What is the best way to get rid of curb rash on a wheel lip?

I have some OEM wheels that I want to try and clean up before I mount tires on them.

Should I just lightly sand the marks? I’ve heard you can weld metal onto the lip and sand it down.

I don’t weld and don’t want to spend $$$ for welding.

Our Suggestion

Curb Rash is common on many vehicles. It is the light scuffs or cosmetic damage caused from rubbing your car wheels against something hard like a curb or the edge of a pothole.

The wheels end up looking pretty ugly but since no real damage has occurred to the rim or bead lip of the wheel it is still functional.

Unfortunately fixing curb rash on aluminum and alloy wheels is pretty difficult.

Professional services are available for more expensive wheels and the process includes welding material to the wheel and then turning the wheel in a lathe to restore its original shape.

Welding can also restore wheels that have harsher damage but not every wheel should be restored this way because welding can leave the wheel with physical differences that can lead to failure. In other words there are times when you just need to replace the wheel no matter the cost.

For a do it yourselfer the best option is preparing the wheel to restore its physical shape then painting it.

On very light damage you may be able to get away with simply sanding the area to remove very light scuffs but if there is material removed you will need to use an epoxy filler and then prep the wheel for paint.

However if the damage is physical and includes the bead where the tire sits or cracking your best bet is to call a junkyard and replace the wheel.