Cleaning up diamond cut alloys

[FarzyB]

Hi everyone - my 981S alloys (20", diamond cut) need some TLC and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for where they can be fixed up in north London? Alternatively, any warnings from bad experiences also welcome! Thanks!

[anonymous-user]

Well, I have diamond cuts on another car and they're damaged. My enquiries have indicated the only possible repair is a full re-furb by a specialist. In other words, the whole wheel has to be machined again - which ain't cheap.

Mind you, new Porsche wheels are so expensive a full refurb is probably the best way to go, unless you can pick up a replacement wheel from ebay.

It also begs the question what you're going to do with a 3-wheeled Porsche for a few days....

[anonymous-user]

These guys are in Edmonton and offer a refurb for diamond cuts. I have no personal knowledge of the firm.
https://www.alloyworks.co.uk/diamond-cut-alloy-whe...

[bcr5784]

I have no direct experience of repairs to diamond cut wheels , but I understand that it is neither cheap and not always possible. Clearly (unlike other wheel refurbishment) you have to remove metal - and there is only so much that it is safe to remove. I have seen it said that BMW will not repair a diamond cut wheel. I personally would avoid diamond cut wheels for that reason - but I had no choice so I'm lumbered with them too.

[peterperkins]

Diamond cutting will restore a wheel to almost as new condition, but as has been mentioned involves specialised equipment, removal of material, and it's expensive.
The refurb also does not generally last as long as the original before the lacquer goes and corrosion sets in.

I've had a few sets done over the years and they look great. (For a while!)
But after a salty winter it's generally downhill, so I'm not sure it's worth the expense, unless it's a summer only car that you look after fastidiously.

I now get my old diamond cut wheels blasted and powder coated in boring silver sparkle every couple of years.
OK It's not quite as nice too look at but..

It's much more durable and protects the alloy better.
It does not involve removal of material.
It can be repeated many times.
It's relatively cheap.
Available in wide range of colours and finishes.
I'm not paranoid about small scuffs anymore.

I generally get the plastic centre caps done as well and then use a vinyl transfer vehicle logo from e-bay to replace any old ones lost in the process.
You can do plastic center caps with a rattle can of silver sparkle paint for a pretty good match to the actual wheel.
Some centers can be powder coated properly if durable enough to stand the process.

Original Before.


Diamond Cut..


Powder Coated.

Edited by peterperkins on Monday 15th April 08:40

[Cheib]

These guys are excellent and do diamond cut wheels...not North London but only 25 mins from Euston on the train. They did a great job on some Monza II’s on my old MK V GTi which were diamond cut (wife did a great job on them kerbbing them previously!)

http://www.wheelrefurbishing.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=...

Or the people that I think are thought of as the best are Lepsons

http://www.wheelrefurbishing.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=...

Actually very easy to get back/to from on the train from Kings Cross...they’re a 5 min walk from Gillingham station.

[hixster]

FarzyB said:

Hi everyone - my 981S alloys (20", diamond cut) need some TLC and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for where they can be fixed up in north London? Alternatively, any warnings from bad experiences also welcome! Thanks!

I have a 981S with 20" Carrera wheels. Minor scuff on one but nor much.
My detailer sent them to his wheel guy for evaluation and I was told they can be refurbed, but only once.
Might be a consideration.

[peterperkins]

hixster said:

My detailer sent them to his wheel guy for evaluation and I was told they can be refurbed, but only once.
Might be a consideration.

Diamond cut once yes, but they can be powder coated as many times as you like within reason.

[SV_WDC]

Wondering how powder coating works on the diamond cut Porsche alloys though.

Because only the spokes are exposed and the rest of the wheel is painted.

Excluding the Turbo1 wheels from that statement. Whenever you see powder coating pics it is the whole wheel which has been done one colour

[FarzyB]

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses - seeing as I can only refurb the alloys once (I didn't know this before posting so that's been super useful to learn), it makes sense to wait until nearer to sale time and just enjoy them as they are - after all, I don't see them when I'm driving and they spin too quickly for anyone else to see the scuffs...!

[tedblog]

You can recut diamond wheels more than once . It depends on the depth of the damage.
A small graze will take a small amount of metal off so the possibility of another repair is high.