Diamond Cut Refurb - Pristine Wheels

[GazzyFizzle]

Just wanted to throw a shout out to Pristine Wheels, who refurbed one of my C63 19" wheels and did an epic job.

They collected the wheel, refurbed it and returned it, for £111.60.

Pics below:-





Absolutely no affiliation with them at all, just really impressed with the job they did :bannana:

 

[Jame5]

Looks good. How does it match with the others? Do they collect nationwide? What was the turnaround time?

 

[GazzyFizzle]

Matches perfectly, I had to clean the others to get them looking as sharp.

I've just ordered some GTechniq C5 Wheel Armour to do them all in.

Collect anywhere I'm assuming. Didn't seem fussed when I gave them my address.

It's quoted at 5-7 days, but I was away in Las Vegas so it was delivered when I was back.

 

[vijilants]

Are they in Milton Keynes ?

 

[Kersidan]

Yes in Milton Keynes. Used them before and can recommend.

Mark

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Me too. 4 wheels sent down to them Via Gates Tyres in Carlisle. Great service.

Ant.

 

[Rataxes]

Be aware that they only offer a six month guarantee on the wheels. The dealer I purchased my car off kerbed all four wheels prior to me picking the car up. They sent the wheels to Pristine to be refurbished but now just over a year later the wheels have cloudy patches under the laquer which Pristine informed me is corrosion caused by machining away the face of the wheel. Have to go back to the dealer now to try and sort it out.

 

[Flash]

Thats a lame excuse by Pristine as the diamond cut finish is supposed to be sealed and protected and if prepped and finished to a hight standard by Pristine then there should not be any issues if the wheels are looked after well regardless if diamond cut ir not.

 

[w124nut]

Had my wheels refurbished by Pristine in 2009 and one of the wheels is just showing a bit of corrosion (spiders web pattern).

 

[Rataxes]

Thanks for that Flash. The wheels were sealed with gtechniq when the car was detailed and I'm obsessive about not kerbing the wheels so it's not like I've not looked after them.

 

[Harry82]

Unfortunately corrosion under the lacquer is an inherent flaw in any diamond cut finish.

Any sort of penetration through the lacquer, whether it be kerb damage or even stone chipping, will allow water ingress which will then start to look white under the lacquer.

Whilst I am sure OE methods of wheel finishing outlast that of a refurbishment (though all diamond cut finishes will fail eventually, it's inevitable) , you have to take into consideration the costs involved. Buying a new wheel could well be five times the cost of the refurbishment, and there is no guarantee that you will not get corrosion.

 

[Flash]

If the lacquer has been damaged or stone chipped then yes corrosion will occur on the diamond cut finish but should not be occurring on the diamond finish under the sealed lacquer if they is no broken visible lacquer or damage.
I have had diamond cut wheels in perfect condition after two years with no signs of corrosions.

I have had dealings with Pristine on a couple of occasions as well and from my experience the quality of work is down to the experience of the technician and how long he spends on the process.

 

[Harry82]

would the porosity of the base material not play any part in the corrosion?

also seeing as alloy wheels are made from a cocktail of materials and the quality of the casting varies from one wheel manufacturer to the other could this not contribute to the corrosion beneath the lacquer of undamaged wheels?

 

[Flash]

Well if the wheels are fully stripped and blasted down, correctly prepped using high quality materials and finished to a high standard then it is not unreasonable to expect the diamond cut finish to remain intact for at least well over 12 months (subject to no damaged or broken lacquer and regular cleaning/waxing etc.).

On AMG wheels manufactured by Ronal one would assume that the wheels are manufactured from high quality base materials and casting etc.

 

[Harry82]

i appreciate your point and for me it makes for interesting debate.

there are so many areas to consider, and many assumptions to be made on the procedures, quality of material and castings used that you can counter one argument with another all day long.

in practise people would be very lucky to get "well over 12 months" out of a refurbished diamond cut wheel unless they were very particular about keeping them cleaned and waxed as you mention, however with hand car washes being so convenient who knows what chemicals gets sprayed onto the wheels.

If your experience of diamond cut wheels is that they were still in perfect condition after 2 years then that must be down to the way you looked after them. However, others will read your post and assume that all diamond cut wheels should last for 2 years without any after care.

sorry to the OP for going off on a tangent

 

[Flash]

I absolutely agree with you and your valid points.

Yes you are right the wheels were cleaned and washed every evening by hand by me in the winter period and waxed regularly.

Personally, I have nothing negative to say about Pristine but the last set of wheels that they refurbished for me was not to the high standard that I know they are capable of achieving hence I personally would not use them again.

 

[Harry82]

...the wheels were cleaned and washed every evening by hand by me in the winter period and waxed regularly....

wow...that's dedication!

 

[nickjonesn4]

wow...that's dedication!

Feel free to pop round and clean my wheels whenever the urge

 

[Flash]

Trust me it’s worth it to preserve a beautiful set of 19”AMG wheels…..

I used to do it like a military style operation – jump into my shorts, body warmer jacket and get the job done in record time and used to get loads of cuts on my hand from catching it on the metal shield around discs when doing inside of the wheels.

Multi spokes would give me a heart attack….