Diamond Cut alloy repair

stoofa · 3 Apr 2019 at 18:31

So it would appear white van man (red van actually) isn't very good at sticking to his own lane when he is taking a call - who would have thought?
I've got this damage on a Diamond Cut alloy. This is literally the only damage on the wheel, but I'm told the repair process for Diamond Cut is a little more involved.

I'm given the idea that Diamond alloy wheel refurbishment is around the £120 mark, I'm assuming I'm paying that no matter how small the damaged area?

paradigm · 3 Apr 2019 at 18:38

stoofa said:
So it would appear white van man (red van actually) isn't very good at sticking to his own lane when he is taking a call - who would have thought?
I've got this damage on a Diamond Cut alloy. This is literally the only damage on the wheel, but I'm told the repair process for Diamond Cut is a little more involved.

I'm given the idea that Diamond alloy wheel refurbishment is around the £120 mark, I'm assuming I'm paying that no matter how small the damaged area?

The whole face needs to be machined back and then re-lacquered. So yes the amount of damage is irrelevant.

So far I’ve never seen a diamond cut refurb do anything other than corrode away to awfulness in a rapid timeframe. Add to that the fact that the wheel won’t match the others (the cutting back of the face will inevitably make the polished section larger as the spokes get thicker towards the rear).

stoofa · 3 Apr 2019 at 18:45

Meh - 4 1/2 months I managed to last without coming anywhere near a curb, then I'm forced to swerve to save the front end of my car.
I've just been quoted £100+vat for a complete repair, come and collect wheel, return in a few days. or £95+vat for polishing and buffing as it's only edge damage, however I'm told it will not be as good as new.

As I'd be looking at £500 for a new wheel or anywhere in the £250 - £300 for second-hand without knowing their condition, I guess full repair is the way forward and hope it doesn't look too bad and is correctly sealed after the work.

paradigm · 3 Apr 2019 at 18:53

I’d probably look to see if I could find a good condition used wheel first, I managed to get a 100 mile old, mint wheel from eBay for my S3’s diamond cut 19” after suffering similar damage. The wheel cost me £350 (a new one is £1100 or was at the time), and I sold my minor damaged one for £250, so the cost of a wheel was less than a good refurb anyway.

I just found a seller that was willing to take close up photos of the wheel for me to confirm condition.

Kenai · 3 Apr 2019 at 19:03

stoofa said:
As I'd be looking at £500 for a new wheel or anywhere in the £250 - £300 for second-hand without knowing their condition, I guess full repair is the way forward and hope it doesn't look too bad and is correctly sealed after the work.

Have you been quoted that? Skoda price list has them new at £256, for either the anthracite or the gloss black variety

BennyC · 3 Apr 2019 at 21:04

I would just buy a new wheel if it is around the £250 mark, a repair will inevitably corrode and milk in little to no time. As also mentioned as more of the wheel is machined away it will start to mis-match and look amiss.

If you mask up the area well you could complete a relatively easy & painless DIY repair with wet & dry and some lacquer yourself. The only visual difference will be where the face will be smooth rather than machined in that area.

I did this to very similar damage back in 2014 can't seem to locate the pictures but if you were interested I'll dig out my pictures & post from another forum. It came up surprisingly well.

NVP · 4 Apr 2019 at 05:01

paradigm said:
So far I’ve never seen a diamond cut refurb do anything other than corrode away to awfulness in a rapid timeframe.

I can confirm the cheaper places who diamond cut will most likely do a poor job which leads to corrosion (as happened with wifeys wheels), however I got my M5 ones refurbed at a reputable place in MK (where the local BMW and Porsche garages use) and they were perfect, had that car for 6 years and there was no corrosion.

They were Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes:

http://pristinealloywheels.co.uk

I've used them for my E34 as well (not diamond cut) and they do exelent work at a decent price.

If you just want a cheap fix there are places who will do a smart repair (to that spot only) on diamond cut, I've seen them do it at a refurb place here in Birmingham but have never used it myself so cannot say if they last but for 20-40 quid you won't lose much.