"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.  | | This Mazda wheel is of a bare metal type which has become discoloured and tarnished. It also has some scuffs and scratches on the rims. |
 | | The Mazda wheels were masked and painted. In this photo they are shown under the infra-red lamp which helps speed up the drying process. |
 | | The plastic centre caps were also painted to match, the Mazda logo was masked out with a rectangle of masking tape. |
 | | This is a picture of the wheel taken 6 months after refinishing. This car is valeted on a regular basis and the wheels cleaned with acidic cleaning fluids. yet the wheel has suffered no ill effect. All our wheels carry a one year guarantee against discolouration and corrosion. |
"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.
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Alloy Wheel Refurbishment FAQ
Commonly asked questions about our alloy wheel repair service answered, covers split-rims, Magnesium wheels, broken, cracked and dented wheels, colour matching and much more... Alloy Wheel Repair
A good car can really be let down by scuffed, tarnished and tatty wheels. Replacing a whole alloy wheel can cost hundreds of pounds, but repairing the damaged area or refurbishing the whole wheel can cost a fraction of that amount. Wheel Protection and Sealants
Special coating for helping to keep your wheels looking fresh, prevents dirt and brake dust from sticking and helps prevent corrosion.
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Valeting Articles: Index Page
A list of articles on various car care and car valeting subjects |
Photo Article: Alloy Wheel Refurbishment opens in new window
Before and after shots of Alloy wheel restoration. 
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