Part wheel refurb

[davemr32]

Hi all had a very small scuff on right front for a bit now i have put one on left front ,so its bugging me now, so i dont want to have all the wheel refurbed just the outer rim where scuffs are will this turn out well or look just as bad as the scuff was going to try whicked wheels ? Or if not may try claiming on insurance saying they have been pinched as i need new tyres anyway or will it cost me in the long turm ,i have protected nc bonus any ideas ?

[Brazo]

I would say #40 and a SMART repair agent would touch it in so you won't notice. Cheaper in the long run for you and me than defrauding your insurance company!

[davemr32]

Any more advice on the referb as that is the way to go the insurance was not a good idea as i have never made a claim is 12 years of driving.

[OGWT]

Repairing Scratched Wheels:

This procedure is for slight damage only; a specialist wheel repair shop: www.wheelcollision.com,

Wheels America http://www.fixrim.com, http://www.wickedwheels.co.uk/ (also USA) should repair serious damage.

Shop wheel repair- approx. $150 –250 per wheel, usually 48 hours (dependant upon geographical area)

•Remove the damaged wheel from vehicle.

•Clean the damaged area with Prepsol and then sand the scratched or damaged area with Norton 3X Sandpaper (p-graded aluminium oxide grain,) 60, 80 or 100 grit sand paper, sand wet or dry with a wooden sanding block.

•Sand the wheels until you've removed the scratches or `kerbing' marks.

•Continue the sanding process using finer and finer grades of paper, 220 or 320 grit and finally with 500-grit paper.

•For small hard to reach places use a Dremel tool and a suitable sanding bit

Repainting Wheel Surface:

•Prepare the surface by removing all sandpaper residues by washing and then wiping with a clean damp towel.

•Use 3m Painters Masking Tape between the tyre and the wheel rim

•Spray the wheels with Dupont Prep Sol and allow to air dry.

•Apply a thin coat of zinc (Groit's 20225) to stabilize the surface.

•Paint the wheels with two thin coats of silver alloy paint (Griot's Garage P/N 20225) to ensure complete coverage, and allow air-drying (1-2 hours between coats and leave to cure overnight.

•Finish with a clear lacquer paint (Griot's Garage P/N 11570) allow to air-dry and then cure for 4-6 hours

Alternate product- Wurth European Blend Lacquers, Wurth Clear Coat (http://www.performanceproducts)

JonM

[cleanimage]

[ QUOTE ]

Hi all had a very small scuff on right front for a bit now i have put one on left front ,so its bugging me now, so i dont want to have all the wheel refurbed just the outer rim where scuffs are will this turn out well or look just as bad as the scuff

[/ QUOTE ]

As you probably know, Clean Image valet cars... we are also s**t-hot when it comes to smart repair. The reason we are s**t-hot when it comes to smart repair, is because we also valet cars.

For example, we only use top quality leather dyes, because too many times we have gone to condition leather only to find that the leather has been repaired and the dyes they use just wipe off!

Likewise, the only time we evey have problems with strong wheel cleaners is when the wheels are very old, or have been refurbished poorly.

It's my experience that is you JUST repair the rim, that is a poor repair. It can be done, but firstly, you need a wheel that has a hard edge to mask to, and these are fairly rare, these days alloy wheels tend to have curved rims.

you also have to remember that most wheels are silver. I'm sure you have heard it, but silver is a bugger to match even if you have the right colour. But just you try and find out the paint code for your wheels!

Almost all the car manufacturers buy their wheels in ready painted, from factories in Canada, Itally, Japan etc. So they don't seem to know the paint codes, nor do they much care - I'm still waiting from a phone call back from BMW - I have been waiting over 2 years!

So it is near impossible to get the right colour match, and then you have the problem with the lacquer. This needs to be faded in or else you get a hard line. The problem is that when you fade in lacquer on car body panels, you can flat and polish them... to do this on an alloy wheel would be so difficult that it would be easier to just refurbish the whole wheel.

And if you don't flat and polish, and most refurb guys wont, then you end up with a texture... now you know how dirty wheels get, and you know how difficult they can be to clean... so imagine they have a slight texture from faded out lacquer!

You should also know that to fade out, they often use a product called fade-out, or they thin the lacqure which amounts to the same thing. This stuff is fairly weak, and unless they 'key' your wheels, this faded out lacquer can come off, or else turn hazy or stain when you apply an alloy wheel cleaner.

All-in-all, it is just not a good idea to refurb just the edges of your wheels.

The reason I have gone into so much detail about this is that so many companies still do it!

[ QUOTE ]

was going to try whicked wheels?

[/ QUOTE ]

Fine - we used them for a while, the guy was good. And then they sent us another guy and he was a waste of space. The last job they did for us was totally unacceptable, so I told him to do the wheels again. He then tried to blag me that "You are always going to get runs and sags in them"

I know it's bad form for me to slag a company off, and I don't want to pick on Wicked Wheels - as I said, the first guy the sent us was really good. But unless you phone them up and ask for the guy you want by name, then you won't know who you are going to get.

And that is the problem with almost all the smart repair guys of any kind.

You see, the problem is that they are mobile. Because of this they can get called anywhere. I know the problems they face because I get sent photos by e-mail every day by people asking "can you fix this?".

Last month I got a mail from a guy who had driven a car that was 6ft wide down an alleyway that was 5ft wide and he wanted to know if it could be fixed with paintless dent removal. Frankly, the car was a write-off.

I get people with tears in their upholstery that are 6" long asking if we can do an invisible repair.

I get people with wheels that are smashed, bent and buckled asking if we can refurbish them.

...and thats just the silly ones. So now you know why plumbers charge £50 call out fee. It is quite possible for a smart repair technician to drive all over the county visiting private customers and not get a single job out of it. so it's hardly suprising that they love working for the dealerships.

The dealerships will soon get to know what they can and cannot do, and and won't call them out on fools errands. Dealerships can also line up 4-5 cars for them to do in one visit. I know quite a few guys who will knock off at lunchtime and go down the pub because they earned their days money working a dealership in the morning.

And here is the funny thing... dealerships are not demanding! They may try to get these guys down on price, but they don't demand high quality. If you go to a dealership to buy a new, let alone second hand excecutive saloon car, are you going to get down on your hands and knees to see if the wheels have been refurbished? As long as the wheels aren't scuffed, then you won't even look, so you won't notice if the colour is a bit off, or if there are sags or runs.

And I'm sorry to say, but so long as the repair last until the customer has driven the car off the forecourt, the dealerships don't give a toss how long it lasts. That is why smart repair guys use leather dyes that only last until the next time you condition your leather... or upholstery repair techniques that will rub off in a matter or weeks.

It's sad but it's true. And this is the core business for smart repair technicians, so this is standard you can expect.

And of course, all the best ones are in with the dealers, they don't need to be chasing around the county dealing with the general public. It is often the case that it is the total plonkers that are prepared to turn up at your door.

I know one guy who does mostly retail work, and you can expect him to be booked up at least 4 weeks ahead, usually 6 weeks - this is because he is good!

The answer is to try and get somebody by recommendation, but even then you have to realise that the person who recommended them might have had a completely different type of job to yours, and their standards might not be as high.

So when hireing a smart repair technician, take photos and offer to e-mail them... if the guy doen't have e-mail, ask yourself what kind of company doesn't have e-mail in this day and age! Be prepared to wait a few weeks for an appointment, certainly don't try and hire the guy who is the cheapest. Smart repair guys of all kinds are in quite high demand, especially alloy wheel refurbishment, so if they are cheap, chances are they are crap.

Before you let him start work, find out exactly what he intends to do, and let him know exactly the standard you will be expecting of him. If you are not happy with the results, don't be fobbed off with excuses, it IS possible to refurb a wheel without sags, runs, and half a pound of sand stuck to the wheel - but by the same token, don't expect perfection. It is after all an on site repair, and is seldom going to be as good as the origional factory finish. But you shouldn't be able to tell the diference from 3ft away.

If you are not happy with the results, don't put up with it. All normal consumer rights apply. This means you DON'T have to pay, but YOU DO have to give the guy the oppotunity to put things right.

One of the best things to do is to say right at the begining "I am a difficult customer and a fussy git, and I expect perfection - I have been reading up on this subject on the internet!". Hopefully, this will prevent them from cutting corners. Same applies to most smart repair men (although dent guys are usually good) and all tradesmen for that matter. Just follow the advice given on the BBC's Rogue Trader.

[davemr32]

Thanks clean image that has been a great help but i am worried now what to do, as i have very high standards that is why i didnt want to mess with doing the whole wheel so mybe i will be better buying two new wheels and selling the curbed ones .

[cleanimage]

That sounds like a very expensive way to do it...

Any chance you can post up a picture of one of the wheels, or a close up of the damage?

Andy how many wheels are damaged?

[davemr32]

Hi dan ive emailed you some pics thanks dave

[cleanimage]

Those wheels are really straightforward to do. There is no split rims, polished rim, or two tone, and the colour is fairly standard.

In short, you can have these refurbed for between £45-£65 +vat per wheel. The colour match would be pretty good if you just go two done, but it won't be exactly the same, but as your wheel are so far appart, you would never now.

Even if you got all four done, and sent them off to be powder coated, you are still only looking at about £300 - and you will get your wheels back with the tyres fitted and balanced.

...this has got to be a cheaper option than a new set of replacement wheels?

[davemr32]

Thanks for that dan but how will it go if i just get the marks done and not all the wheel its not a cost thing its just i dont think i will be happy if they are stipped and redone as i have had a bad experience with that before ?What i am trying to say is that i know doing just the marks only will not be perfect, but if it looks better than the kerbed marks then i can deal with the little patches being not so good than all the wheel not being standard and orignal please put my mind at rest for good thanks

[cleanimage]

They shouldn't need to strip the whel to repaint it. They should just fill the gouges, key up the rest of the wheel, and then put a thick coat of paint and lacquer over the whole thing.

It wil look far better than a patch-up.

[Chav]

[ QUOTE ]

Any more advice on the referb as that is the way to go the insurance was not a good idea as i have never made a claim is 12 years of driving.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like the repair job this guy does and I like the idea of doing DIY repairs as I'm always scuffing my sodding wheels, and the price of a repair is almost the cost of a new wheel (I have reps)

DIY alloy wheel scuff repair linky