Alloy wheel refurb lifetime?
Discussion
ks.
xjay1337 said:
How had you left them too long? 
As in too far gone to repair?
After they did the them the first time the powder coat had "pop" holes in a couple of places, where they said air in the alloy had popped out while they were in the oven. They said that was due to them being 10yrs old and never having been refurbished before - although the finish (apart from a around the valve holes on a couple of wheels - appeared intact they said the wheels were corroding underneath the finish. As in too far gone to repair?I still think that's nonsense. Second time they did them (because the oven didn't get fully up to temp the first time) they looked fine. And they still did up to a few months ago - they've just suddenly gone. What's annoying about it is with the car now being 13yrs old, it's not worth spending £300+ to get them done again.
Yes this is my experience of using a certain well known specialist franchise too, despite scores of 'happy customer' reviews on their official site and facebook pages. After a year or so there's signs of little corrosion flecks under the surface, plus a few areas just like in your picture. Not caused by stone chips but rather by poor preparation/failing to get rid of the original corrosion.
I also agree with the OP with regards to the stuff the staff come out with. After the acid bath process, I was told that they re-paint the wheel rather than re-alloy it, whatever that means. They also used an excessive amount of low quality wheel weights to rebalance the wheels. Firstly, why not invest a little more in the higher quality plastic coated wheel weights that some manufacturers use from the factory, the ones that don't corrode themselves! I'm sure the sort of customers who are paying hundreds to refurb their wheels wouldn't mind paying a tiny bit extra. When I mentioned the excessive number used the guy just shrugged and said that's nothing, sometimes we have to stack rows and rows on top of each other before finally admitting that if it gets too bad then they shuffle the wheel about on the rim, as a decent fitter would do in the first place.
And I must say on my visit, their warehouse space was chock full of main dealer used cars awaiting prep work on scuffed alloys. Don't know what the ratio of private vs corporate customers is, but seemed to be heavily weighted towards the bigger business customers which is presumably where the easier money is compared to fastidious PHers like ourselves!
I also agree with the OP with regards to the stuff the staff come out with. After the acid bath process, I was told that they re-paint the wheel rather than re-alloy it, whatever that means. They also used an excessive amount of low quality wheel weights to rebalance the wheels. Firstly, why not invest a little more in the higher quality plastic coated wheel weights that some manufacturers use from the factory, the ones that don't corrode themselves! I'm sure the sort of customers who are paying hundreds to refurb their wheels wouldn't mind paying a tiny bit extra. When I mentioned the excessive number used the guy just shrugged and said that's nothing, sometimes we have to stack rows and rows on top of each other before finally admitting that if it gets too bad then they shuffle the wheel about on the rim, as a decent fitter would do in the first place.
And I must say on my visit, their warehouse space was chock full of main dealer used cars awaiting prep work on scuffed alloys. Don't know what the ratio of private vs corporate customers is, but seemed to be heavily weighted towards the bigger business customers which is presumably where the easier money is compared to fastidious PHers like ourselves!
Edited by Toyoda on Wednesday 13th September 20:36
Toyoda said:
Yes this is my experience of using a certain well known specialist franchise too, despite scores of 'happy customer' reviews on their official site and facebook pages. After a year or so there's signs of little corrosion flecks under the surface, plus a few areas just like in your picture. Not caused by stone chips but rather by poor preparation/failing to get rid of the original corrosion.
I also agree with the OP with regards to the stuff the staff come out with. After the acid bath process, I was told that they re-paint the wheel rather than re-alloy it, whatever that means. They also used an excessive amount of low quality wheel weights to rebalance the wheels. Firstly, why not invest a little more in the higher quality plastic coated wheel weights that some manufacturers use from the factory, the ones that don't corrode themselves! I'm sure the sort of customers who are paying hundreds to refurb their wheels wouldn't mind paying a tiny bit extra. When I mentioned the excessive number used the guy just shrugged and said that's nothing, sometimes we have to stack rows and rows on top of each other before finally admitting that if it gets too bad then they shuffle the wheel about on the rim, as a decent fitter would do in the first place.
And I must say on my visit, their warehouse space was chock full of main dealer used cars awaiting prep work on scuffed alloys. Don't know what the ratio of private vs corporate customers is, but seemed to be heavily weighted towards the bigger business customers which is presumably where the easier money is compared to fastidious PHers like ourselves!
So where the hell do we get a decent job done - that lasts? Personally I think I'll just buy new alloys next time, and be done with it!I also agree with the OP with regards to the stuff the staff come out with. After the acid bath process, I was told that they re-paint the wheel rather than re-alloy it, whatever that means. They also used an excessive amount of low quality wheel weights to rebalance the wheels. Firstly, why not invest a little more in the higher quality plastic coated wheel weights that some manufacturers use from the factory, the ones that don't corrode themselves! I'm sure the sort of customers who are paying hundreds to refurb their wheels wouldn't mind paying a tiny bit extra. When I mentioned the excessive number used the guy just shrugged and said that's nothing, sometimes we have to stack rows and rows on top of each other before finally admitting that if it gets too bad then they shuffle the wheel about on the rim, as a decent fitter would do in the first place.
And I must say on my visit, their warehouse space was chock full of main dealer used cars awaiting prep work on scuffed alloys. Don't know what the ratio of private vs corporate customers is, but seemed to be heavily weighted towards the bigger business customers which is presumably where the easier money is compared to fastidious PHers like ourselves!
Edited by Toyoda on Wednesday 13th September 20:36
tannhauser said:
So where the hell do we get a decent job done - that lasts? Personally I think I'll just buy new alloys next time, and be done with it!
Many OEM wheel finishes leave a lot to be desired.Besides, new wheels can be £600+ EACH.
A refurb is usually £60 per wheel.
MyAlloys in Basingstoke consistently do high quality work.
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