wheels, painted ?
Discussion
Over the last few months the finish on the alloy wheels appears to be coming off, exposing a different coloured material underneath.
Are these wheels painted, I thought alloy wheels were just a non-corrosive alloy that was a silver colour when polished.
Have my wheels been refurbished with paint then. Looks pretty awful, just wondering what is the history with these wheels or if they're all like that ?
Plus how do I go about getting them back to a decent appearance - anyone recommended ?
Are these wheels painted, I thought alloy wheels were just a non-corrosive alloy that was a silver colour when polished.
Have my wheels been refurbished with paint then. Looks pretty awful, just wondering what is the history with these wheels or if they're all like that ?
Plus how do I go about getting them back to a decent appearance - anyone recommended ?
pics would be helpful, pretty much all alloys are either painted or powder coated, only time the alloy is left bare is when its polished up but then thats like a mirror not silver. if damp gets underneather the alloys does sometimes start to bubble slightly and that will lift all the paint.
Alloys are generally painted as Tony says and I do not know of any car leaving the factory today that does not have painted wheels. In the early days (cf Dolomite Sprint) the polished alloy section was often covered with a clear lacquer.
Some wheels are sold unpainted and highly polished in the custom aftermarket sector or in some US States where they do not salt the roads.
Powder coating is generally the best refurb finish, but you can do your own refurbs if you are handy with a spraygun. For small repairs use an airbrush.
People like wheelpaints.co.uk will provide matching wheel silvers for a range of cars.
Bad kerbing where you lose a chunk of metal can be repaired using a two-part filler stick like e-tech alloy wheel putty, which sets harder than the alloy it sticks to. Do the right prep, apply the silver and finish off with a lacquer designed for wheel use.
It is easier to work with the tyres off, but pro refurbers will often deflate the tyres and simply push them away from the side of the rim they are working on.
Here are some of mine which I did recently (XKR and MGTF)
Before:
After:
Half of the Jaguar wheel has been sprayed - the other half is untouched. This was Jaguar Silver 1 from wheelpaints. Obviously you need an 8mm spline bit to take the decorative stainless steel bolts out first...
Some wheels are sold unpainted and highly polished in the custom aftermarket sector or in some US States where they do not salt the roads.
Powder coating is generally the best refurb finish, but you can do your own refurbs if you are handy with a spraygun. For small repairs use an airbrush.
People like wheelpaints.co.uk will provide matching wheel silvers for a range of cars.
Bad kerbing where you lose a chunk of metal can be repaired using a two-part filler stick like e-tech alloy wheel putty, which sets harder than the alloy it sticks to. Do the right prep, apply the silver and finish off with a lacquer designed for wheel use.
It is easier to work with the tyres off, but pro refurbers will often deflate the tyres and simply push them away from the side of the rim they are working on.
Here are some of mine which I did recently (XKR and MGTF)
Before:
After:
Half of the Jaguar wheel has been sprayed - the other half is untouched. This was Jaguar Silver 1 from wheelpaints. Obviously you need an 8mm spline bit to take the decorative stainless steel bolts out first...
Edited by fenderbender on Monday 2nd July 20:18
Edited by fenderbender on Monday 2nd July 20:30
JonyTVR said:
I'd argue you get a better finish by painting, but powder coating is generally cheaper.
I agree with you, except when doing the job yourself as powder coating kit is quite expensive and needs a dedicated electric oven (you can never use it again for food afterwards).See www.frost.co.uk/coatings/powder-coating.html
Harrytsg said:
But which one is more durable?
(assuming tyres removed and both professionally done)
In my experience? - about the same. Neither will stand up to a British Standard kerbing but both will keep the elements off the metal, avoiding corrosion. Factory fit wheels are generally sprayed as are car bodies.... because it is cheap and effective.(assuming tyres removed and both professionally done)
Another, more expensive, solution is stove enamelling, but even this is prone to chips and cracks as well as impact damage.
fenderbender said:
Harrytsg said:
But which one is more durable?
(assuming tyres removed and both professionally done)
In my experience? - about the same. Neither will stand up to a British Standard kerbing but both will keep the elements off the metal, avoiding corrosion. Factory fit wheels are generally sprayed as are car bodies.... because it is cheap and effective.(assuming tyres removed and both professionally done)
Another, more expensive, solution is stove enamelling, but even this is prone to chips and cracks as well as impact damage.
slideways said:
I hope your wrong about that, I. Had better keep that from the missus, and also the fact I used the dishwasher to clean the parts first 
Eeek.I'm only reporting on what I have read. Everywhere I have researched gives the same advice: 'Keep in mind that once the oven is used for curing powder coat, it should never be used for cooking food'.
see example PDF : www.homemetalshopclub.org/projects/powder.pdf
I think it is because the plastics involved can taint food either to the degree you can taste it in what you eat, or worse still you will still be ingesting the residual chemicals whether you can taste them or not.
Harrytsg said:
Cheers, looking at your results I might even be tempted to give it a go myself.......but fear I would bugger it up.
No you won't!! Top tips are as follows:1. Dont use aerosol cans as you cannot control the spray pattern and will get runs
2. Buy a cheap smart repair spraygun from eBay. I keep one for colour and another for lacquer. These are ideal - Ebay item 350327555372
3. You will need to hire/buy/borrow a small compressor to run the gun(s)
4. Buy your lacquer and wheel silver from a wheel paint specialist like wheelpaints (see post above) because it comes ready to spray out of the tin - ie no thinning required.**
5. 99% of the quality of your finish is down to careful preparation before applying paint. This is a simpl,e matter of careful work and patience. Use washing up liquid as a degreasant
6. Wear a decent mask and practice on a cardboard sheet first
- in terms of price I paid about £25 for a litre of jaguar silver. This is enough to do scores of wheels on many cars. Compare this with the price of the touch-up paint stick kit sold by Jaguar - £15
Thanks for the responses,
I haven't kerbed the wheels. Wouldn't be complaining if that was the reason - you got to expect some paint loss if you kerb them.
The area that the paint has been lost from is off the sides of the spokes. It seemed to come off during a jet wash and similar areas on each wheel.
It only seems to be the front wheels at the moment.
You're absolutely right about photos of course - here you go:
These are the pics showing what appears to be a paint loss:
This one shows an area that looks to have gone a different shade of silver. I suspect this may be a previous repair done for the previous owner that has degraded ?
I haven't kerbed the wheels. Wouldn't be complaining if that was the reason - you got to expect some paint loss if you kerb them.
The area that the paint has been lost from is off the sides of the spokes. It seemed to come off during a jet wash and similar areas on each wheel.
It only seems to be the front wheels at the moment.
You're absolutely right about photos of course - here you go:
These are the pics showing what appears to be a paint loss:
This one shows an area that looks to have gone a different shade of silver. I suspect this may be a previous repair done for the previous owner that has degraded ?
I thought of having mine refurbed and changing to a graphite colour. Got a quote from this guy in Pontyclun http://www.alloysmart.co.uk/Index.htm around £50 a corner IIRC, seemed to have a lot of work on when I visited.
fenderbender said:
Plus £10 a wheel to put the tyres back on??
After all, £20 a wheel is £80 total. You can get an awful lot of paint, thinner , wet& dry for that.
Agreed !!! Plus, what's the worst that can happen if you spray them ? You screw it up and THEN send them to be powder coated ... No brainer in my opinion After all, £20 a wheel is £80 total. You can get an awful lot of paint, thinner , wet& dry for that.
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