Help identifying cause of damage

[mafaneh]

Hi guys,

I had my 2011 LE detailed last week and I noticed that the wheel now has some marking on it. I saw it at first but didn't care to check it up close thinking it was probably a minor stain or something. When I went home that day I checked it and it turned out to be a big scratch.

My question is, could this be something that the detailing guys caused with any of the their machines? They most probably did not move the car so if it's from hitting a curb or something it was probably not them. I am not 100% sure that it wasn't there before the detailing though I am almost certain it wasn't. I don't want to go blaming them with something they couldn't have done.

If anyone can identify or give a clue as to what could have caused it I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Warhammer]

Looks like you curbed your wheel at some point in time. Did you notice a brush mark on the sidewall of your tire? Your tire looks beautiful because you detailed it so I can't see anything. If you did notice a brush mark then the rim was rubbed up against a curb. Very typical pattern on the edge of the rim. The black mark might be from the same incident.

[ts2011]

Ouch , that hurts to look at. Is it definitely a scratch to the surface ? Have you tried soap and water to see if it will clean up at all? My understanding is that our wheels are clear coated like the paint.
I am scared to death of turning my car over to any detailer , they are likely to scratch the paint while washing.

[nitely]

O Man! This reminds me when my new driver- 16 year old daugter- curbed the left front wheel several months ago. I was so mad that she is not allowed to drive the MO indefinitely. 7 years of being careful avoiding curbing the wheels specially when parellel parking in SF, then just like that she messed it up here in Vegas. She wasn't even parking... she just hit the corner turning. And she did not even mention it thinking I won't find out....Teenagers... what you gonna do? ....you can't... Oh well

[mafaneh]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Looks like you curbed your wheel at some point in time. Did you notice a brush mark on the sidewall of your tire? Your tire looks beautiful because you detailed it so I can't see anything. If you did notice a brush mark then the rim was rubbed up against a curb. Very typical pattern on the edge of the rim. The black mark might be from the same incident.

No, The tire did/does not have any brush marks on it which really made me question if they could have done it with some kind of machine they used. I don't remember hitting a curb at all, and I'm a very careful driver so I was surprised to see it and of course disappointed. I am tempted to buy the touch up paint kit for the KY0 silver color from Nissan and try to fix it. And I haven't tried cleaning with water and soap to see if it gets better..

[Warhammer]

Well...then it might come to when you noticed it last. If you took the rim/tire to be balanced then the machine they used might have done it. It's obvious on the edge of the rim it was curbed at one point in time. There are little etches along the edge that match up to a curbed rim perfectly. Maybe the black mark and the edge marks are 2 different occasions.