Wheel refurbishment

[crazy frog]

Hi , looking to have my wheels refurbished,, not interested in OH THEY DID A GOOD JOB!,
AS IF you didnt pay for it and IT WAS FREE. The money I pay for something is perfect and I don't expect anything different in return.So my thanks is in the money.iii
I'm looking for detailed specific information. IE= A local shop will acid dip ,told me that as if he had just invented the wheel. 12 months warranty, 6 months because mine are slightly pitted .well I wish my £ notes would self destruct after 6 months,and creep back into my bank account.
So can the technically informed tell me about the different types of refurbishment for example,shot blasting ,acid dipping,or any other method.
I'm not bothered about the odd dimple from pitting/erosion provided its been stripped back to bare Alloy and re finished properly so it should last for years.
Thanks Paul.

[macafee2]

I seem to recall Birmingham powder coating company being mentioned on a thread last year

macafee2

[Dawn]

I used this chap: http://www.danmerrinwheels.co.uk/

He IS NOT cheap, but he does everything the old fashioned way, and he sends you pictures of the work as he's going if you like. These are mine being done. They required lots of coats, including a black base and then the dark chrome coats over the top.

[JoeMc]

Stevie at Wheelrite in Chorley is VERY good and someone I'll highly recommend to anyone in the North West etc

http://www.wheelrite.co.uk/

He's done my alloys since 2004! Even did the Works alloys I've got on my M5 and they're a c£3k set!!!

[SCP440]

The problem you have is a lot of places are trying to do the minimum amount of work for a quick return, I have used the powder coaters in Birmingham but found though they looked great when I collected them a piece peeled off one wheel after a short while, looking at the surface underneath it was obvious they had done minimal preparation. Luckily I had them do a 5th wheel and I sold the car a few months later.

There is a company near me that bead blasts the wheels before they powder coat, it was obvious they had been very thorough with the stripping as I had chance to examine them before the powder coating was applied.

I was told if you have pitted wheels silver sparkle is the best finish as it hides a lot of the imperfections.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by crazy frog

Hi , looking to have my wheels refurbished,, not interested in OH THEY DID A GOOD JOB!,
AS IF you didnt pay for it and IT WAS FREE. The money I pay for something is perfect and I don't expect anything different in return.So my thanks is in the money.iii
I'm looking for detailed specific information. IE= A local shop will acid dip ,told me that as if he had just invented the wheel. 12 months warranty, 6 months because mine are slightly pitted .well I wish my £ notes would self destruct after 6 months,and creep back into my bank account.
So can the technically informed tell me about the different types of refurbishment for example,shot blasting ,acid dipping,or any other method.
I'm not bothered about the odd dimple from pitting/erosion provided its been stripped back to bare Alloy and re finished properly so it should last for years.
Thanks Paul.

I would like to try and answer your specific points.

1. The optimum process

IMO it would be acid dipping > blasting > rubbing down > welding/filling > sanding > repeat of the last three steps as many times as necessary > powder coating > protective coating

2. Perfect refurbishment and perfect money

The relationship is not as stated, but rather one of work quality vs volume of money. In my view, it would probably cost a £few00 per wheel to get perfection through refurbishing old wheels. If you really do desire perfection, the cheapest option will be to buy new wheels. This is the same principle as properly renovating an old house vs building new.

3. As most people are not willing to pay say £200 per wheel for refurbishment, the commercial refurbishers offer varying degrees of compromises for smaller amounts of money. Around £60 per wheel should achieve a reasonably good finish that for all practical purposes will be close to new from a few feet away during the first 1-2 years. I doubt it could ever last as long as the finish on a new wheel.

I hope the above is of some help.

[crazy frog]

Thanks for the advice , i have been quoted £60 per wheel acid dip and 6 month warranty normally 12 months.
Reading an above post flaking after a short time is my concern. As mine do look ok from a distance. So why spend money on a short term fix.?
I'm not after perfection in total glas flat smoothness where the odd pits were I'm after perfection in removing any oxidised residue so that the new finish will adhere properly and therefore should last a good while ,not just 6/12 months,
Indecently what is the cost of new (but having said that obviously old wheels unless they have been kept in a vacuum for at least 12 years) 18 inch gridspokes
Thanks Paul

[trikey]

Wheel em in - Hull

These guys do a fantastic job.

[steve-45]

Originally Posted by crazy frog

Indecently what is the cost of new (but having said that obviously old wheels unless they have been kept in a vacuum for at least 12 years) 18 inch gridspokes
Thanks Paul

Looking on Rimmers, it seems that very few alloy wheels are still available new, and certainly not 18" ones.

As a comparison a mate had to replace an 18" alloy on his Jaguar X Type sport, and that was about £350.00.

[crazy frog]

Well come on we all know prestige car makers have a perceived value attached to the price ! And as such pull your pants down.
I had a 3 year old 1996 Jaguar XJ sport and racked op 300,000 miles.other than usables it was bullet proof !
The rear pads on that XJ were the same as the front pads off a Vauxhall vector.They came off the same brake production line but had different stickers put on them and sold at twice the price by jaguar.
In 1980 my old man had a 1978 Rolls Royce shadow 11.broken headlight exact part was a standard Lucas lense fixed by local garage out in the sticks.can you imagine what Rolls would have charged (perceived value)
But thanks for your input.

Paul