I've taken the white tape of my alloys- help!

[Atsgmo]

I was jet washing my son's Kia Picanto and I didn't realise there was some sort of whitish tape on his alloys, which I have blasted off in places in error. What is it that I have removed and how do I go about fixing it? I'm really hoping this isn't an expensive mistake.

Edited by Atsgmo on Sunday 19th May 19:26

[sooty61]

Looks like you have blasted off the lacquer. I think they will need to be refurbished

[Atsgmo]

Is that something I can do myself or should I really get a pro to do it?

[paintman]

sooty61 said:

Looks like you have blasted off the lacquer. I think they will need to be refurbished

^^^^This.

Problem of using jet washers at close range on a car.
Can do the same thing on stonechips on bonnets!

[james6546]

Looks like it’s had a rubbish smart repair at some point and it’s taken the paint off

[Atsgmo]

Is that something I can do myself or should I really get a pro to do it?

[paintman]

Atsgmo said:

Is that something I can do myself or should I really get a pro to do it?

Best result will be having it all stripped off & redone professionally.
Looks like the wheel is diamond cut - the little parallel lines - so that will probably need doing as well before the clearcoat esp as the wheel has a fair bit of kerb damage.

Edited by paintman on Sunday 19th May 19:36

[paintman]

james6546 said:

Looks like it’s had a rubbish smart repair at some point and it’s taken the paint off

More like the kerbing damage has allowed the water to penetrate under the clearcoat & blast it off.

[Geertsen]

paintman said:

james6546 said:

Looks like it’s had a rubbish smart repair at some point and it’s taken the paint off

More like the kerbing damage has allowed the water to penetrate under the clearcoat & blast it off.

This is what I thought, paint was probably flaking there on a microscopic level.

[119]

I fking hate diamond cut wheels, this being one reason why.

[paintman]

High pressure water can be very destructive.
Bear in mind that with additives it's used for cutting steel, concrete & other things.

Some years back the local Police had problems with front wheel bearings on the BMW bikes rusting out in short order.
Local dealer couldn't figure it out so eventually BMW sent one of their techies out to have a look.
Wasn't until the morning shift came in for changeover that the penny dropped.
Bikes were washed using a pressure washer & the jet was being used too close to the hub - the seals were perfectly capable of dealing with normal usage wet weather but the jet pressure was forcing it past the seal.
Change of practice & no more problems.

[ChrisH79]

Diamond cut wheels on all models of Kia are st for this very reason.

Worth noting you haven't damaged the wheels just made them look a bit st.

[swisstoni]

That wheel look like its seen some action before the Op went anywhere near it.
But maybe buy son a refurb for his birthday

[finlo]

If it looked like white tape it was already fked!

[Stick Legs]

Last 2 cars I had with diamond cut wheels I had them refurbished in a shadow chrome finish (think E39 BMW M5)

Looks very nice and no-one even noticed, but far more resilient.

[3454.5]

Atsgmo said:

I was jet washing my son's Kia Picanto and I didn't realise there was some sort of whitish tape on his alloys, which I have blasted off in places in error. What is it that I have removed and how do I go about fixing it? I'm really hoping this isn't an expensive mistake.

Edited by Atsgmo on Sunday 19th May 19:26

Still under Kia 7 year warranty with full main dealer service history?
If so, try a warranty claim.
We had 3 wheels refurbished at 5 years old as a warranty job, just within warranty on the shopping Hyundai i10.
Looking online some had new wheels on younger cars with laquer peel.
As others have said, diamond cut, pointless in our climate. Just paint the wheels.

[Stick Legs]

The cynic in me feels that diamond cut wheels were introduced concurrently with the rise of PCP schemes, guaranteeing that no matter how well you care for your car they can knock any equity out of it.

[MattsCar]

Explain to your son, it is not your fault.

Basically this happens to all diamond cut wheels. Even if you had not jet washed the lacquer off, it would have turned a cloudy white corroded colour in no time.

If refurbing, just go for a powder coat as opposed to restoring the diamond cut finish to avoid future anguish.

[hidetheelephants]

The lacquer was already hanging if it was white, this is why most cars used to come with steel wheels and plastic trims. No blame attaches to the OP, it's a feature of the product.

[lord trumpton]

White tape? FFS