Wheel refurb

[CatalystV12V]

I've notice a few marks on my wheels which I'd like to get sorted once this summer’s activities have finished...
I've only had one set of wheels 'refurbished' in the past which was less than satisfactory. Is it actually possible to return wheels back to 'as new' condition? (In this case my diamond cut alloys)

I've seen some posts mentioning 'Lepsons'.. I would be interested in feedback anyone has on this company or others like them..

Thanks,

Richard.

Edited by CatalystV12V on Wednesday 6th June 13:00

[MichaelV8V]

Diamond polished wheels can be refurbed, but its a bit more expensive, and doesn't carry the same guarantee. I was quoted 3 months guarantee on diamond polished but 12 months on 'chrome' painted on my Audi wheels

The underlying problem is that the alloy is polished to make it very smooth, then lacquer is applied to this smooth and slippery surface, so it doesn't lock onto the surface too well, and is liable to lift. A longer-lasting result comes from etching the surface and applying the finishing paint to that rougher surface, but then you've lost the polished surface.

The chrome paint I had done has now lasted 2 years, and looks very similar to the original diamond polished finish

[NigelStn]

I've heard that this company is quite good: The Wheel Specialist Burton on Trent

[shunt]

I used 'The Wheel Specialist' in Manchester, they sand blast the old wheel, repair any dings then powder coat the whole wheel. The results are 1st class, they look like new. They don't do a diamond cut finish, but they do have a chrome look powder coating. They had a V12V wheel they had done in the showroom in Manchester, might be worth a call and ask them to send you a picture of their work.

[F1NDW]

shunt said:

I used 'The Wheel Specialist' in Manchester, they sand blast the old wheel, repair any dings then powder coat the whole wheel. The results are 1st class, they look like new. They don't do a diamond cut finish, but they do have a chrome look powder coating. They had a V12V wheel they had done in the showroom in Manchester, might be worth a call and ask them to send you a picture of their work.

I used the 'The Wheel Specialist' in Manchester for my CL600 wheels. They did a fantastic job, as good as new and at a very sansible price. I will not hesitate to use them for the Astons wheels when the time comes.

[jamesc12]

CatalystV12V said:

I've only had one set of wheels 'refurbished' in the past which was less than satisfactory.

Out of interest, why was it less than satisfactory? I'm looking at getting one of my wheels 'refurbished' as I curbed it at the weekend .

[runner911]

Just had two rear wheels off my DB9 refurbished by these people.
£121 the pair.
Superb.

http://www.thepolishedwheelcompany.com/

[mikey k]

Diamond cut faces can only be recut and lacquered once or twice as it involves cutting metal off the face.
On my last car I had a couple of sets powder coated and lacquered MUCH MUCH more durable and easier to clean.
I picked a special version of the BMW Smoked Chrome effect, I had the inside of the wheel done totally black to hide the dirt and keep them looking tidy.


DSCN4285 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

[AdamV8V]

jamesc12 said:

I'm looking at getting one of my wheels 'refurbished' as I curbed it at the weekend .

For our part of the world, Mr C, I'd go Spit & Polish (Tonbridge, Kent) every time.

http://www.spitandpolish.co.uk/

Great wheel people. Rubbish website developers.

[jamesc12]

AdamV8V said:

For our part of the world, Mr C, I'd go Spit & Polish (Tonbridge, Kent) every time.

http://www.spitandpolish.co.uk/

Great wheel people. Rubbish website developers.

Thanks for the recommendation Adam. Given I've only got 2 marks (one about 4 inches long, the other 1 inch) in total on all four alloys, I might wait until the next 'accident' before I get a proper refurb done by these guys instead of a bodge job by a man in a van.

[wezzer-45's]

I would strongly recommend Renowheel in South Wales.
They are the only people that we let refurbish our diamond cut wheels in Cardiff.

Aways an excellent job done.
Here's a few pics of their work.

[CatalystV12V]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks.

jamesc12 said:

Out of interest, why was it less than satisfactory? I'm looking at getting one of my wheels 'refurbished' as I curbed it at the weekend .

I've only had one set of wheels refurb'd in the past. They were a set of cup alloys from a Porsche 928. They were stripped and repainted.. And i mean painted not powder coated or the like. The finish was so soft you only had to look at them and they'd mark up

[MichaelV8V]

Are they polished or done with 'chrome' powdercoat. Its very difficult to tell the difference. I had the 20" diamond polished wheels on my Audi done with chrome powdercoat and its virtually identical, I left the wheel centres as they were, and they match almost perfectly.

And powdercoat will be much more durable than diamond polished.

[BingoBob]

CatalystV12V said:

The finish was so soft you only had to look at them and they'd mark up

Even after a few weeks of hardening?

I just had some of mine done and had to get them done again before even putting them on the car because of this. The paint seems harder now.

[P14SMM]

Only Chartwell in derby will ever touch my cars, they are amazing!!!

Mines in now for all 4 done due to a couple of small marks.
Speak to glen he knows what quality you'd expect and once sent my wheel back again because of a small imperfection.

They are a little expensive but it's worth it for perfection.

[wezzer-45's]

BingoBob said:

Even after a few weeks of hardening?

I just had some of mine done and had to get them done again before even putting them on the car because of this. The paint seems harder now.

The DB9 and DBS wheels pictured above have been refurbished with the origional diamond cut finish.

The inserts are painted then the face is recut then laquered. This then gives the spectrum appearance to the cut surfaces.

With regards to powder coating, I've heared some horror stories on other sites where wheels have had powder coating ontop of badly prepared wheels, and so gives a really poor finish that will not last. But thats not to say that all powder coaters are the same.

[W1111AM]

From the depths of history I bring you back to life

[BravoV8V]

From another thread:

BravoV8V said:

James1927 said:

BravoV8V said:

LordBretSinclair said:

Any info on the 2 tone treatment please ??

If James1927 can't tell you anything, I certainly can.

I didn't treat them myself, they came as standard on the SP10..

"19-inch cast alloy rims with V-shaped spokes in a diamond turn finish and painted in high-gloss black"

Would be cool if you could recreate the same finish!

Here's the story: that style of wheel is available from AM in 3 finishes: silver, graphite/diamond cut and black/diamond cut. (The black is only available to order on specific cars, such as the SP10, and can't be bought directly from AM).

As we already know, these wheels are manufactured by Rimstock. If you return your wheels to Rimstock, they will refurbish them in whichever finish you want. I know this because I had a selection of different wheels refurbed as a graphite set:



You could, as Ian suggests, obviously take your wheels to another wheel specialist (and get whatever finish you want). I was particular about Rimstock because I wanted the OEM factory finish.

I hope this helps.

The same wheels with the black/diamond cut finish:



Graphite (a little larger):

[Ikobo]

mikey k said:

Diamond cut faces can only be recut and lacquered once or twice as it involves cutting metal off the face.
On my last car I had a couple of sets powder coated and lacquered MUCH MUCH more durable and easier to clean.
I picked a special version of the BMW Smoked Chrome effect, I had the inside of the wheel done totally black to hide the dirt and keep them looking tidy.


DSCN4285 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr

I remember when i could've bought those Volk's from you back in the old days on S2ki, big regret!!

[W1111AM]

Hi team, I want to share the experience of using Pristine Wheels - my outcome: surprised and very pleased with a quality job:
Here's how they work:
a) ring them, try to choose a finish with technical person
b) book in your order £400 + VAT (including shipping both ways, if your tyres are removed) more if they have to remove and refit your tyres.
c) the next day MailUk comes out to collect your wheels, the van arrives and you ask the driver what are you putting the wheels in, he says nothing is supplied by Pristine At this point you think OMG my wheels are going to get damaged. Important - attach a photocopy of one of the driver's ONLY barcode labels onto each wheel with sellotape etc. Now if the wheels get split up your wheels will hopefully all get there. Pristine informed me on the phone with the driver there, that the wheels were fully insured, ok. So leap of faith and I waived my wheels goodbye as they entered unprotected into a white van of brown parcels...
d) Pristine ring the next day to confirm they gave received the wheels and to confirm the finish one last time.
e) the wheels are sandblasted and refinished and shipped back to you in around 4 working days.

I choose the third darkest finish of these 4 versions of "smokey chrome" which is a flat colour paint with chrome dusting as top spray to give a depth in colour. My finish is "dark smokey chrome"

|http://thumbsnap.com/0qEqY8Fg[/url]

These were my OLD silver wheels, damaged by the Autoslaap train to Italy this summer:

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Above in the next post, are the finished wheels