Alloy Wheel Refurbishment
Available on most motorcycle, 4x4, and car wheels with a single or two-piece, aluminium alloy rim structure. Depending on the severity of damage, and the existing condition of the alloy, the options offered are:
Front Face Only
Suitable for alloys that are NOT corroded or flaking. This is carried out
on the front face only and involves the repair of curb damage, scuffs, scrapes
and other damage to the outer rim and face before being basecoated in the
chosen colour and re-lacquered. This type of refurbishment can be carried
out without removing the tyres or valves, but involves breaking the tyre
bead away from the rim. Wheels are re-balanced after refurbishment if needed.
Typical cost to carry out a Face Only refurb start from £55 per wheel
for a set of four. This may vary depending on chosen colour, wheel size,
and type/style of wheel.
Full Refurbishment
Necessary for corroded, flaking or poorly painted alloys. Wheels have their tyres and valves removed before being chemically stripped on both sides and shotblasted down to the bare alloy surface. All curb damage is rectified along with any scuffs, scrapes and pitting, before being etch primed, then re-primed using high build two-pack primer. All colours are available including black, white, various silver shades, and other metallic finishes including pearls, before being lacquered to a high gloss finish. New standard-type valves are fitted and the wheels are finally rebalanced.
Typical cost for full refurbishment is from £85.00 per wheel for a set of four and vary depending on chosen colour, wheel size, and type/style of wheel.
Minor Detail Repair
Sometimes very minor damage can be carefully ‘blown-in’ and hidden without the need to fully re-lacquer the wheel, this needs to be assessed carefully with the type and style of wheel being an important consideration as well as the original finish/shade.
Severe Damage - alloy wheels that have been severely buckled, or sustained curb damage so severe that it has cracked, fractured the alloy, or had a large chunk broken away’ are best scrapped – it is often far cheaper and easier to source a straight wheel from a breakers yard or off ebay.
Minor distortion may be repairable. Wheels often need straightening work to the inner rim as a result of straddling speed humps, and is often only noticed when the car fails an MOT as a result of the rim damage. It is worth noting that if a damaged wheel is kept in use for a prolonged period, stress cracking can occur at each side of the deformed area. Once this happens the wheel is beyond economical repair.
Valves - standard-type valves are replaced on all full refurbs. Some aftermarket/specialist custom alloy wheels have non-standard metal-type valves machined into the wheel rim which can be prone to corrosion and can be difficult or impossible to remove. In such cases it may beneficial to not disturb the valve and refurbish the wheel with it still in position during a face refurb.
Replica split-rims have a row of decorative studs around the circumference of the wheel which may need to be removed during refurbishment, Intricate multispoke / lattice style / cross spoke designs also require additional preparation time and all may incur slight additional cost.
Tyre Refitting - if customers are supplying wheels with the tyres already removed and intend to arrange their own tyre refitting after refurbishment it is advisable to check with the tyre fitter that the method used will not risk damaging the newly painted finish, or involve major contact to the painted surface as no responsibility can be accepted for any paintwork damage sustained during the refitting of tyres after refurbishment work.
Centre caps are normally included during refurbishment provided that any badge or emblem can be removed or properly masked.
2-Piece Split Alloys - these will require extra strip/refit time to separate and reassemble the two components. Some split-type wheels may have separate chrome rings around the outer circumference which can be curb damaged and expensive to replace or impossible to source. In such cases a painted finish may replicate the original outer ring. (the bottom four images are from a Jaguar and are an example of this).
Motorcycle Wheels - these must be supplied with the tyres, discs, bearings, and other fitted items already removed. Prices for surface refurbishment start from £125.00 for a front and rear pair, Full refurbishment from £185.00 pair. in any solid or metallic colour (excluding pearl).
Back to the topColour Change - a popular option is to change from the standard silver shade and have alloys re-painted in Gloss Black, Anthracite and other one-off individual colours. There is no extra charge for changing the colour, however, this can only be done as part of a full refurb where the inner surface of the alloy can be completely painted to match the outer.
All wheels are wet-sprayed using quality materials including etch primers, high-build 2-pack primers, basecoats and high-solids 2-pack lacquer. Once fully cured the 2-pack lacquer used during the refurbishment process is very durable. It can be buffed and polished to a superior gloss level and is chemically resistant compared to cheaper air-drying finishes which can be solvent sensitive and easily softened.
Some mobile wheel repairers may only carry out minor cosmetic work and often use basic air-drying materials that do not chemically cure or fully harden.
An alternative to wet-spraying is a cheaper powder coated finish which is available through many industrial coatings firms. Although tough and hard wearing, on close inspection powder applied finishes can sometimes be uneven, lumpy and excessively textured and may also lack depth and shine. This type of powder coated finish is more suitable for wheels that are exposed to a harsh life – rally cars, 4x4’s, agricultural vehicles etc.
Painting and lacquering using well proven materials ensures that all damage can be made completely invisible (powder coating relies on the build-up of applied powder to drown out scuffs and rim damage and encourages ‘over application’ leading to poor lumpy finish).
The use of off-the-shelf colours means that exact shades can be chosen and any future curb damage or minor cosmetic work can be easily blended-in with guaranteed colour matching - avoiding the need to completely refurbish a wheel due to a minor scrape.
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