Fix Yo Kicks - Rim Repair

Light dings and scratches can be smoothed out using a grinder and a series of increasingly smooth grinding surfaces.

A spin balancer offers a two-fold benefit: It allows Alex to check the wheel's tolerances, and uniformly "brush" the wheel's lip by wet-sanding with decreasingly coarse paper.

Finishing with an 800-grit wet-sand, our wheel is starting to regain its appeal.

With the wheel secured to the balancer, the final process of buffing is accomplished with a series of compounds.

For about one day's time, and a modest $80/wheel charge, our left-for-dead Racing Harts have been given a new life.

This set has likely suffered years of abuse, and here we see the proof: The curb rash in the foreground covers nearly the entirety of each wheel's lip, and this one has apparently taken quite a beating; that crack in the spoke goes straight through.

After "tapering" the crack's edges a bit with an angle grinder to allow for better penetration of the weld, Marco gives it a generous TIGing, ensuring each bead melts deeply into the last.

While he's at it, Marco also adds some additional aluminum to the wheel's lip, filling in a deep gash.

Aluminum's characteristic not to change color under duress of heat lends well to welding in wheel repair; once these welds are cleaned, the new metal will merge seamlessly with the original.

The next step for the vintage Mugen is to be forced back into shape. With the wheel bolted to the hydraulic press, Marco heats the area of the wheel to be straightened to safeguard against cracking or weakening of the metal, then uses the machine to straighten damaged wheels from any direction. Some of his more impressive reclamations are proudly displayed on the wall in front of him. After the wheel has been straightened, the newly applied beads are grinded by hand to factory specs and the wheel is prepped for finish.