Alloy wheel refurb - how much do/did you pay?

Had all 4 of my wheels (18") done last week. £360 in total for a full refurbishment and recolour, including removing and refitting tyres. They did say they would charge an extra £20 for any wheels which were out of round or dented and required more significant repair. My wheels weren't damaged (only minor kerbing on one of them) so didn't require that.

That seems a very fair price to me, given the quality of the work. They were also happy for me to leave the car with them, and the turn around was pretty quick...dropped it with them Monday morning, ready to collect by Tuesday afternoon. This is Rimtec in Meopham...I also used them a couple of years ago, same experience then, would highly recommend to anyone local.
 
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19" diamond cuts now finished in 2 tone shadow chrome which looks and feels much better than aged diamondcuts given each recut takes away the deep lustre and weakens the finish further.

FA Wheels is only a handful of places that will do two-tone as well so retain that stock diamondcut aesthetic, without making it too plain looking like standard shadow chrome.

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[TW]Fox said:
Any good wheel refurbishment place will do the job properly,
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No they will not. I took one wheel once to the local branch of The Wheel Specialist (above) as that had a kerbing scuff I was annoyed about, they recut the wheel but gave no advice on the remaining layering on my wheel as a DC has about 3 cuts before it cannot be done any more. They did it anyway which resulted in breaking up the central section which didn't have enough DC top layer which meant the anthracite layer was visible on the outer face at the inner base of each spoke. Ended up waiting until some weathering had ruined 2 other wheels and got the three done at FA Wheels properly using their swap service at the time.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Any good wheel refurbishment place will do the job properly, in such a way that the damage is irrelevant. It doesn't matter how much delamination there is if the whole lot is being removed anyway does it.


Look at any of the well regarded, leading places in the country and there will be a price per wheel regardless of damage (unless the wheel is cracked or something) with the cost only differing if you want a different finish or based on wheel size.

Things might be different at a cheap place that will try and do localised repairs or something but most people won't be using somewhere like that if they want a quality finish.
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There are well regarded places, especially those with a mobile service, who don't do a full acid dip and/or sandblasting, etc. and will typically be cheaper, which is fine for wheels which just need a bit of tidying up, if they need the full process the places which do it will typically be more expensive (also despite the listed prices some will advise/charge £15-35 extra per wheel if sandblasting is required, etc. others will do it as part of the process).

That is aside from the cheap places who'll just do localised repairs or do little more than pressure wash, go over with a scouring pad and respray :s
 
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My mx5 wheels are a little scuffed but there's a number of reports in the mx5 community that the use of heat in the power coating process makes OEM wheels brittle.

So I'm leaving em.
 
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It's around £250 a set at numerous good places locally to me, but they're all pretty much industrial/factory type setups. Office/hatch to drop off and pay and no waiting room, fitting service etc - just refurb and tyre fitting. Some do offer loan wheels though.

We also have a Wheel Specialist which I believe are franchises and they're more like £300+, but have a website, plusher facilities etc

My experience has been similar to [TW]Fox - full dip/blast and refinishing at a flat rate, unless cracked or buckled. Kerb damage is pretty much expected.
 
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Looks like the current going rate for a full refurb by a competent outfit is between £240 and £300 for a set of 4 18" wheels ?
Particularly down South in Surrey?
 
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£250 for 4 wheels to be stripped & powder coated.
I arranged for the tyres to be removed prior to dropping the wheels off. Ready in 48 hours did a really good job.

Sold the car 6 months later though so was a bit of a waste, I'd fitted new MP4S tyres all round at the same time. :)
 
bainbridge said:
My mx5 wheels are a little scuffed but there's a number of reports in the mx5 community that the use of heat in the power coating process makes OEM wheels brittle.

So I'm leaving em.
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I was looking to get my ones powder coated but read the reports of wheels cracking. So I did a bit more research and ended up with the usual 50/50 split of completely level headed opinions on the internet... So I'm the same and have left my ones for now.

They do look rubbish though, the outer layer is pitted with brake dust. Even got called out by one of the old boys at an owners club meet for not cleaning my wheels :rolleyes: Reminded me why I don't go to owners club meets :p
 
lordrobs said:
I was looking to get my ones powder coated but read the reports of wheels cracking. So I did a bit more research and ended up with the usual 50/50 split of completely level headed opinions on the internet... So I'm the same and have left my ones for now.

They do look rubbish though, the outer layer is pitted with brake dust. Even got called out by one of the old boys at an owners club meet for not cleaning my wheels :rolleyes: Reminded me why I don't go to owners club meets :p
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Why not get them painted? My concern with powder coating any external parts is apparently the coating will chip etc.
 
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