- "Will my wheels look like new?"
- "Will refurbishing increase my car's value?"
- "Can you refurbish my special edition MOMOs?"
- "Can you colour match my wheels?"
- "Can I have pink wheels?" "I only have a small scuff.. do I have to pay the full amount?"
- "How do you refurbish wheels?"
- "Do you lacquer/varnish the wheel?"
- "Can you repair split rims?"
- "Can you refurbish chrome wheels and polished metal wheels?"
- "Can you repair leaky split rims?"
- "Can you refurbish diamond-cut rims?"
- What about Porsche Wheels - Split Rims
- "What kind of damage can you repair?"
- "Can you repair dented/cracked wheels?"
- "Do you take the tyres off?" - "Can you fit tyres?
- "How long does alloy wheel refurbishment take?"
- "Do you come to us?"
Smart Repair > Alloy wheel Refurbishment > FAQ >
"How do you refurbish wheels?"
After the face of the wheel is exposed by pushing down the tyre, the damaged areas repaired. With light scuffing to rims, the rims are rubbed down flat. If there are deep gouges, these are filled and flattened. This whole part of the process is virtually identical to normal bodywork repairs.
Next the whole wheel is flattened down to provide a key for the new coat of paintwork to hold on to. Any areas of bare metalwork are primed and then a layer of base coat (usually metallic silver) is applied. This takes a great deal of practice to do as there are special considerations that need to be taken into account when painting a wheel. When painting an alloy wheel, the painter goes around it like a clock, starting at 6 o'clock and painting centre to rim around the wheel until he gets back to where he started from.
As already mentioned above, it is best to avoid fading in, so it is important that this painting process is done quickly so that when he gets back to where started at the 6 o'clock position, the paint is still wet so that it blends.
Despite the speed with which an alloy wheel needs to be painted, a great deal of care must be taken because the wheels are complex three dimensional shapes. This makes it very difficult to get an even coat of paint over all the surfaces. The greatest danger is that the paint will go on too thickly and run or sag.
Once the base coat is applied it is allowed to cure (dry) which is helped along by using infra-red lamps. Then the painting process is repeated with clear coat lacquer.
"Do you lacquer/varnish the wheel?"
Yes we do. We put a nice thick coat of lacquer over the paintwork to help protect it against road salts and brake dust.
Top quality lacquer is expensive, but we won't use lesser brands that may yellow or go milky over time. It's by maintaining the highest quality standards that we are able to give a three year guarantee.
