Alloy wheel refurbishment

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

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Joined
17 Oct 2002
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160,330
Hi guys..

Want to get my alloys sorted. Can't justify dropping a grand on 18's as I've still got plenty of life in the tyres and really need to think about saving for my final year, but my 17's are the only area of the exterior which isn't pretty much mint - light scratches where they have been curbed, bit of corrosion from brake dust, that sort of thing.

Would like to get them looking brand new again.

Whats the best way to go about this? Saw another 530 Sport on a forecourt the other day and the wheels, although identical to mine, looked fab - more of a silver finish than mine. Would getting the wheels powder coated in silver be worth doing? Dad had this done on his bike in Gunmetal and the results were great BUT his wheels were mint whereas mine are not - does powdercoating fix blemishes etc as well?

Or should I just get them 'refurbished'? I don't really know an awful lot about this sort of thing as you can probably tell. I also don't really know what I'd do with a car without wheels whilst the work was done.

FWIW, wheels are roughly like this:

wheel.jpg


Thats the front, after a clean, so as you can see, bit scabby.

Pls help a noob ta :p
 
If you have them shot blasted first, then powdercoated, then yeah the blemishes will be gone (provided there's no really deep scratches) and you'll be left with a very hardwearing finish. You can have them clearcoated on top of that too, which will give you a real nice shine.
 
I was quoted £30 a wheel to refurb mine in any colour, including any repairs. I just had the one done, and he charged me £20 as he just did the area that was damaged and blended it in. Loads of companies will do wheels same day, some companies will do it mobile, though what kind of a job they do, I'm not sure. Some companies will even loan you a set of wheels the right size while they do it.
 
I just want them to look brand new and nice and shiney really :)

What sort of money is generally involved for a good job?
 
Powdercoating...anything up to £200 for a full shot blast, powdercoat and clearcoat top layer for all four wheels.
 
i think it depends if you want a quick cosmetic 'fix' or if you want a proper repair and re-finish. the foremost can be done with the tyre still on, the latter usually involves shotblasting, repair work, re-finish and then obviously fitting the tyre / balancing etc. i'm sure rotty did a thread a while back about his m3 wheels and there were some good recommendations in there, deffo worthwhile getting in touch with him though.
 
[TW]Fox said:
does powdercoating fix blemishes etc as well?

Or should I just get them 'refurbished'?
Click to expand...

At 'proper' refurbishers powedercoating is how they refurbish them.

As MrSix said, they shotblast them first and then powdercoat them. It doesn't even matter if they have heavy scratches in them as they can fill them 1st before powdercoating.

I would expect to pay £40-£60 for 17's depending on the place etc......
 
The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that, the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin." The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Powder coating is mainly used for coating of metals, such as "white goods", aluminium extrusions, and automobile and motorcycle parts.

There are several advantages of powder coating over conventional liquid coatings:

1. Powder coatings emit zero or near zero volatile organic compounds (VOC).
2. Powder coatings can produce much thicker coatings than conventional liquid coatings without running or sagging.
3. Powder coating overspray can be recycled and thus it is possible to achieve nearly 100% utilization of the coating.
4. Powder coating production lines produce less hazardous waste than conventional liquid coatings.
5. Capital equipment and operating costs for a powder line are generally less than for conventional liquid lines.
6. Powder coated items generally have fewer appearance differences between horizontally coated surfaces and vertically coated surfaces than liquid coated items.
7. A wide range of specialty effects is easily accomplished which would be impossible to achieve with other coating processes.
 
This is where I used to have mine done

Lap-Tab

"All wheels are chemically stripped to remove any previous coatings and are then shot-blasted by hand to obtain a bare metal surface in preparation for coating.

The wheels are then slightly dressed and filled to deal with any kerb damage to the rim edges. (We do not deal with repairs to buckled or badly dented wheels as these are safety related structural repairs and wheels should be written off and replaced).

The wheel is then heated to remove any air from the alloy and powder coat silver finish is applied and then cured to 180 C for 10 minutes. Next a clear lacquer coat is applied over the silver in the same manner, thus enhancing and protecting the alloy wheel. Other finishes and colours are available on request. "

I paid around £50 inc tyre removal and refitting/balancing per wheel but that is cause I knew a bloke that worked there, so should have been about £60 + wheel removal/re-fitting.
 
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Don't know anything about refurbishing so I'll leave that area.

Get hold of the Meguiar's Wheel Brightner if you decided to keep them as they are. The stuff is amazing but very corrosive so keep it away from your hands - it really does sting quite a lot.

After you've got all the crud off/had them refurbed, clean again and then apply a coat of Poorboy's Wheel Sealer as you find thing will come off 20x easier.
 
Slackworth said:
Get hold of the Meguiar's Wheel Brightner if you decided to keep them as they are. The stuff is amazing but very corrosive so keep it away from your hands - it really does sting quite a lot.
Click to expand...


Might try that, though I've had good results with 'Autoglym Clean Wheels'.
 
I was quoted £30 a corner. That was for wheels quite badly kerbed.

You could do them yourself, but i can't see Mr Fox doing that ;)

I'm currently part-way through refurbishing a set of 15" 5 spoke alloy wheels in my spare time, rattle cans (not reccomended by some) but i had a MINT finish on my last set.

Powercoating is ok, i'm not sure what sort of colours they do but i was under the impression they couldn't powdercoat in metallic colours, only flat ones such as jet black, flame red etc.

Phil
 
Tim said:
Might try that, though I've had good results with 'Autoglym Clean Wheels'.
Click to expand...

Car Plan Wonder Wheels is brilliant for cleaning alloys, i have had fantastic results using it. Gets off all dirt/dust tar anything.
 
Wheel Brightner is a detailer product rather than the usual consumer range hence it is a lot stronger than the kind of stuff Autoglym make that you'd buy off the shelf. Just make sure you hose it off well and if your driveway is in good condition then make sure you wash it off.

It comes in gallon bottles (RRP £17.99) and you dilute it to a 4:1 ratio so it lasts for absolutely ages.
 
a grand on alloys?


Buy them off ebay for around 800 then sell yours for 500ish, then they only cost £300 which is worth it :)
 
jamoor said:
a grand on alloys?


Buy them off ebay for around 800 then sell yours for 500ish, then they only cost £300 which is worth it :)
Click to expand...

thats the way I am going , picked up a brand new set for £1300


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270088363837

I needed new fron tyres anyway which would have cost over £400 , should get £400 back for my old ones meaning that a new set will have knocked me back £500 in real terms, about the same as a good refurb , new ones are still in the garage though, will put them on when the weather picks up ;)
 
I had a few light scuffs on two wheels and other problem areas where lacquer had peeled.

Went to Halfords - bought wet and dry, paint, lacquer - did them myself in no time at all.

The repair is totally invisible on both wheels, 100% perfect paint match too.

Can't quite remember the paint I used - might have been BMW artic silver, but it was spot on the right colour whatever it was.
 
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