2004 Vibe OEM Wheels Pitting & Cracking

Wheel and tire information and upgrade discussions
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GoodVibe04
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Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:30 pm

2004 Vibe OEM Wheels Pitting & Cracking

Post by GoodVibe04 »

2004 Pontiac Vibe AWD, the stock OEM wheels, the coating, not sure if that is paint or powder coating, are starting to pit and bubble.
Has anyone had this problem? Is there an easy fix?
Will try to attach some pictures:https://photos.app.goo.gl/s64YnjYhuNorvojw7
Thanks Greg
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vibrologist
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Location: Iowa

Re: 2004 Vibe OEM Wheels Pitting & Cracking

Post by vibrologist »

That's corrosion going on under the paint. I have refinished badly corroded aluminum wheels of a Ford Focus. I followed a YouTube on the project. I used Citrus paint stripping gel, sanded, primed with a rattle can and painted with a rattle can. Krylon makes a very tough paint specifically for wheels. It was a lot of work but it resulted in wheels looking like new. I kept the winter tires on until the summer wheels were finished.
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'05 Vibe

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Bookworm
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Re: 2004 Vibe OEM Wheels Pitting & Cracking

Post by Bookworm »

It's mostly moisture being trapped under the paint.

Aluminum is extremely sensitive to oxygen. If it didn't corrode so fast, it would burst into flames in air.

So, as the previous poster said, you can salvage them. You'll have to completely strip the old ones, clean off the residue, and either lacquer or paint them. If you just strip the paint off and polish, they'll still be fine as wheels, but they'll look dirty very quickly, and no clue what the brake dust would do to them.
tpollauf
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Re: 2004 Vibe OEM Wheels Pitting & Cracking

Post by tpollauf »

Greg. It looks like your original question was answered BUT where you located? Can we assume the snowbelt areas where winters can be brutal? Seeing that the wheels are showing signs of corrosion, how's the rest of the car? How many miles and how long have you owned it?
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