Alloys looking tatty

[jonm]

Had my alloys replaced under warranty 2 years ago, but, now out of warranty the new ones are starting to look tatty pretty crap isn't it! (no obvious dings, just corrosion)

Anyone know how to do some minor fixes at home without having to remove the wheels and post them off..or is it just to easy to make a dogs a**e of it?

Cheers

 

[Howard]

Hi Jon ...

What alloys are they ? are they painted or diamond cut finish ?

If painted , it's pretty easy with a bit of time to get a nice finish yourself ... If diamond cut , best to go to the big boys ...

Although if they aren't horrendous, a mobile guy will probably do them for £25 to £30 a wheel .... hardly worth getting yourself dirty for .....

 

[jonm]

Hi Howard,

Thanks for the reply, as for paint/polish no sure really, they are on a 2003 (pre facelift) 203, Avantgarde. Although I have a sneaky feeling that it has a bit of both (I seem to recall when I had them replaced).

The corrosion is around the lip.
Jon

 

[mobiledreams12]

I have a 55 reg W203 with the Sport pack wheels (Adharaz) and they are already suffering corrosion on the inside edge of the spokes!

I think MB just make crap alloys.

My VW Golf is over 3 years old with silver-painted alloys and they still look brand new...

 

[Shude]

I think MB just make crap alloys.

They don't make any alloys AFAIK, the ones with the poor finish are usually made by Ronal!

 

[mobiledreams12]

They don't make any alloys AFAIK, the ones with the poor finish are usually made by Ronal!

Must be unlucky then.

Previous to the W203, I had 6 year old W202 with Sport wheels and no corrosion at all.

Back to the OPs question, even if you had them touched up (by Chips Away or similar) the corrosion would be back pretty quickly.

 

[Howard]

Can't see how it would be ?

If they are properly stripped , degreased ,flatted down , primed and painted , then there's no way they can corrode unless the surface coat is broken ...

Even better get them powder coated ...

 

[Wezzel]

And when you have done whatever you are going to do with them give them several coats of wax.

Prevention is better than the cure and if the wheels are well waxed the brake dust and other nasties just hose off.

Any wax will do but wheel wax is better.

 

[jonm]

Sounds like I need to wax 'em 2 years ago

 

[G11DOM]

And when you have done whatever you are going to do with them give them several coats of wax.

Prevention is better than the cure and if the wheels are well waxed the brake dust and other nasties just hose off.

Any wax will do but wheel wax is better.

I can totally agree with this.

I once bought a Evo 6 TME which came with white wheels as standard which showed up brake pad dust very badly and after having them refurbed I bought some wheel wax and built up 5 or 6 coats of the wax on before refitting them to the car and after that the dust and grime just hosed off very easily and as from now every car I buy gets the same wheel wax treatment, well worth the time in my opinion.

 

[Howard]

Mine are painted , but after I refitted them (after re-furbing them myself) I waxed them with Harly Wax .....

Everytime i wash the car , i re apply it (takes 10 mins) and as you say , the dust and grime just falls off .....

If i'm in a real rush , and don't have time to actually wash them , i can literally wipe the alloys with a piece of dry mutton cloth and they come up absolutely pristine ....

Wax is the way forward ...

 

[Flash]

Hi Howard,

Thanks for the reply, as for paint/polish no sure really, they are on a 2003 (pre facelift) 203, Avantgarde. Although I have a sneaky feeling that it has a bit of both (I seem to recall when I had them replaced).

The lip/edge of your wheels has a diamond cut/polished finish.

 

[m4xmw]

Father owns a w220 model s320 petrol.
The 16" wheels have no kerb marks but are in poor condition for a 35k car.

MB have an ongoing issue here methinks.

Mark

 

[rogdogg]

The lacquered lips of the AMG wheels are particularly prone to corrosion.Ronal wheels used to be tops for quality-I had a set on my Saab which looked mint after years .However the ones I had on my Merc were deteriorating after 2 winters.Claerly the quality has slipped.My old '91 500SEC wheels are still in pretty good shape.I doubt if the current alloys will last like these.

 

[Howard]

The diamond cut lips of any wheels , not just the AMG's will start to corrode / go milky , the moment that the lacquer is chipped / kerbed or compromised in some way ...

The only real solution , is as some members have done , is to have the lips re-cut ( there is a finite amount of times you can do this ) and then leave them unlacqered and polish them religiously with metal polish ( eg. Solvol Autosol ) ...

Some others choose to do away with the diamond cut lips ( me for instance ) and have the whole wheel painted .... face and lip .... makes maintenance easier ....

 

[Wezzel]

Another handy tip:

If your wheels are not corroded but just hard to clean don't use an acid cleaner before trying detailing clay on them. Clay removes most, if not all, of the tar and brake dust (as long as it is not deeply imbeded into the lacquer).

Clay is wonderful stuff. It's good to clay the car's paintwork anyway and then use it on the wheels afterwards before binning it.

It's a pain having to remove the wheels to do it properly but it is worth it. The clay removes all the old wax too so get some more on before refitting.

 

[Flash]

I prefer the complete Sterling Silver paint finish on MB wheels without any polished/diamond finish on the lip of the wheel - it has a shiny white/silver finish and looks great.

 

[Shude]

Must be unlucky then.

Previous to the W203, I had 6 year old W202 with Sport wheels and no corrosion at all.

I've had two W202 sports and both had corroded (6 spoke) sport wheels. The wheels although kerbed (by previous owners!) were corroding on the spokes where no other damage was apparent.

 

[BIG Sean]

I've had two W202 sports and both had corroded (6 spoke) sport wheels. The wheels although kerbed (by previous owners!) were corroding on the spokes where no other damage was apparent.

Mine are the same

 

[mobiledreams12]

I have a 55 reg W203 with the Sport pack wheels (Adharaz) and they are already suffering corrosion on the inside edge of the spokes!

Dealer has sent photos of corroded wheels to DC HQ and seems pretty confident I'll get complete new set of of alloys under warranty. We'll see ...