[jlangmd]

Just saw these marks on my wheels. I thought they might have been brake dust build up, but after washing the wheels down, they simply look flat, an appear to be some kind of tarnish.

Has anyone seen this before, and anyone have any idea what to do with this? Might this be covered under the warrantee??

Thanks

 

[jlangmd]

I used Meguiar's metal restorer on the wheels, and it did a great job on the wheels with the exception of these black marks at the edge of the wheel where the rubber meets the rim.

Could this represent damage to the wheels? or damage to the clear coat on the alloy?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[jarhead83]

Looks like a defect I would definetly take it to the dealer.

 

[pointman]

it looks like its just from neglect and build up. mb won't warranty it. only thing to do is to have it professionally redone.

 

[Drew]

jlangmd - 3/14/2005 6:45 PM

Just saw these marks on my wheels. I thought they might have been brake dust build up, but after washing the wheels down, they simply look flat, an appear to be some kind of tarnish.

You know what? I actually have the same problem with my wheels (they're the same as yours, Sport pkg EVOII ones). However I haven't bothered since it doesn't seem to be getting worse. Basically it's not tarnish but rather the finish of the wheel edge chipping off slightly!

I'll have to bring it up with my dealer one day since I bought it from them. I'd suggest that you do the same.

 

[doyle613]

all right !!! go to fixrim.com, you took the clear coat off the rims,were the rims hot when you used that wheel cleaner? Hot rims and wheel cleaner BAD idea ! I posted this site before,$129.00 per rim if it's dented, scratched, cracked,they'll fix it....pronto! good luck

 

[jlangmd]

pointman - 3/15/2005 4:57 PM

it looks like its just from neglect and build up. mb won't warranty it. only thing to do is to have it professionally redone.

Not neglect. Build up unfortunately occurs sometimes when you have -10 C weather for two weeks and have to drive through miles of salty slush each day. I clean and polish the wheels when the weather allows, probably 3 times since Xmas. Wheels cleaned up easily (while cool) and all that "build up" came off easily and completely with the exception of the edge near the bead.

Took it to the dealer who felt the clearcoat was peeling off, and that the wheels need to be professionally refinished. This is a warranty item.

Has anyone else had a problem with the EVO II sport wheels?

 

[jlangmd]

Drew - 3/15/2005 5:17 PM

jlangmd - 3/14/2005 6:45 PM

Just saw these marks on my wheels. I thought they might have been brake dust build up, but after washing the wheels down, they simply look flat, an appear to be some kind of tarnish.

You know what? I actually have the same problem with my wheels (they're the same as yours, Sport pkg EVOII ones). However I haven't bothered since it doesn't seem to be getting worse. Basically it's not tarnish but rather the finish of the wheel edge chipping off slightly!

I'll have to bring it up with my dealer one day since I bought it from them. I'd suggest that you do the same.

Grateful to hear that I am not the only one. Apparently, I am one of the very few people who bought the sport package for their 2002 ML at this dealership, and they rarely see these specific wheels, and had not seen this problem before. So, is that the actual alloy that I can see there in the chipped portion? I didn't realize the alloy wheels were painted and clearcoated until this happened.

 

[dracul00]

stop hitting the sidewalk and blaming MB, that to mee looks like you hit it

 

[Drew]

dracul00 - 3/15/2005 7:31 PM

stop hitting the sidewalk and blaming MB, that to mee looks like you hit it

Nope, it's not curbing the wheel. Those would be scuff marks. As I said, my wheels have the same issues as well.

 

[jlangmd]

dracul00 - 3/15/2005 10:31 PM

stop hitting the sidewalk and blaming MB, that to mee looks like you hit it

The marks (chips?) are spaced out along the entire circumference of 3 of the wheels, curiously sparing the back right, which, if you have ever watched your parents try to parallel park, you would recognize as being at very high risk for curb marks.

Nope, the parktronic and I have assiduously avoided any curb contact.

 

[MYML350]

Looks to me, this is from neglect. I also think it might be from wheel cleaner, not tottally rinsing off.. This can do tarnish, as chemicals will take the clearcoat off.. Must keep them clean if you really care about appearence.

 

[Drew]

Unlikely...

MYML350 - 3/25/2005 12:03 PM

Looks to me, this is from neglect. I also think it might be from wheel cleaner, not tottally rinsing off.. This can do tarnish, as chemicals will take the clearcoat off.. Must keep them clean if you really care about appearence.

I have the same issue and all I use is Simple Green, not any sort of corrosive acidic wheel cleaner. I'm going to guess that jiangmd is in a similar situation.

 

[ccweems]

Fixing them won't be so bad...

When the time comes for you to fix it yourself, it looks like you can repair the bad parts without painting the whole wheel. Saw a neat write up on a BMW site. Supposedly all German wheels use the same color of silver which is available from Wurth. The site showed step-by-step details on how to remove concrete rash (they used a Porsche wheel for the demo) and repaint the damaged area. From the pictures they looked perfect. Now that I saw how to do it, the $100-130 per wheel charges to "fix" them looks like a high profit endeavor on wheels that have only cosmetic problems.

The Wurth web site is worthless but the paint (you spray the silver, followed by clear) can be found at:

http://www.autogeek.net/w892181.html


http://www.autogeek.net/w893351930.html

 

[Lucan]

I've never found MB wheels to have a lasting finish on them. They don't seem very resistant to brake dust. My ML had less than 3,000 miles on it when I noticed brown staining on the front wheels.

My daughter's SLK had highly polished alloys that lost the laquar in a similar way but in the centre of the wheels round the centre cap. They were replaced under warranty. They couldn't really claim that kerbing or improper tyre fitting was the problem there.

 

[gwwaterman]

This must be a common issue for the Sport package wheels in particular. I had all 4 wheels develope this tarnish. One developed it in the center area. The SA claimed it was my cleaning solution, but I have never used anything harsher than HOT WATER (it works great, the soft MB brake dust washes off very easily.)

I stood my ground and MB replaced all 4 wheels, although I think 2 of the 'new' ones were used. At least these have yet to start this cancer.

 

[jlangmd]

gwwaterman - 3/30/2005 10:08 PM

This must be a common issue for the Sport package wheels in particular. I had all 4 wheels develope this tarnish. One developed it in the center area. The SA claimed it was my cleaning solution, but I have never used anything harsher than HOT WATER (it works great, the soft MB brake dust washes off very easily.)

I stood my ground and MB replaced all 4 wheels, although I think 2 of the 'new' ones were used. At least these have yet to start this cancer.

Those changes look exactly like what is happening to my wheels, and I usually use soapy water (Mequiar's car wash) with a soft wheel brush, and more recently a metal polish when I thought this would come off. I have not seen this affect more than the extreme edges yet.

 

[gwwaterman]

RE: Sport model wheel tarnish

It's been my experience that this type of cancer only gets worse. The clear coat is chiped and water is leaking in underneath. The wheel base metal is 'rusting'. I do not know of a simple way to fix it -> maybe some else here does. My Toyota did this and I fixed it by sand-blasting the wheels and then having them painted. It's just not the same as a nice clear coat.[V]

 

[redeye]

I have exactly the same thing happening to my EVOII's as well. I got a set off Ebay last summer, all of them perfect except for 1 wheel which had a slight scratch in the clearcoat. I had that wheel refinished; and then winter came. Now the 3 wheels that weren't refinished all have this erosion - predominantly around the edges but some in a few other places as well. The wheel that was redone is still perfect!

Every time I cleaned them this winter there seemed to be little patches of oxidation in places, and cleaning that off leaves a clear "scar" in the clearcoat. As I got these off Ebay, I guess I will have to get the other 3 wheels redone as well - probably no chance of MB doing something about it. My guess is that this is a design problem though.

When I had the wheel redone, I was told that these wheels have wheelpaint in the areas between the spokes only. The outside face of the spokes is not painted at all, that is merely machined. The entire wheel then gets a layer of clearcoat. On my wheels, there is no problem in the areas that have wheel paint - only the machined outside face. Slight defects or stone chips in the clearcoat exposes bare, machined alloy; roadsalt and chemistry takes care of the rest.

 

[gwwaterman]

RE: Wheel tarnish - renew finish

Redeye: When you say you had one of the wheels refinished, what did you have done to it?
Did they remove the old clearcoat, polish the wheel and then re-clearcoated? What did it cost?