I have 17 inch alloy wheels.

On 2 of the 4 rims, next to the wheel weight mostly, the alloy rims look like there corroding away. Bubbling up and flaking the finish away leaving a black dull finish there it flaked away from already.

How do I stop the corroding rims from further spread? Also is there a product out on the market that I can put onto the rims to take away the black finish it left behind when the alloy finish bubbled up and flaked away?

(The longest spread so far has been 2 inches on the very top of the rim closest to the wheel weight)

Heres a picture that was taken during the summer, but I don’t have a close up of the rim but you can see what I’m talking about in the picture though. Drivers passenger side rim, see the top left side? See the black? Thats where its starting to chip off from and it’s not from running against curbs)



It looks like crap and I want to do something about it without having to buy a hole new rim.

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Even without seeing a picture, I can be fairly certain that what you have is oxidation of the base aluminum (wheel) due to compromising of the clear coat finish where the wheel weights were attached. It's much like the painted sheet metal surfaces of your (very nice) truck. Life is generally pretty good until you get a scratch, then rust (oxidation) has an open door to start forming and spreading. This is fairly common and once it starts, it's virtually impossible to stop.

That said, there are options. Although I haven't found anything that will stop the process in its tracks, you can start over again. It is possible to strip the clear coat off and apply a new clear protective layer. Beware just applying any clear finish though. Wheels take a beating. I believe you will find that most manufacturers use a specially formulated clear coat that is supposed to stand up to that beating.

The other option - depending on where you live and how much work you're into - is stripping the clear coat and just polishing your wheels on a regular basis to keep them shining. I wouldn't recomend this for about 90% of the population though.

 

maybe if I'm lucky one of these days, I can find a good deal on rims over E-bay.

Thanks for the reply 2strocked. I live near Cleveland Ohio and winters here are pretty burtal with salt on the roads most of the time. So with that said, I'm not to sure if stripping off the clear coat would be a good idea for me. I think now the only option to stop the rims from corroding is to eventrualy buy new ones if I can find them at a good price without damage.

Thanks for helping out though!