IS - 3rd Gen (2014-present) Discussion about the 2014+ model IS models

Wheel repair review....

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Old 06-30-16, 02:53 PM
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Avi8orco
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Default Wheel repair review....

I figured I'd throw this review out there since looking around the forums I've seen a few guys asking about curb rash or dinged rim repair.....

My USB 350F is only 6 months old and last month I damaged the back rim avoiding an idiot in a parking lot. I was leaving target inching out of the parking space row onto the main road in front of the store when out of the corner of my eye, a woman driving an explorer was flying around the corner on the main road. She was on the phone and writing stuff down on what looked like a clip board (yes at the same time, no hands on the steering wheel). Had I done nothing my front bumper would have been efficiently removed (and probably been at fault because i was inched out and cops in Florida don't give a $#!^ about people driving on the phone), so I threw it in reverse and backed up. In the process I just barely caught the edge of the curb on my back rear wheel. She went by probably not even noticing me and almost hitting a guy walking in the crosswalk pushing his grocery cart.

Anyway...here's the damage



I know.... its not THAT bad but my car is flawless otherwise and its 6 months old with 3500 on the clock. It bothered me because naturally your eye goes right to it when you walk up to the car.

I researched for touch up paint, repair, this forum, etc.... I found that the F sport paint on the wheels is very unique in its application and a pain in the @$$ to match. So today I went to the dealer for its 6 month complimentary service and I asked my service advisor about it. She said the guy who does it for them was there today and he charges $130 per wheel. She told me he works on all the lease returns/CPO cars that they want repaired and has seen him do some pretty amazing results. I thought about it and thought...screw it and told her to go ahead. 2 hours later she came into the lounge and told me it was all set. I was a little...

Anyway here's the finished product.



I realize the light is a little different but the the color match and the flake is flawless from every way I scrutinized it with the light in the service drive up and my phone's flashlight. There is no way to see a difference in the color from 4 inches away with a flashlight never-mind from a far. The guy came up when I was finishing with the service advisor and asked what I thought. Well obviously I couldn't have been happier and he mentioned that it will cure from the brake heat, sun, and just over time for the next month and will keep getting more and more glossy (which was going to be my question as the only thing I saw with it was it is a tiny bit duller in that area if you get right on top of it). Just don't wash it for 24 hours, use only car wash soap until its cured, and don't reapply my wheel coating until then. (Interestingly, he knew (and was right) that I have Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating on them.)

The company is Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists or sometimes called AWRS. I looked them up and they franchise all over the country. A lot of them partner and work right at the dealership so you can get your rim fixed while the mechanic has the wheel off anyway to fix something else.

Heres the website: http://www.awrswheelrepair.com There's a search on there where you can find one in your area or you can just ask your dealer I guess too.

So theres my 2 cents review for you all if your interested...
Old 06-30-16, 03:44 PM
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387
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Nice.

Was just the damage area repainted and blended into the original paint? I'm picking up mine next week and going to have it done through the Lexus dealer.
Old 06-30-16, 04:00 PM
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toyoman29
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Looks great...
Old 06-30-16, 04:08 PM
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It looks great. And....they have a repair guy for my area.
Thanks for the info.
Old 06-30-16, 04:49 PM
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Avi8orco
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Originally Posted by 387
Nice.

Was just the damage area repainted and blended into the original paint? I'm picking up mine next week and going to have it done through the Lexus dealer.
It was a pretty deep scratch, well into the primer layer. Here's a close up full resolution...




I didn't ask but it seems to my inexperienced-bodyshop-2 cents that it was sanded out, reprimed and painted, then blended. He did a good job matching up the flake, that seems like it might have been the hardest step in the process.
Old 06-30-16, 10:15 PM
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I can see it is down to the metal.

I have three wheels that are imperfect, but two of them are small 1mm scratches on the lip or spokes which I feel I can address with touch up paint, some wet sanding and compound. I believe this is from removal and install over the past two years fir winter tires. One wheel has a good 90 degrees of curb age (front right) which really bugs me, but it look easily correctible because it is not that deep. Yours didn't look that bad, it looks like it happened at really low speed and chunks of aluminum weren't really taken off.
Old 07-01-16, 05:24 PM
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Hey nice job man! I get so scared when I'm parking right next to the curb all the time...
Old 07-01-16, 07:01 PM
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Avi8orco
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Originally Posted by iJDMTOY
Hey nice job man! I get so scared when I'm parking right next to the curb all the time...
I'm either skilled or lucky...not sure which. My previous car, an accord with with the Honda factory performance rims which had fairly low profile tires on them, escaped the curb for my 12 years of ownership (but not my wife's 10 min ride to Dunkin Donuts for coffee ). I just try to park as far away from from everyone else as possible, if I can do that away from a curb great, if not I'll go slow and drop the rear views/ open my door to help out. I park a 104,000 lb jet every week and haven't dinged one yet, doesn't really relate I guess but I'm not interested in paying for that repair
Old 07-02-16, 05:42 AM
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link13
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I am sorry to hear about the damage to your car. Any time I see any SUV anywhere, I assume the person behind the wheel is just along for the ride, or in the best case scenario, just a bad driver. They tend to hit stuff. They don't have turn signals.
Old 07-02-16, 07:31 AM
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Good to see they can get that rash out for a decent price. My rims are ate up a bit as well. One day I'll get someone to fix them.
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