How to repair alloy wheels at home

It's common for alloy wheels to experience some damage over time due to natural wear and tear, which can be caused by kerb damage, scuff or light scratches. However, with a bit of DIY know-how, you can clean up your alloy wheel damage yourself rather than having to take your vehicle into a professional. Save yourself some money and learn how to repair alloy wheels at home with our helpful guide.

Scratches, scuffs and kerb damage

• Paint thinner - using paint thinner, clean the area surrounding the damage to your alloy wheel. Use a small cloth or brush to scrub the damaged areas to alleviate build up.
• Use sandpaper - sandpaper the damaged area by applying pressure to the damaged area. Top tip: wrap your sandpaper around a wooden block, or something that fits comfortably in your hand, and use this to apply pressure.
• Apply spot putty - rub some spot putty onto the area which is scratched or scuffed. Typically, this should be around a coin-sized amount. It's important to note that the spot putty will set within a few minutes, so you'll need to work as fast as possible. After the putty is dry, you can then sandpaper the damaged area a final time, to ensure the putty appears level with the rest of the rim.

Repairing corrosion

• Clean your alloy wheels - wash and polish them to remove dust and dirt, then dry with microfibre cloth.
• Remove oxidation with polish pre-cleaner - by using an aluminium polish pre-cleaner, you can focus specifically on corroded areas. Spray the cleaner onto the areas, and after about 10 minutes once it has set, you can brush the corroded areas with a wheel brush.
• Scrub corrosion with sandpaper - there will be some areas of corrosion that may require more force to be applied to them, at which point, you'd use your sandpaper again to scrub the corrosion.
• Apply wax - for a finishing touch, apply wax to protect your wheels from wearing down and prevent them from any further oxidation.

Now you know how to repair scuffed alloy wheels and repair other issues, find tyres to buy online for your vehicle. Locate your nearest Merityre Specialists to book in your tyre fitting with any of our team of experts.