'Diamond cut' wheels - what a pain!

'Diamond cut' wheels - what a pain!

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karma mechanic

Original Poster:

723 posts

121 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
My new car came with wheels that have the outer face machined and polished, so called 'diamond cut'. They are BMW 598M's. After 3 weeks I've managed to scuff the edge of the rim of one of the rears.



I'm told that there is no way to touch up scuffs.

I can get the whole wheel refurbished, but that involves stripping the whole wheel back to bare metal and starting again, so I'd worry that the internal paint colour didn't quite match the others. My original plan was that once I'd collected a few scuffs and scratches I'd consider getting all four done, maybe to a different base colour. That was the contingency plan for a year or two down the road, not three weeks...

I'm inclined to leave it for now on the basis that you have to look quite close to see the marring (the pic above is from an angle where the light accentuates the scratches), but on the other hand the scratches will tend to pick up brake dust and look worse as time goes on.

So, has anyone found a way to have minor scuffing retouched with shiny paint?

Leave it until there's more to rectify?
Get it fixed now because it is a new car and it spoils it?

Opinions please.




steveo3002

10,493 posts

173 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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nah no way to touch them up , and you will find they hold up to the weather too well either

id wait until you have a few marks and have them painted silver or whatever you like

swisstoni

16,850 posts

278 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
Yes, I could have gone with diamond cut wheels when I bought a car recently but went with conventional finish.
They look really nice when new but look like a right nuisance.

I wish I had shares in the wheel refurb industry.

Impasse

15,099 posts

240 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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T-cut. Yes, I know tragic PH meme, but in this case a gentle application of a mild cutting compound could improve the appearance enough to take your eye off it. If you use a little lacquer afterwards you may slow down any corrosion setting in. At the very least you'll have bought yourself some time to contemplate your next move.

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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Ugly too. Just as ugly as they were 25+ years ago.

AB

16,969 posts

194 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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I wish my wheels were as scuffed as that!

My OH seems to have smashed mine a fair few times. I've chunks out of the two N/S ones.

robdcfc

520 posts

157 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
You can sand the damage out down to 1500-2000 grit paper and then polish it up to take your eye off it.

We normally do this on trade cars or paint them silver.

karma mechanic

Original Poster:

723 posts

121 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
robdcfc said:
You can sand the damage out down to 1500-2000 grit paper and then polish it up to take your eye off it.

We normally do this on trade cars or paint them silver.
That's the odd thing, I would have thought that sanding off the scratchy bits and then laquering would look better than leaving it untouched, but nobody offers it. Of course I'd probably make it a lot worse, and then take the full set of wheels to be painted in gunmetal...

Matttracker

630 posts

146 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
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 powdercoated gunmetal and forget about them!

Zippee

13,442 posts

233 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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We've got diamond cut on our Evoque, they look so much nicer than the alloy options but we are dreading the inevitable day when one of them gets a scuff.

sjg

7,444 posts

264 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
Seal it with something (some touch up kits have clear lacquer) to limit how much the aluminum underneath oxidises, but the inevitable is that it just keeps going under the lacquer around it.

I had a Fabia vRS with similar and they all looked terrible after 3 years, a mix of small stone damage to the spokes and some bits that just started oxidising of their own accord. Refurb to same finish would cost nearly as much as a new wheel via the parts counter. If I'd have kept it I'd just have got them all refurbed in regular silver paint.

Al U

2,311 posts

130 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
If you are kerbing your wheels regardless of whether they are diamond cut you will still need a refurb to get them back to decent condition.

My wheels are factory diamond cut and when I bought my car they had some kerbing and corrosion so I got all 4 refurbed. Since then I've been very careful and so far they are spotless. I would have the same attitude with a car that looks as new as yours from the picture. Just take your time when near kerbs, I've even got out of the car a few times to make sure I'm not too close. I'd rather do that than spend another £100 per wheel to get them sorted.

If you want to get them refurbished by a good company, I can strongly recommend Pristine in Milton Keynes.

Pesty

42,655 posts

255 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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Can't you sand, polish the area then lacquer over it?

LaurasOtherHalf

21,429 posts

195 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
You need a better paint guy. smile

I dinked the polished alloys on my MINI GP, to compound the problem they were polished in a sort of pinstripe around the edges & up the spokes.

My local guys offered the full polish up and laquar job, or for £50 a touch up (guess which I chose!).

By touching it up, he just matched a really bright silver paint and blended it in after sanding and filling. I could just about spot it when extremely close up, but once I swapped the alloys round it was impossible to find. Lasted me the two yeas until I sold it.

Lordglenmorangie

3,053 posts

204 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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Agreed , changed my 997.1 Turbo ones to BBS . I hadn't scuffed them ( parking three feet from pavement helps ) but after a few years the lacquer peels making the car look tatty.sorted

karma mechanic

Original Poster:

723 posts

121 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies - now looking for a better paint guy!

Incidentally, it wasn't done while parking, I'd be even more livid if it was. It was a result of a very sharp left turn from a narrow side road and a car that's a bit longer than the previous one...

Clivey

5,108 posts

203 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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Lordglenmorangie said:
Agreed , changed my 997.1 Turbo ones to BBS . I hadn't scuffed them ( parking three feet from pavement helps ) but after a few years the lacquer peels making the car look tatty.sorted
Nice! That looks really, really good. cool

Spooge

150 posts

111 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
quotequote all
Where are you based OP? Managed to kerb my diamond cut alloys after 2000 miles, after getting over the initial bit where I was fking furious with myself I got them sanded down, can barely tell its there now.

I'm in Manchester and used Prestige Wheels, bloke turned up in a van, 30 mins and £70 later job jobbed.

Mr Trophy

6,808 posts

202 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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OP Where are you in the UK?

JayK86

14 posts

107 months

Thursday 11th June 2015
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I am currently in this dilemma. I have the dreaded white worm on the diamond polished monza's on my 2011 golf gti. They weren't scuffed or kurbed to begin with. To fix them would be an expensive refurbishment job!