Kerb rash
The gouge down the outer lip from a tight car park. Filled back, reshaped and refinished so the edge reads straight again.
Home / Restoration
Bring them back instead of binning them
Wheel restoration
Kerb rash, corrosion, peeling clear coat and colour changes. Stripped back properly, repaired, refinished and put back on the car balanced.
What gets fixed
Four things
that ruin a good wheel
A set of alloys that look tired will drag down an otherwise tidy car, and replacing factory wheels is expensive. Most of the time they can be brought back for a fraction of that.
Peeling clear coat
That milky, flaking look on older alloys. Stripped right back rather than sprayed over the top, then re cleared.
Corrosion and pitting
Salt air and brake dust eat into bare alloy. Cut out, treated and sealed before it spreads under the finish.
Colour change
Silver to gunmetal, gloss to satin black, or a machined face. A cheaper way to change the look than buying a new set.
The difference
Stripped back,
not painted over
Before / kerbed and dull
After / stripped and refinished
Cheap refinishing sprays straight over the old clear coat. It looks fine for a season and then lifts in sheets, because the failing layer underneath is still there.
The process
Five steps,
in that order
Look at it first
Col checks whether the wheel is worth doing. A cracked or buckled rim is a safety item, not a cosmetic one, and he will say so rather than paint over it.
Tyre off, wheel stripped
The tyre comes off on the machine and the old finish comes back to clean metal. Painting over failing clear coat just buys you a few months.
Damage repaired
Kerb rash filled and reshaped, corrosion cut out and treated, the lip and face brought back to a straight line.
Finished and cured
Primed, colour coated and cleared in your chosen finish, then left to cure properly before anything goes near it.
Refitted and balanced
Tyre back on, new valve, computer balanced and torqued up. You get back a wheel, not a project.
Questions
Restoration questions
Usually, and it is nearly always cheaper on a factory wheel where a single replacement from the dealer is expensive. Where it stops making sense is a low value steel wheel or a set that has structural damage. Col will tell you which side of that line you are on.
A crack or a bad buckle is a structural problem. Col will look at it and be honest with you, but a wheel that has lost its shape is a replacement, not a refinish. It is not worth the risk at highway speed.
It depends on the finish and how much repair work is in it, because the coating has to cure properly rather than be rushed. Ring Col with what the wheels are and what they look like and he will give you a realistic turnaround.
No. Most restoration jobs come in as loose wheels, which is easier for everyone. If the car has to stay mobile, do them in pairs.
If you are doing one damaged wheel out of a set, say so up front. Matching an aged finish is harder than doing all four, and sometimes the better result is refinishing the lot.
Talk to Col
Wheels looking rough?
Send Col a photo through Facebook or ring him. He will tell you straight whether they are worth restoring or whether you are better off replacing them.