothgarr]

I like the idea of wheel bands, but I was not impressed with them when I put them to the test. They likely reduced the damage, but they also pulled paint off the wheels causing their own damage. YMMV.


That was interesting.

 

[CharleyBC]

I like the idea of wheel bands, but I was not impressed with them when I put them to the test. They likely reduced the damage, but they also pulled paint off the wheels causing their own damage. YMMV.

I was about to buy some several months ago, when I saw a few anecdotal reports of them coming loose at high speed, creating a spinning whip, which can damage the nearby body and wheel well liner. So instead I have vowed to be more careful.

 

[israndy]

I have had the whip, but I have not heard of anyone having damage from it. It's just light plastic.

I kept running into curbs after installing them so I had to cut out the damaged bit and use the tiny bit of extra to cover it up. With all the storming all winter long I got sick of it and just let it fall off. Just put on my snow tires a few minutes ago, before that I had done the sanding and painting, so it looks like it's time to put on the bands again. I hope they stay better this winter.

The tire place said this set of Pirellis has curb guards so perhaps the band will stay. I do like the look of the red band around the grey wheels:

(photo from last winter's setup, no mud guards)

 

[Rothgarr]

I have spacers on my wheels, so the wheel bands do stick out beyond the fenders. I imagine if they do come lose you can hear it and maybe even feel a little wobble?

 

[israndy]

Hear, yes, but no wobble

 

[Massive Attack]

That color is way off. Or I got a bad pen. It’s way darker than the rim.

Same with mine. I did a test dap on some white paper, and it is clearly black, not some dark gray. Maybe I got a bad pen, too. Since it’s only $15, I’ll buy another and try again. So many people here got results I would be happy to get.

 

[CharleyBC]

Same with mine. I did a test dap on some white paper, and it is clearly black, not some dark gray. Maybe I got a bad pen, too. Since it’s only $15, I’ll buy another and try again. So many people here got results I would be happy to get.

Possible solution. I had a similar problem with a DupliColor pen for our former Toyota. The touch ups were too dark. I realized too late that it was a user error. I had failed to thoroughly shake it before use. Once I did, the match was fine. Not sure whether that's your problem, but something to check off the list at least.

 

[Massive Attack]

Possible solution. I had a similar problem with a DupliColor pen for our former Toyota. The touch ups were too dark. I realized too late that it was a user error. I had failed to thoroughly shake it before use. Once I did, the match was fine. Not sure whether that's your problem, but something to check off the list at least.

CharleyBC, I owe you a virtual beer! I did buy a second bottle/pen, and put a dab on a piece of paper. It was visibly not as dark. Anyway, I shook both bottles like a crazy babysitter for 5 minutes, and got a much closer match with the newer bottle. I tried the same with the first bottle, but it was still too dark. I threw that one in the trash.
Thanks for the tip! When I finish the job, I’ll post the results. Unfortunately the weather is too cool for a proper job.

 

[Three3]

Has anyone tried the Midnight silver metallic (MSM) touch up paint from Tesla? I happen to have a MSM car and bought the kit to fix a tiny scratch on a painted panel, and thought I might try it on a tiny patch of curb rash on one of my aero rims I noticed the other day, too.

The color of the rims seems to be an exact match to the paint of my car (why I chose a MSM Model 3 in the first place, in fact, for how clean I think this looks) so maybe worth a shot?


Paint Repair Kit

 

[CharleyBC]

CharleyBC, I owe you a virtual beer! I did buy a second bottle/pen, and put a dab on a piece of paper. It was visibly not as dark. Anyway, I shook both bottles like a crazy babysitter for 5 minutes, and got a much closer match with the newer bottle. I tried the same with the first bottle, but it was still too dark. I threw that one in the trash.
Thanks for the tip! When I finish the job, I’ll post the results. Unfortunately the weather is too cool for a proper job.

Beers always welcome, virtual or otherwise!

 

[jsmay311]

Reviving a dormant thread...

I've had good luck with the "Dupli-Color AFM0360 Dark Shadow Gray Ford" paint, but I've run through the entire 0.25oz, so I'm looking to restock. But I see the T-Sportline now has a touch-up paint that's sold specifically for the aero wheels. Amazon.com: T Sportline Tesla Wheel Touch Up Paint - Aero Wheel (Dark Metallic Gray) : Automotive Seems to have good reviews on Amazon.

Granted, it costs twice as much as the Dupli-Color, but you get 0.6oz instead of 0.25oz. And I found that the Dupli-Color All-in-1 paint pen-style design to be a bit annoying to use. I'd prefer a basic touch-up bottle.

So just wondering if anyone has had good/bad experiences with the T-Sportline aero wheel touch-up paint?