MikeO
New member
Sorry for raising the old chestnut again, but I'm seriously confused about what to do with my wheels.
Having picked up from other forums that the usual mobile refurbishers who do a cosmetic job, but without even removing the tyre, are a waste of time, I searched around and booked my car into a well known Birmingham refurbisher, who claim to be able to do the job in a day (just, they need the car by 8am at the lastest). They say "All wheels are shot-blasted by hand to remove previous layers of lacquer and paint to obtain a bare metal surface in preparation for coating. If the wheels are in a particularly poor condition they are chemically stripped before shot-blasting.
The wheels are then dressed and filled to deal with any kerb damage to the rim edges. (We do not deal with buckled or badly dented wheels as these are safety related structural repairs and wheels should be written off and replaced).
Next the wheels are heated to remove any air from the alloy and powder coat finish is applied and then cured for for a set period of time. Finally a clear lacquer coat is applied over the first coating in the same manner, thus enhancing and protecting the alloy wheel. Other finishes and colours are available on request."
Was told that they had 2 standard finishes, that I should check would match from the showroom. Trouble is, turned up this morning and the "standard silver" looked just like grey, the alternative more silvery version I was immediately warned "is sprayed over a black base coat so tends to flake". They won't colour match, and the only vague match was (not surprisingly) "Porsche silver", which they can't do at present, would take a week to do, and which would cost 55 quid per wheel more to do (62 quid for the standard finish). This felt like a bit of a con to me, as the standard silver looked so crap I couldn't see anyone choosing it, but useless too as they couldn't do the only sensible alternative.
Don't know what to do now - don't know any other Midland based proper outfits, but don't want to do something that will only last a year.
Any ideas?
Having picked up from other forums that the usual mobile refurbishers who do a cosmetic job, but without even removing the tyre, are a waste of time, I searched around and booked my car into a well known Birmingham refurbisher, who claim to be able to do the job in a day (just, they need the car by 8am at the lastest). They say "All wheels are shot-blasted by hand to remove previous layers of lacquer and paint to obtain a bare metal surface in preparation for coating. If the wheels are in a particularly poor condition they are chemically stripped before shot-blasting.
The wheels are then dressed and filled to deal with any kerb damage to the rim edges. (We do not deal with buckled or badly dented wheels as these are safety related structural repairs and wheels should be written off and replaced).
Next the wheels are heated to remove any air from the alloy and powder coat finish is applied and then cured for for a set period of time. Finally a clear lacquer coat is applied over the first coating in the same manner, thus enhancing and protecting the alloy wheel. Other finishes and colours are available on request."
Was told that they had 2 standard finishes, that I should check would match from the showroom. Trouble is, turned up this morning and the "standard silver" looked just like grey, the alternative more silvery version I was immediately warned "is sprayed over a black base coat so tends to flake". They won't colour match, and the only vague match was (not surprisingly) "Porsche silver", which they can't do at present, would take a week to do, and which would cost 55 quid per wheel more to do (62 quid for the standard finish). This felt like a bit of a con to me, as the standard silver looked so crap I couldn't see anyone choosing it, but useless too as they couldn't do the only sensible alternative.
Don't know what to do now - don't know any other Midland based proper outfits, but don't want to do something that will only last a year.
Any ideas?
