Scratch rim repair is the fix for the grinding sound you hear when you park too close to a kerb. Curb rash, as most people search it, damages the outer lip of the wheel: scuffs in the paint, rough grazes in the metal, sometimes a deeper gouge. It is cosmetic in most cases, and it is one of the quickest wheel repairs to have done, often in a day and sometimes at your home or office. This page covers how scuffs are fixed, mobile smart repair, and how to stop it happening again.
Scuff, graze or gouge: what you are dealing with
- Light scuffs in the paint or lacquer: sanded smooth and refinished.
- Curb rash with rough, raised metal on the lip: sanded or filed back, then filled where needed.
- Deep gouges that take a chunk out of the lip: filled with a filler made for metal, or on some shops built up with weld and machined.
Check the gouge is only cosmetic. If the wheel also vibrates or loses air, the kerb hit may have bent it; see bent rim repair.
How the repair is done
The damaged area is sanded smooth and feathered into the surrounding paint. Deeper marks are filled and sanded flat. The wheel is masked, primed, painted in a colour matched to the rest of the wheel, and finished with clear coat. Many shops repair the whole outer lip or the whole face rather than a single spot, so the new paint blends. If your wheel has a bright machined face, a paint touch-up will not look right: it needs a diamond cut recut on a lathe.
Mobile smart repair at home or work
Smart repairers work from a van and can fix curb rash with the wheel still on the car, in your driveway or in the office parking. They mask the tyre and car, sand, fill, spray and cure the paint, often with a heat lamp. It suits painted silver, grey and black wheels with light to moderate rash. Ask what they need from you: a level spot, shade or cover if it rains, and sometimes access to a power point, though many carry a generator. Workshop repairs are still better for heavy gouges, diamond cut faces and a set that needs a full refurbishment.
Stopping it from happening again
Low-profile tyres leave almost no rubber to protect the lip, so the rim touches the kerb first. Rim protectors, a rubber or plastic strip that sticks or clips onto the edge of the lip, take the hit instead and are cheap to replace. Some shops fit them after a repair. Otherwise, a parking camera, a wider turn at the robot and stopping a hand's width from the kerb all help.
What to put in your request
- How many wheels are scuffed
- The finish: painted colour or diamond cut face
- Photos close up of each damaged area
- Workshop or mobile repair at home or work
- Whether you want rim protectors fitted
Scratched Rim and Curb Rash Repair for drivers, fleets and workshops
- Private car owners: a kerb scuff from tight parking fixed at home before it corrodes
- Enthusiasts, 4x4 and performance drivers: low-profile wheels kept clean with repairs and rim protectors
- Company and rental fleets: scuffed wheels on rentals and company cars repaired between users
- Dealers, panel shops and insurers: curb rash on trade-ins fixed by a mobile repairer on the car lot
- Tyre shops and wheel workshops: panel shops and valet businesses calling in smart repairers for wheels
- Truck, bus and taxi operators: shuttle and chauffeur vehicles kept presentable with quick scuff repairs
- Farms: double cab mags scuffed on rocky farm tracks, sanded and touched up
- Mines and construction sites: site bakkie alloys with gravel scuffs refinished at the depot
Frequently asked questions
How long does curb rash repair take?
Will the repair be visible?
Can I fix curb rash myself with a kit?
Do you send someone to fix my wheels?
Scratched Rim and Curb Rash Repair by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg