E46 19 inch alloy wheels refurb

[Andyboy]

I have been doing some research regarding alloy wheel refurbishment and i'm finding it difficult to find a company that will diamond cut the wheels. They have told me you can only cut the wheels twice and they only seem interested in spraying them in a shadow chrome finish, which in my eyes doesn't suit the car.

Has anyone had experience of this?

[Bmeerm3]

I had mine done by Spit and Polish (based in Kent). They had to go back after 3 months after flaking lacquer and 'dark spots' appeared. They re-did them and have been fine... I have to say they do look mint!

[Tea Pot One]

Lepsons did some for me which were excellent. They had them a week. I was very impressed.

[andye30m3]

I'd use Lepsons they made a nice job of my E30 wheels and have done loads for a friends bodyshop.

[sixspeed]

http://www.wheelrefurbishing.com/

Excellent company, and done a few sets of M3 wheels for a friend. Very reasonably priced too.

[david_h]

sixspeed said:

http://www.wheelrefurbishing.com/

Excellent company, and done a few sets of M3 wheels for a friend. Very reasonably priced too.

I agree they are reasonably priced.

I disagree with the implication that they provide a quality refurbishment service. The sets I've had out there have generally had dust in the paint and faults in the lacquer. Nothing wrong with that if you know to expect this, and the price is cheap.

You get what you pay for, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the job they do, it's just you cannot compare them to someone like Lepsons who produce very high quality wheel refurbishment.

[AngryApples]

I think general consensus is you wont beat Lepsons

I personally agree with this, had a set of 18" OEM's done last year, and whilst I didnt have Shadow, it was a great job

[steve singh]

To answer one of your questions, I've also heard you can only diamond cut twice...

[Mr Bimmer]

AngryApples said:

I think general consensus is you wont beat Lepsons

I personally agree with this, had a set of 18" OEM's done last year, and whilst I didnt have Shadow, it was a great job

Lepsons are excellent for painted wheels, but not so hot when it comes to polished rims unless you want them to look like a CD.

Try National alloys for a proper polished finish

[The Ferret]

Diamond cutting ruins the finish of these wheels IMO.

National Alloys are about the best if you want a decent polished and lacquered finish.

The good news is it can be done yourself with enough time, patience, and various polishing compounds.

Very simply it involves stripping the lacquer and sanding out any cutting lines from previous refurbs. Then they need repolishing using different polishing compounds, starting with a high cutting compound and gradually working down to a low cut/high gloss.

Sounds easy, but its very time consuming. The results are well worth it though, better than any diamond cutting service. Also, if properly waxed and looked after then any minor marks can be sorted in the future quite easily. I've yet to see a set of diamond cut 19's that haven't eventually gone milky and needed further work.