Hello Everyone,

My Crossfire is an 06 model. When I bought it at the dealer shop (January 08), I discovered that the rims were a bit tarnished. After a good cleaning, it was OK !! But it seems that they continue to blemish. They are not shiny anymore. Have a look at the pics. I really don't know what to do. Can I use some kind of "strong" Polish ? Do I need to have them repainted ? As somebody met this kind of problem ?
I wennt to the Dealer. He told me taht they can't replace them under warranty (One, that's fine but Four, ...). Should I write some kind of official letter to Chrysler to try to have them replaced ? The warranty of the car expires in 2010.
As you can imagine, your help and comments are already appreciated.
Thanks.

 

Just have them replace one at a time then....................take the car in once a month for 4 months.

 

Then I have to go to a different dealer each time, don't you think so ?

 

Looking at this picture it looks like it was repainted or sprayed with something because it's not the same color of the center cap. It could just be the picture but they don't look like they match.

 

I would challenge the dealer/Chrysler as to why this wouldn't be covered. It seems to me like the been repaired poorly. Sometimes Dealers have a mobile service repair wheels from curb rash, and the quickie jobs turn out like this. Press them hard. Ask to speak to the Chrysler rep. Just don't take no for an answer.

 

This sounds likely....but Chrysler will not cover a poor repair job under warranty - this is why the dealers have to send in the old parts. If this is the case Chrysler will deny the claim and charge back the dealer.
Dealer likely knows what is going on and this is why claim denial.
It will be up to the dealer or the owner to repair.

 

OK, Thanks, I can try that even if it's never easy with dealers. Do you think that writing directly to Chrysler should help ?
Has somebody already tried that ?

 

Yes Robby 363, you're right the paint is so poor and blemished that it doesn't math with the center cap anymore.

 

Did you buy the car new, used, CPO?

 

I bought it used. I have some good and bad news. First of all the rims have been repainted, bad job as ROBBY363 wrote. The good news is that I tried to clean a small area of one rim with "Bug and Tar" Turtle wax and the "poor paint" goes away but it's really hard. I was able to obtain a beautiful clearcoat after that operation that I did 10 minutes ago !!!
So I think Chrysler won't do anything to help me except telling me that they can't cover any bad work.
My question is : do you know some professional stuff that could help me to remove that paint layer easier than with Bug and tar ?
PS : Thanks again for your help !!!!

 

Only problem is at some point you are going to run into whatever they were trying to "fix"
Anything harsher might remove the original finsh as well.....tough call. Maybe some "OOPS" or WD40????

 

One option is to have them powder coated again. Some places will do an exchange with you if the wheels are in otherwise good condition. This usually cost around $100 per wheel.

 

You could try some clearcoat polishing compound it might work a little better than bug and tar remover.

 

That's a lot of great help !!
I have two questions. What is powder coated ?? Do they apply another clear coat layer ? Do they try to remove the old one first ?
Then, If I want to try some clear coat polishing compound, could you give me some good brands as I don't know anything. What I can tell you is that my duster was just Grey after 15 seconds of trying to remove that stuff !!

 

Turtle wax makes a clear coat polish that works good. I'm not sure how it will work on your problem but if it's just a light coating that's on them it should work without hurting the factory finish.

 

This is just a thought. You car and mine sat on the lot for a long time. Some dealers wash these things almost every day. If you live in a hard water area chemical deposits can take the shine off plenty quick. The clear coat polishing compound suggestion seems like good advice. You can bring almost anything up to luster with enough elbow grease.

 

THX Robby. I'm going to try that before spending more money on some professional repair. Who knows ?? maybe it will work. And if it doesn't I'll try that powder coater but I need to understand what they'll do first.
I'll keep you in the loop.
Enjoy your ride !!

 

Hi Mr Max,
It seems that I'm not the only one having this kind of problem !!
Did you try something on your rims ?

 

FRsailorman, nice to meet you! I didn't have any problems with the wheels but I noticed a lot of pitting on my paint and calcium deposits in dark and evil places. I doubt that they wax our babies while they're on the lot. They were good enough to detail it for me but it's just too hard to get that machine buffer into all the spots.

You may have gotten an e-mail where I suggested shining them up and re-clearcoating. The second I posted it I realized it was a dumb idea and edited it. Paint doesn't stick very well to shiney things. What was I thinkin?. Roughing them up and re-clearcoating isn't a bad idea, lot of work though. If you go that route be sure to use automotive clearcoat. The other stuff just won't hold up. Remember, you just want to get some micro scratches in the existing clearcoat before recoating Ask the exterior appearance guys what grit paper Etc. Lot of experienced characters on this forum!

 

Hi Again Mr Max. Actually, what I'd like to do is just to remove the extra paint or clear coat they put on those rims but keep the factory paint and clear coat. As I said, just in using some Bug and Tar stuff, I removed some grey paint, enough to have the factory clear coat shiny and beautiful again. My problem is that I need something a little bit "stronger" to make the job easier. Rims are not the easiest surface to clean.
My feeling is that they tried to repair the rims where damaged cause of side walks and instead of painting just that, didn't protect the rims and put some paint almost everywhere. That's why they are a little bit rough !!
My concern is that I don't really know what kind of product I should use to remove that extra paint : the clear coat polishing compoundmakes scratches I think. What about some kind of solvent ???