Refurbishing alloy wheels

Strollerbird

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I have been looking for somewhere to refurbish my diamond cut alloy wheels. I haven’t found anywhere that will take the wheels off for me. My van is 7.6m long and 4.5 tonnes so I don’t want to stick it up on bricks for 3/4 days whilst they do it - not that I have anywhere I can leave it in a wheeless state. Has anyone had experience of a company that will offer the full service i.e remove and refurbish?
 
You used to be able to get mobile companies that would come to you, remove, refurb and refit. I don’t remember all the details but I presume this is paint spray and bake rather than powder coated but maybe not.
 
Strollerbird said:
I have been looking for somewhere to refurbish my diamond cut alloy wheels. I haven’t found anywhere that will take the wheels off for me. My van is 7.6m long and 4.5 tonnes so I don’t want to stick it up on bricks for 3/4 days whilst they do it - not that I have anywhere I can leave it in a wheeless state. Has anyone had experience of a company that will offer the full service i.e remove and refurbish?
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What I would suggest is that you DON'T keep the Diamond Cut effect. It is a disasterous finish for an alloy wheel as water gets under the lacquer coat, spins around as the wheel goes round when driving and you get the horrible spider-web effect.
You can get it redone but the same issue will arise again virtually immediately.
This is an example of that - each 'triangle' part is a diamond cut effect, the rest of the wheel is painted. As you can see, it is only the unpainted diamond cut parts that are showing any problems.
463057375_8442075469179643_5537510914354853297_n by David, on Flickr

I bet everyone who has FIAT alloys on their motorhomes will already have this to a degree (You actually see it on brand new vans with delivery miles).
Get the wheels tidied up and then instead of leaving the faces as lacquered bare metal, have them painted.
You can get these done by a mobile repairer who will take the wheels off and refurb one at a time. The tyres DON'T need to be removed to refurbish the wheel faces - If the wheels are not totally knackered and it is just the face and spokes that need refurbed they can be done on your driveway and is a perfectly appropriate way to do it.
This is that same wheel as above after I refurbished it, with the tyre still on and the bead broken so I could clean and paint the rim as well.
463259065_8442075489179641_4835885843286853288_n by David, on Flickr

You might need to supply the jack required to lift the corners to get the wheel off? most mobile repairs will have jacks suitable for cars and not 4.5t vans, so make sure they know what to expect.
Also make sure a repairer does remove the wheel to refurbish it. Some 'SMART' repairers try to fix and paint the wheel while still fitted. Maybe doable to fix a small scrape but not really the way to do it.

couple of examples:
https://mobilewheelclinic.co.uk/ - they will actually repair the diamond cut effect as well but I seriously would not advise it regardless
https://revive-uk.com/territory/coventry/alloy-wheel-repair/ - Revive are a SMART repairer with the same Franchise setup as ChipsAway but are (IMO) more professional. You'd need to check if they can remove the wheel and break the tyre bead.
 
My son got his diamond cut ally’s refurbed when he got his Golf GTD. 3years down the line they still look👌 apart from the one his misses kerbed.
 
caledonia said:
My son got his diamond cut ally’s refurbed when he got his Golf GTD. 3years down the line they still look👌 apart from the one his misses kerbed.
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Did they recut the metal and lacquer? or did they repair the corrosion and paint though? lacquering bare metal is really not a good idea.

As an example, that first company that was linked to? This is their confidence in Diamond Cut repairs ....
"AWRUK provide a full 12 months guarantee with all their work. The guarantee is applicable and valid for the owner at the time of when the service was performed by AWRUK for the duration of 12 months and is non-transferable upon the sale of the vehicle to the new owner. Diamond Cut & Polished Wheel Repairs carry a 3 month guarantee only."
Say no more. (that short warranty for diamond cut wheel repairs is typical as well. not just them)

as an aside, I just noticed the T&Cs of the first company ... they include this ... "we shall not be liable for loss or damage caused to you or the vehicle by our losing the keys or locking them in the vehicle." ?? so 'we lost your keys. tough luck'?
 
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Strollerbird said:
I have been looking for somewhere to refurbish my diamond cut alloy wheels. I haven’t found anywhere that will take the wheels off for me. My van is 7.6m long and 4.5 tonnes so I don’t want to stick it up on bricks for 3/4 days whilst they do it - not that I have anywhere I can leave it in a wheeless state. Has anyone had experience of a company that will offer the full service i.e remove and refurbish?
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Might be out of your way or maybe even now closed down but if you travel along A45 from Coventry toward Brum just as you pass the M42 you come into a suburban area and pretty much the first business on the left is a wheel specialist, I’m going back 3 vans now but they sold me a set of new British made alloys for my Sprinter for as little as refurb costs on existing wheels, they’re a bit down to earth but really helpful and fitting was no problem, just in case you don’t get sorted. :)
 
Tyres must bo of to do a proper job as beads leak after a while with powder coating, they require shotblasting with grit after they have been in a oven at over 280c which makes the powder flaky and easy to remove, then you can epoxy 2 pack them followed by a 2 pack poly silver or white, did squillions in my time.
 
trevskoda said:
Tyres must bo of to do a proper job as beads leak after a while with powder coating, they require shotblasting with grit after they have been in a oven at over 280c which makes the powder flaky and easy to remove, then you can epoxy 2 pack them followed by a 2 pack poly silver or white, did squillions in my time.
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Waiting for you to come in with this :) All I can say is b****** :D
 
wildebus said:
Waiting for you to come in with this :) All I can say is b****** :D
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Strange how 2 comp i know all did the same thing, sorry but you are not correct this time.
pistols.jpg
 
wildebus said:
Trev,
loads of others do something different. There is more than one way to do something, you must realise that surely?
It is like saying the only car worth buying is a Skoda? some may actually disagree?
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We did them for many fleet cars & van, powder coating was and is expensive hence we got many wheels at between £10 & £15 a pop, taxi firms where are big one.
 
trevskoda said:
We did them for many fleet cars & van, powder coating was and is expensive hence we got many wheels at between £10 & £15 a pop, taxi firms where are big one.
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Sometimes I would take wheels to be blasted and power coated; sometimes I would paint with the tyres still on. All depends on the state of the wheels and also the requirements of the customer.
If they need the wheels fixed at home and need the car everyday, telling them they have to be all removed and taken away for upto a week is not a lot of use, is it?
If you have a load of taxi wheels in stock and all you have to do is swap the tyres over, then that is very easy for the taxi customers, but hardly typical and of no use to the OP with a Motorhome.
 
Strollerbird said:
I’ve tried to identify this but the area is mainly part of the NEC followed by the airport!
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Sorry it’s been years but I’ve found it on google earth and it’s called “wheel mania” on the Coventry road (2353 cov rd according to google) but as I say it’s been years since I used them
 
guerdeval said:
Sorry it’s been years but I’ve found it on google earth and it’s called “wheel mania” on the Coventry road (2353 cov rd according to google) but as I say it’s been years since I used them
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wheelmania.co.uk

Home - Wheelmania

Alloy wheel, tyre and wheel refurbishment specialist with 30+ years' experience. Knowledgeable staff. 95% of new business from recommendations.
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