fixing scratched hubcap on hired car

[Tom]

Hey,

I was wondering whether anyone might have experience and could offer advice on fixing a scratch on a hubcap. I hired a car with a few friends for nye and wouldn't like the hire company to charge us an extortionate fee for a small scratch.

I've come across basic advice of using very fine sandpaper to even the scratches out and to then spray-paint over it. I'm returning the car in the early afternoon on Friday which doesn't give me very much time/confidence to do this properly. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks for listening,

Tom

[Tim Reynolds]

By hubcap do you mean a plastic cover on a steel wheel or a solid alloy wheel?

If it's the former try finding a similar set with google image search, buy and fit. If it's the latter, I'd either look for alloy wheel refinishing places that will visit and do it in situ or pay the fee you agreed to with the hire. 

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[Tom]

Thanks for the quick reply!

(I attached a pic to the original post, not certain if it came up?)

I think it's a plastic cover on a steel wheel (though I'm not a 100% certain), but it's a slightly fancier version (which is bolted on as opposed to just snapped on)

If I don't come up with a diy solution - I'll try and find a cheap refinishing place in the morning (the hire company will charge a ton for such a small thing..)

Thanks again

[chrisbob12]

I'd be surprised if the hire company punished you for a scratch on a plastic wheel cover. How much damage excess did you have covered in the hire?

[Ian Henderson]

Shouldn't be a problem. Use an acrylic abrasive polish or even toothpaste and after a few minutes the marks will blend in. The dents will remain, but will be much less noticeable

--Ian

[Tom]

Thanks both of you; excess is over £250, and I only got worried after reading about people getting charged >£100 for a small scratch on a plastic hubcap....

Will try with the toothpaste, and then with the polish if I can get my hands on some. Also found some similar light shades of permanent marker at home which I might use on any specifically white bits..

One tip I also found online, is that the rental places (in the UK) specifically check the left side of the car (especially the left front wheel), as that's where most damage happens, usually from foreign drivers (and that's where I made the scratch). Someone mentioned to switch the front left and back right hubcaps and that it won't get noticed then. Though the hubcaps are screwed on and I don't exactly have the tools for changing them.. Hope I'm relatively fine now though, thanks for the tips and I'll post an update later

[Ken Boak]

Disguise it will well placed mud or road grime.  Roads have been salty and mucky all week. Won't be the first dirty car they get back this week.

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[Adrian Godwin]

Beware that polishing it out will make the surface shiny. If it's a textured surface, that will matter. If it's supposed to be shiny, you'll probably be fine. If it's a textured surface and the damage is such that the car looks bad, the rework is probably a new hubcap, not a refinish. It's not worth the time.

The stories about being charged >£100 are probably true, but not all car hires are crooks. It might be best to note the ideas above about making it non-obvious and then take a risk. You can take a lot of time and trouble trying to fix it and still not make it unnoticeable, or find they give it only a cursory glance.

[Des Quilty]

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repairs/car-scratch-repair-kits/halfords-chip-scratch-repair-pen-silver

[Graham Perdeaux]

That looks like an alloy wheel to me. I could do a spot repair on it but at the end of the day the easiest option for you is going to be to disguise it.

Who knows, they may not care/notice, four years ago I had a brand new Astra as a courtesy car while mine was being repaired, hit TWICE by the buses that go down my road (the luck of it... never had a car hit before or since) and the car was perfectly clean and they didn't care. It would have needed a respray of the rear quarter panel to sort it, but nothing was said.

[Tom]

Thank you everyone! I followed various bits of advice, my colour markers (shades of grey) evened out the white that was coming through to match the rest of the hubcap (it helped a bit), and then I mixed up some mud and splattered it all over. Car just got accepted as returned in perfect condition (:

Thanks again!

(also drove some stuff to a homeless shelter on my way there which might have helped with the karma)