'Diamond cut' wheels - what a pain!
Discussion
Zed 44 said:
I've not long had a 2016 Mercedes which has some small blistering of the lacquer in the centre of the wheel, well away from where it could have been physically damaged. The warranty is up in July but I'm not expecting much joy from the main dealer.
Thats your fault. Graveworm has had cars 37 years, man and boy and never had any issues with Diamond Cut wheels.
Zed 44 said:
I've not long had a 2016 Mercedes which has some small blistering of the lacquer in the centre of the wheel, well away from where it could have been physically damaged. The warranty is up in July but I'm not expecting much joy from the main dealer.
On a more serious note, take the car back to Mercedes and see what they say. I'd a set of 20 inch AC Schnitzer alloys replaced through BMW because of corrosion coming outwards from the centre caps. I've also had a VW Passat Diamond Cut alloy replaced by VW because of spider blisters on the spokes, so its not unheard of for the manufacturer to take ownership.
Matttracker said:
Do what rob said, the scuff looks fairly small on my phone, so wet and dry 400/600/1200/2000 polish but then spray some rattle can lacquer over it to seal it. Polished wheels are a pain left open to the elements. My split rims are a nightmare to look after.
Leave it like that until you get them all refurbed.then get them all powder coated gunmetal and forget about them!
Hi, Leave it like that until you get them all refurbed.then get them all powder coated gunmetal and forget about them!
Sorry to interrupt.
I have 4 diamond cut wheels that need full refurb.
Now instead of going the black, then diamond cutting to get the silver back, I was planning a "one single" colour.
The car is a black Touareg, and the wheels are 22 inch.
Not totally sure to go general "Alloy Silver" or a Gun Metal Grey ?
Edited by Register1 on Monday 24th June 17:09
MB140 said:
ZX10R NIN said:
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. 
Very late to this conversation but I’m having the same issue as everyone else with diamond cut alloys on my car.
Have found a guy called “Mcmillan Alloys” in the Midlands who has said he can come out and polish out the outer edges and apply self etching lacquer to seal.
The damage is only on the outer edges where my wifes skills for parking shows.
Does anyone think this is a good idea? And has anyone had this done?
I’ve been informed i can get them polished elsewhere but they never mentioned self etching lacquer.
Have found a guy called “Mcmillan Alloys” in the Midlands who has said he can come out and polish out the outer edges and apply self etching lacquer to seal.
The damage is only on the outer edges where my wifes skills for parking shows.
Does anyone think this is a good idea? And has anyone had this done?
I’ve been informed i can get them polished elsewhere but they never mentioned self etching lacquer.
If you cant avoid crashing into things then fit steel wheels and keep the alloys in the shed/garage until you get rid of the car.
A short-term fix is to swap the damaged wheel for the spare and hope nobody notices but if you are prone to crashing there is increased likelihood of damaging an undamaged wheel.
A short-term fix is to swap the damaged wheel for the spare and hope nobody notices but if you are prone to crashing there is increased likelihood of damaging an undamaged wheel.
Edited by Olas on Sunday 2nd February 10:44
Olas said:
If you cant avoid crashing into things then fit steel wheels and keep the alloys in the shed/garage until you get rid of the car.
A short-term did is to use the swap the damaged wheel for the spare and hope nobody notices but if you are prone to crashing there is increased likelihood of damaging an I damaged wheel.
I think people are talking here specifically about the diamond cut alloys, a lot of which seem prone to corrosion no matter what.A short-term did is to use the swap the damaged wheel for the spare and hope nobody notices but if you are prone to crashing there is increased likelihood of damaging an I damaged wheel.
Granted, clipping them on a kerb wont help, but untreated it will let water in under the lacquer and make the problem even worse.
Taking the wheels off and putting steel wheels on may not even prevent the problem with diamond cut alloys because if theres anywhere for damp air to get in (perhaps a small microscopic stone chipo or a tiny gap at the edge of a spoke) they will corrode anyway.
Genuinely, a fairly awful product, but unfortunately are currently en vogue.
Deep Thought said:
I think people are talking here specifically about the diamond cut alloys, a lot of which seem prone to corrosion no matter what.
Granted, clipping them on a kerb wont help, but untreated it will let water in under the lacquer and make the problem even worse.
Taking the wheels off and putting steel wheels on may not even prevent the problem with diamond cut alloys because if theres anywhere for damp air to get in (perhaps a small microscopic stone chipo or a tiny gap at the edge of a spoke) they will corrode anyway.
Genuinely, a fairly awful product, but unfortunately are currently en vogue.
No, incorrect. The OP specifically uses the word ‘scuff’ as a verb, in the context ‘I managed to scuff a wheel’Granted, clipping them on a kerb wont help, but untreated it will let water in under the lacquer and make the problem even worse.
Taking the wheels off and putting steel wheels on may not even prevent the problem with diamond cut alloys because if theres anywhere for damp air to get in (perhaps a small microscopic stone chipo or a tiny gap at the edge of a spoke) they will corrode anyway.
Genuinely, a fairly awful product, but unfortunately are currently en vogue.
Water does not scuff, water corrodes. The OP scuffed the wheel by crashing, rendering my response accurate and correct.
Please re-read the OP thoroughly and highlight which parts of the text you believe refers to water damage.
Thankyou.
Ra12345 said:
Very late to this conversation but I’m having the same issue as everyone else with diamond cut alloys on my car.
Have found a guy called “Mcmillan Alloys” in the Midlands who has said he can come out and polish out the outer edges and apply self etching lacquer to seal.
The damage is only on the outer edges where my wifes skills for parking shows.
Does anyone think this is a good idea? And has anyone had this done?
I’ve been informed i can get them polished elsewhere but they never mentioned self etching lacquer.
I wouldn’t bother as the Mercedes alloys corrode from the centre out. All the wheels on my wife’s ML have corrosion in the middle of the spokes -well away from parking rash.
I’d wait until the wheels get really bad and then get them painted. That’s what I’m going to do this year.
Have found a guy called “Mcmillan Alloys” in the Midlands who has said he can come out and polish out the outer edges and apply self etching lacquer to seal.
The damage is only on the outer edges where my wifes skills for parking shows.
Does anyone think this is a good idea? And has anyone had this done?
I’ve been informed i can get them polished elsewhere but they never mentioned self etching lacquer.
I wouldn’t bother as the Mercedes alloys corrode from the centre out. All the wheels on my wife’s ML have corrosion in the middle of the spokes -well away from parking rash.
I’d wait until the wheels get really bad and then get them painted. That’s what I’m going to do this year.
Olas said:
No, incorrect. The OP specifically uses the word ‘scuff’ as a verb, in the context ‘I managed to scuff a wheel’
Water does not scuff, water corrodes. The OP scuffed the wheel by crashing, rendering my response accurate and correct.
Please re-read the OP thoroughly and highlight which parts of the text you believe refers to water damage.
Thankyou.
Calm down!Water does not scuff, water corrodes. The OP scuffed the wheel by crashing, rendering my response accurate and correct.
Please re-read the OP thoroughly and highlight which parts of the text you believe refers to water damage.
Thankyou.
Your response may be "accurate and correct" relative to the O/P, however i was saying that we've been talking over the last six pages about diamond cut alloys generally and realistically chances are the wheels will corrode anyway. So its not just a matter of "not crashing in to things".
Diamond cut alloys are hateful things to keep.
Sorry you saw that as a personal attack.
swagmeister said:
Alloy Gators are horrible horrible things - learn not to clip kerbs.
Or just get smaller wheels and use tyres with what we used to call "sidewalls".More of this:
And less of this s
t:
Most modern wheels are oversized from the factory and have tyres that, as a consequence, have pathetic sidewalls. Dumbness in the name of fashion. They provide no engineering or dynamic advantages whatsoever, no matter what the muppets who favour such nonsense will try to tell you.
So I don’t have a huge amount of sympathy when you read about the inevitable nuisance of kerbing, punctures and awful ride quality.
Powder coat is the way forward. Can be done many times without removing metal from the wheel.
Diamond cut looks good for about 5 mins until you look at them wrongly / breathe on them wrong / the day ends in a "y" and they get kerbed, plus the wheel can only be refurbed a few times that way.
Diamond cut looks good for about 5 mins until you look at them wrongly / breathe on them wrong / the day ends in a "y" and they get kerbed, plus the wheel can only be refurbed a few times that way.
Three years ago I changed my rear tyres on my 3 series (fitted with diamond cut wheels) and none of the alloys had any corrosion. I only changed the rear tyres as one had a puncture. Interestingly within a couple of months the corrosion set in and thought that the salt on the road, possibly sun damage or maybe stone chips could be the cause. December 2021 my front tyres at 48,000 miles (car now 5 years and 6 months old) needed changing due to wear. Both front alloys had no corrosion at all. Now again a coupe of months on the corrosion is setting into the front alloys. Conclusion is now 100% clear that the damage is caused by the tyre fitting process. Appreciate some cleaning products can also do this but I always hand wash the car and wheels with a hot wax and never curb the wheels so the finger is definitely pointing. Can only assume most garages do not have the best equipment to gently offer the right care for these sorts of alloys and the public will continue to think it is the salt, stones or age causing the damage to happen but the truth is a little different.
Richard-jyih4 said:
Three years ago I changed my rear tyres on my 3 series (fitted with diamond cut wheels) and none of the alloys had any corrosion. I only changed the rear tyres as one had a puncture. Interestingly within a couple of months the corrosion set in and thought that the salt on the road, possibly sun damage or maybe stone chips could be the cause. December 2021 my front tyres at 48,000 miles (car now 5 years and 6 months old) needed changing due to wear. Both front alloys had no corrosion at all. Now again a coupe of months on the corrosion is setting into the front alloys. Conclusion is now 100% clear that the damage is caused by the tyre fitting process. Appreciate some cleaning products can also do this but I always hand wash the car and wheels with a hot wax and never curb the wheels so the finger is definitely pointing. Can only assume most garages do not have the best equipment to gently offer the right care for these sorts of alloys and the public will continue to think it is the salt, stones or age causing the damage to happen but the truth is a little different.
Interesting as that's exactly my experience corrosion only happened after tyres replaced. The corrosion on all 4 has started on the area near to the tyre valve. I wonder if when removing the original valve the lacquer gets damaged. Does anyone know if the hole for the valve needs to be reamed?Richard-jyih4 said:
Three years ago I changed my rear tyres on my 3 series (fitted with diamond cut wheels) and none of the alloys had any corrosion. I only changed the rear tyres as one had a puncture. Interestingly within a couple of months the corrosion set in and thought that the salt on the road, possibly sun damage or maybe stone chips could be the cause. December 2021 my front tyres at 48,000 miles (car now 5 years and 6 months old) needed changing due to wear. Both front alloys had no corrosion at all. Now again a coupe of months on the corrosion is setting into the front alloys. Conclusion is now 100% clear that the damage is caused by the tyre fitting process. Appreciate some cleaning products can also do this but I always hand wash the car and wheels with a hot wax and never curb the wheels so the finger is definitely pointing. Can only assume most garages do not have the best equipment to gently offer the right care for these sorts of alloys and the public will continue to think it is the salt, stones or age causing the damage to happen but the truth is a little different.
You may find the lacquer sticks to the bead of the tyre and popping the tyre odd lifts the lacquer enough to let water under. There is nothing you can do about it, its nobodys fault, its a case of live with it or have them painted i'm afraid.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff