Alloy wheel repair

[RanaMB]

Hi,

I have kerb damage on two alloy wheels. They are diamond cut.
Could someone please advice on which route shall I choose for them to be repaired?
1. Go with diamond cut like to like.
Or
2. Get them repaired by mobile repair van.

Note - This is going to be the first repair since I bought the car.

 

[MrGreedy]

Hi there,

If going for diamond cut, I don't think there's any substitute (literally) for getting them fully refurbed in terms of quality of look.
But, be aware that after a refurb, they might start corroding in as little as 3 months with no damage. Warranties on offer vary from 3 to 12 months (rare).
You can only diamond cut a maximum of twice as a general rule.
If after a full refurb, the do start to fail within any warranty period, what do you do? Get them refurbed for the second and final time? And if they go again, which they probably will even without damage.
I had mine diamond cut. I fully treated them with ceramic coating, then waxed for good measure. Did next to no miles over the driest summer in recent memory, and they started to fail in 5 months. This was their second cut already.

If you are keeping the car longer term, my strongest advice would be to go one colour full refurb on all wheels.
If you are leasing and need to return, you might need to factor that into your decision and consider a diamond full refurb nearer lease return time.

 

[JHS]

I had to make the choice between diamond cut and full colour recently and went for full colour for the reasons above. Diamond cut looks nice in the showroom but nothing looks worse when the lacquer starts to fail.

 

[RanaMB]

I had to make the choice between diamond cut and full colour recently and went for full colour for the reasons above. Diamond cut looks nice in the showroom but nothing looks worse when the lacquer starts to fail.

May I ask what was the cost? Did you go for powder coat?

 

[RanaMB]

Hi there,

If going for diamond cut, I don't think there's any substitute (literally) for getting them fully refurbed in terms of quality of look.
But, be aware that after a refurb, they might start corroding in as little as 3 months with no damage. Warranties on offer vary from 3 to 12 months (rare).
You can only diamond cut a maximum of twice as a general rule.
If after a full refurb, the do start to fail within any warranty period, what do you do? Get them refurbed for the second and final time? And if they go again, which they probably will even without damage.
I had mine diamond cut. I fully treated them with ceramic coating, then waxed for good measure. Did next to no miles over the driest summer in recent memory, and they started to fail in 5 months. This was their second cut already.

If you are keeping the car longer term, my strongest advice would be to go one colour full refurb on all wheels.
If you are leasing and need to return, you might need to factor that into your decision and consider a diamond full refurb nearer lease return time.

Thank you.

 

[BigJase88]

May I ask what was the cost? Did you go for powder coat?

I have had wheels powdercoated

For 18" i paid £50 a wheel gloss black powdercoat when there was an offer on last year.

I also got a 17" in satin black and an 18" in gloss black outwith the offer and they were £69 each



17" satin






18" gloss black

 

[RanaMB]

I have had wheels powdercoated

For 18" i paid £50 a wheel gloss black powdercoat when there was an offer on last year.

I also got a 17" in satin black and an 18" in gloss black outwith the offer and they were £69 each



17" satin

View attachment 126265




18" gloss black


View attachment 126266

View attachment 126267

Nice job. Where did you get yours done? I’m near Nantwich.

 

[JHS]

May I ask what was the cost? Did you go for powder coat?

Had 2 people quote. One said at least £60/£65 per wheel. The other said £45 per wheel both for powder coating. Looked at some of their work and could not see any difference so went for £45/wheel. Well satisfied. This was for 19" AMG turbine wheels 7.5j front and 8.5j rear.

 

[BigJase88]

Nice job. Where did you get yours done? I’m near Nantwich.

Miles away

Dumfries powdercoating.

Just ring around local.

There are 2 options... painted or powdercoated.

Powdercoat give longevity and a harder finish, the draw backs are the finish. They give a slight orange peel effect finish but thats just how powdercoat dries.

Painted you get the mirror finish that powdercoat cannot acheive however you do not have the harder coating so wheels more prone to stonechips etc.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Sometimes powder coat is TOO hard....this car result in stress cracks in the coatingas the wheels flex and can chip just as easily as paint due to it being so brittle. It would be paint for me. I guess that's the reason factory wheels are usually painted rather than powder coated.

Any finish is better than diamond cut and lacquered though....whoever thought that was a good idea needs their bumps felt! Clear lacquer just does not bond well to polished alloy so the slightest crack or chip will have moisture lifting the lacquer for that lovely white spider web effect!....usually started from a sharp edge where the lacquer is thinnest.

 

[Headhurts]

There is a definite difference in quality of work between companies that do the work in house and mobile services.

The mobile service is usually cheaper but of course they have less time to do the job whereas in house normally bake on the paint and have time and the luxury of a better environment to work In.

I had my wheels refurbed by a mobile company as they were corroding rather than been kerbed the wheels were diamond cut and they had some pretty good kit and the wheel cutting was excellent but the paint job was not a patch on the in house plus the whole wheel was not painted they were blended in on the inside.

Robin