I recently got my 2024 IS 350 and got it detailed ASAP with ceramic coating and paint correction. Unfortunately, after inspecting the vehicle at home and under my detail light, I found a lot of smeared white residue on my matte black wheels and it won’t come off. They did use a type of ceramic coating on the wheels.

I have no idea what to do now since you can’t polish matte wheels since they will be unevenly discolored/shiny. I haven’t driven the car in rain or on wet roads since I got it back so this definitely wasn’t there before I got it detailed.

I should have done better research looking for a quality detailer even though I saw this place had nothing but 5 star reviews on google. Anybody know what I can do to fix this issue or is it permanent?

I may have to buy a new set of rims. Yes, I know these are very expensive.

 

I’m sorry to hear that.

Did you try contacting the place that was doing coating/corrections? After all it’s possibly their fault and they should be responsible for staining brand new car wheels.

 

Sure did, they want me to bring it in or come to me to check it out but I really don’t want them touching my car after this. He says he’s never seen anything like this. That’s all he says. I think I’m out of luck.

 

My man, we are talking close to between $8000-$9000 for all 4 with taxes. These rims are ridiculously overpriced.

I would see what the shop says first, then maybe get a 2nd opinion.

Then before you do replace I would try everything, did you try harsher wheel cleaners? I would try 90% alcohol, gasoline, then a harsh wheel cleaner, any kind of degreaser maybe.

These things scratch easily so you can’t use anything remotely rough to clean.

You can also get them refurbish, they won’t be OEM but I’ve seen repaired wheels of these look pretty good for $150 a rim. They’ll sand down the bad spots and repaint. Some you can only tell with a flashlight to see the paint difference.

Or get ones used off eBay and have been completely refurbished.

In the end it’s your car, just forewarning they are over $2400 a pop out the door at Lexus (in California at least).

 

I would still see if they can at least inspect it and let you know what they can do. It's possible this is just some overspray, wax, or something of that nature that can be removed. Just ask them to let you know what their plan is before they start so you can approve it.

On the other hand, I had similar white-ish residue on my car's paint in some areas after I had body work done. It has been difficult to remove, but it does come off over time. Washing doesn't seem to do much, but gently using my fingernail to scrape it off works. Have you tried using a soft-bristle brush or scraping gently somehow?

 

I haven’t washed it yet. I didn’t want to panic and use something that will make it worse. I’m having a second opinion somewhere else in a month to see if they can undo the damage.

 

I would not let that go with the detailer. He needs to correct the problem, as those rims are very expensive. He needs to back up his work (I would suspect he has insurance). If not, I'd go to small claims court. You should not have to foot the bill for anything. (Also, avoid cleaning chemicals like gasoline. Not meant to go on rims).
Keep us posted...

 

It's not meant to but if you're at the point of tossing them anyways with new ones, you may as well give everything and anything a try. I've used gasoline a few times on rims with stubborn tar stains where nothing else worked, never had an issue as long as you wash it off after scrubbing. However, it didn't do all that much in helping get them off if I remember either, but it is a good solvent.

 

I would 100% bring it back to the original detailer who did the job and give them the opportunity to fix it. Don't be mean about it, just let them give it a go, if they can't fix it, start the process of having them replace it. They should have insurance for things like this.

 

What..? So you’re going to wait an entire month to take it to a third party? If the third party is smart they’d tell you they’re not touching your wheels and to take them back to the second party. If the third party is dumb and mess with your wheels they open themselves up to liability and you have a harder time being made whole (and probably have to pay them too). Are you afraid to confront the second party? You should have them make it right or replace the wheels.

 

You shouldn’t wait to take them back. The longer you wait, the more likely they’ll deny they did it, as you’ve had plenty of time to mess them up yourself.