'Diamond cut' wheels - what a pain!

[HannsG]

This is why I am getting my M3 wheels powedercoated

[irfan1712]

HannsG said:

This is why I am getting my M3 wheels powedercoated

wouldn't go down the powder coated route either mate, stick to traditional wet paint as you'll be happier with the finish a lot more, and if you ever do damage them their easier to touch in as opposed to powder coat, which you cant.

M3 wheels always look good mirror or ceramic polished - still looks reasonably OEM but the metal is bare, so when they do become a bit faded you can get some metal polish on there and jobs a good un. sorting kurbing isn't an issue with them either.

[0772jam]

I think if the damage is just on the diamond cut face of the alloy, the refurb process can skip the full strip of the colour, skim the face on the lathe and then re lacquer, either wet etch lacquer or clear powder coat, then theres no problem with the colour difference if only the one wheel is repaired.
If your diamond cut company can also powdercoat, the clear powder coat would be the best for longevity and adhesion as apposed to wet lacquer.
In regards to wet paint being better than powder, powder is a far better finish and can still be smart repaired at a later date with paint. The advantage with wet paint is its easier for smaller spot repairs to blend in with existing colours, but thats it in my opinion.

[gazza285]

Two years late to this particular party...

[HannsG]

Welcome to the pain I suffered maintaining my E46 M3 wheels.

Ended up doing the powder coated in shadow chrome. Silver front with black inserts.

Looked brilliant. No regrets.

Choose a excellent outfit and you can avoid diamond cutting

[0772jam]

Im sure people reading this today, are still having the same dilema though, not much of a party, as i did, i used a company in Bolton and went for diamond cut and clear powdercoat myself. Very happy so far, they didnt touch the ferric grey on inside of the spokes, which was the OPs original worry.

[Jeb81947]

I got some wire tangled around my Citroen python front wheel which damaged the surface. It looked like someone had been keying tit while it was moving . While delaying to get it restored I was using some maquires tyre liquid to shine my tyres up and wiped the sponge over the scratches wheel . You wouldn’t believe how good it looked after that even in the sunlight . Nothing permanent but a good disguise . Try it !?

[topturkey]

karma mechanic - how much did you pay?
only had a 3yr old M6 for 6 weeks and a thousand or so miles and just done the same - pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things but frickin annoying to not be paying attention on leaving a car park with kerbs on either side and to slightly knock one of them. My photo would look almost exactly the same as yours.... be good to know what the cost was and how it is now a couple of years on?

thanks

[karma mechanic]

topturkey said:

karma mechanic - how much did you pay?
only had a 3yr old M6 for 6 weeks and a thousand or so miles and just done the same - pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things but frickin annoying to not be paying attention on leaving a car park with kerbs on either side and to slightly knock one of them. My photo would look almost exactly the same as yours.... be good to know what the cost was and how it is now a couple of years on?

thanks

I can't be sure after all this time, but 50 quid rings a bell. The repaired area is absolutely fine. Of course there are other minor scrapes now, as expected...

[Blown2CV]

hard to touch up but you can have them re-polished. Some decent wheel outfits can do it and it's actually quite a lot cheaper than a paint and lacquer refurb. They don't come up perfect but certainly look tons better.

[Mr-B]

topturkey said:

karma mechanic - how much did you pay?
only had a 3yr old M6 for 6 weeks and a thousand or so miles and just done the same - pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things but frickin annoying to not be paying attention on leaving a car park with kerbs on either side and to slightly knock one of them. My photo would look almost exactly the same as yours.... be good to know what the cost was and how it is now a couple of years on?

thanks

You need to change your username to toplurky Welcome to PH.

[Craikeybaby]

My wife has bought a car with diamond cut alloys, actually her first car with alloys. Given how mangled the wheel trims on her old car were I’m dreading how these are going to turn out.

[swisstoni]

Best view them as consumables

[vsonix]

irfan1712 said:

HannsG said:

This is why I am getting my M3 wheels powedercoated

wouldn't go down the powder coated route either mate, stick to traditional wet paint as you'll be happier with the finish a lot more, and if you ever do damage them their easier to touch in as opposed to powder coat, which you cant.

M3 wheels always look good mirror or ceramic polished - still looks reasonably OEM but the metal is bare, so when they do become a bit faded you can get some metal polish on there and jobs a good un. sorting kurbing isn't an issue with them either.

Yeah I am recently regretting getting some wheels powdercoated as they need redoing already thanks to some idiot I trusted my car with; they've offered to pay for the damage but I have to split them again. Will get them blasted and go for paint instead this time. I don't really want to spend all my time polishing the dishes.

[mwstewart]

Kerbing is obviously a problem and does ruin them, but otherwise it is possible to keep them OK - I apply wheel wax to mine after every wash and it seems to have worked.

[MB140]

ZX10R NIN said:

That's problem I no longer have on my Polished Alloys as after a refurb on one wheel I now always fit AlloyGators & have never had the problem since.

Me too. Fantastic and as they are pretty much a near colour match hard to see they are there at anything over 5ft from the car.

[Klippie]

I love the look of machined finish alloy wheels or diamond cut as its known these days, it doesn't last unfortunately the corrosion starts on the very fine edge where the lacquer is the thinnest a few stone chips on this edge and they are doomed nothing can be done to stop this happening.

One long term solution is to have the wheels refinished with proper chrome powder coating, it looks just like polished alloy when done correctly.

[pixelmix]

Thread resurrection!

How are people's diamond cut spot repairs holding up after a while?

I had one wheel fully refinished previously and 2 years later it is the worst of my four wheels, with marks under the lacquer. As a result, I have bought a new wheel from an individual who had a 'never used' spare. Unfortunately it has been slightly scuffed (one a few cm on the edge) in transit to me. Obviously I don't want to get it fully refinished, but worry that if left as is, it will look worse once road grime gets in.

If these spot repairs are holding up okay, are there any recommendations for a spot repair in central Scotland and idea of cost?

Edited by pixelmix on Monday 10th December 12:55

[Funk]

MB140 said:

ZX10R NIN said:

That's problem I no longer have on my Polished Alloys as after a refurb on one wheel I now always fit AlloyGators & have never had the problem since.

Me too. Fantastic and as they are pretty much a near colour match hard to see they are there at anything over 5ft from the car.

Is it recommended/worth rebalancing the wheels once Alloygators are fitted?

[anonymous-user]

Horrid things. Chuck 'em away.