Alloy wheel refurbishment disappointment

[ashy90]

Hi there,

Had 4 alloys refurbed by a professional wheel refurb place (supposedly). The paint on the wheels before hand was very bad, it was all flaking off. However the condition of the actual aploy itself looked good - hardly any curbing or damage etc.

The base coat has been powder coated, I believe top coat is normal paint.

This is the finished product. Lots of divots over the wheels, a couple of specs (contamination?) and the plastic centre caps look awful.

I’ve called to complain but they are saying it’s due to corroded wheels and nothing can be done. When I mentioned the plastic centre caps they fobbed me off some how else (can’t remember what they said as I was so annoyed at this point).

My question is, are these divots due to corrosion?
If so, is it normal to see this after a refurb, or should they be filled? Is this really an acceptable finish?

 

[Barking Mat]

They've been refurbished, looks pretty good to me, though they're obviously not new.

 

[angellonewolf]

im not any sort of help realy but would have thought could have filled ? wrong primer on the center piece ?

was this just a cheap job or quality refurb ?

 

[Roger440]

Looks rather poor to me. Have they not heard of filler?

The cap mismatch is common and hard to avoid. Im assuming the cap is plastic?

Overall, id not be impressed.

 

[reb78]

As above - I'd have thought a little filler would have done the job there. I'm sure that's what my uncle did once and his DIY job looked a lot better than these.

 

[marlinspike]

I home refurbed mine and filled small imperfections with Dolphin Glaze stopper. I would be disappointed with that finish too. If they felt the corrosion was such that they couldn't do a decent job they should have told you that before continuing.

 

[Kram]

Its not good. Did you pay by credit card and how much was it?

If the base coat is powder coat ad you say, that could have been the problem. Powder coat is a bad idea, as far as I know, should not be used as a base to be painted over. Did you specify that or they suggest it?

I would have had 2k epoxy primer followed by base coat and 2k clear coat.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Looks gash and exactly what I would expect thesedays, sad to say.

My procedure is blasting, followed by an epoxy primer, filling and sanding any imperfections with good quality metal filler, finished with a base and clear coat - they should come out almost perfect.
However that's a lot of work - doubtful it would be very cost effective unless you are doing it yourself.

An example of a set I refurbished:

 

[Ubique]

Looks like corrosion to me, likely exposed by the grit / bead blasting prior to the basecoat, whatever that was. It should have been treated, filled & blended in prior to the basecoat - the other comments regarding the plastic caps are about right, although a different primer will help with the match, you'll never get it exactly the same though.

I've just paid £479 to have four wheels properly stripped, cleaned, degassed & re-painted by a reputable co. (and a five week waiting list!) which is about right for a good quality job, that said, I had some wheels powder coated a couple of years ago for £60 a rim, they're winter wheels and they still look like they were done last week. Both sets of wheels are OEM, not aftermarket, which will have a bearing on the quality of the castings

 

[Munkul]

Doesn't look bad to me.

 

[Welderpaul]

Depends how much you paid I suppose

 

[julianf]

I had the same on one of mine when it was refinished.

I should have done them myself in epoxy and 2k but I was in a rush and so paid a powdercoater.


I'm on a few American powdercoating lists. It seems to be considered a skilled trade over there (and some of the results are impressive) but here, it's bottom feeding.

Outgassing (pre baking) takes time / money and doesn't seem to be "a thing" here, and what you're seeing with the small pimples are contaminants bubbling on the bake.

It's not so much of an issue with new stuff, but manky old wheels... I think the worst one of mine was the one that had been on the bottom of the pile in storage in the wet.


Mine were for my landrover. It still irritates me a little but not much. A bit of mud and the defects are invisible.

It's a shame as I had a whole load of work stuff that I was planning on sending to the same powder place, but their handling of my wheels put me off.


...slowly building my own oven here instead!

 

[brightspark]

i once had a bike frame sandblasted and stove enameled and that was it rust pits included

 

[minimutly]

Rover GTI wheels?
Yes, crap finish, should have filled the gouges and pits...

 

[Brad93]

Years ago it was £200 a set of 15" alloys and they'd come back like new.

I'd hate to think what the cost is now. I don't think you'd have change from £500 locally now

 

[stichill99]

I once blasted a friends wheels and I used too coarse grit and it left them very rough and pitted! He did use filler to smooth them out but that all takes time and money if you are a business!

 

[JOEPRO]

A local specialist who is good and powdercoats the wheels never uses filler either.

It seems like any place that turns over dozens of wheels a week isn't interested in using filler. If it is a corroded wheel or a classic car where a high quality finish is required might be better having them chemical dip them then take the wheels to a bodyshop instead.

 

[Bobupndown]

I did these last year. A pretty rough set of second hand wheels to use with winter tyres. I used metal filler, primer, colour and clear coat. All rattle cans. I'm very pleased with the result, not perfect but more than acceptable for a diy effort. I'd be really disappointed if I'd paid for what you got back.

 

[steveo3002]

as some others said depends what you paid , i wouldnt be very pleased with those at all , ive done my own and theyre done to the same standard as bodywork

better off having them blasted somewhere and diy painting them imo

 

[chrismac]

A local specialist who is good and powdercoats the wheels never uses filler either.

It seems like any place that turns over dozens of wheels a week isn't interested in using filler. If it is a corroded wheel or a classic car where a high quality finish is required might be better having them chemical dip them then take the wheels to a bodyshop instead.

Does the local guy dress to blend any imperfections or how do they get back to a suitable standard for painting? or can he work his magic with the powder coat.