Back to how they left the factory
Alloy Wheel Refurbishment
Refurbishing an alloy wheel means taking the old finish off, putting the damage right underneath it, and refinishing the wheel properly rather than painting over the problem. Wheel Repair Ltd does it at its workshop on Nursery Lane in Forest Gate, east London, for kerb scuffs, corrosion and lacquer that has started to lift. Send a photo and you get a written price before anybody touches anything.
What people say
What a refurbishment actually covers
People use the word for two different jobs, so it is worth being plain about which one you need.
A repair is one bit of damage put right and blended in. You kerbed the nearside front, the rest of the wheel is sound, and the aim is that nobody can see where it was. That is often a job we can do at your address, which is covered on our mobile page.
A full refurbishment is the whole wheel taken back and refinished. The tyre comes off, the old lacquer and paint come off, the damage underneath gets dealt with, and the wheel is built back up in layers. That is a workshop job and it is what most people mean when all four look tired rather than one looking damaged.
We will tell you which of the two you actually need. Quite often it is the cheaper one.
The damage we see most
Kerb scuffs. The outer rim goes silver and rough where it has met a kerb. Easily the commonest thing through the door.
Lacquer peel. The clear coat lifts and you get a milky patch with a hard edge to it that looks like a sticker half pulled off. Once it starts lifting it will keep going, because water is now getting underneath.
Corrosion. White powdery bloom, usually creeping out from the rim edge or from behind the lacquer. Common on cars that have done a few winters on salted roads.
Chips and stone rash across the face, which on their own are cosmetic but let water in and turn into the one above.
If the wheel is also shaking the car at speed, that is a different problem. See buckled wheel repair.
How a wheel is refurbished
Every wheel goes through the same sequence. It is why the finish lasts.
- Tyres offThe wheel cannot be prepared properly with a tyre on it, and the bead area is where corrosion usually starts.
- Old finish offStripped or blasted back so we are working on the metal and not on top of whatever was there before.
- InspectedWith the finish gone you can finally see what you have got. Cracks and previous repairs show up at this stage, and sometimes the news changes here.
- Damage put rightKerb damage worked back, pitting filled, the rim edge brought back to a proper line rather than a rounded-off one.
- PrimerAn even base. Rush this and every layer above it shows the hurry.
- ColourMatched to what you have got, or to whatever you have asked for instead.
- Lacquer and cureThe layer that does the actual protecting. It gets the time it needs, which is not negotiable.
- Tyres on, balanced, checkedRefitted, rebalanced and looked over in daylight before they go anywhere near your car.
Painted, diamond cut and powder coated
Painted. The majority of wheels. Colour over primer, sealed under lacquer. Silver, gunmetal, anthracite, black, and anything a manufacturer has dreamt up. This is the most straightforward to refinish and to match.
Diamond cut. That bright machined face with the fine turning lines in it. Painted first, then skimmed on a lathe so bare aluminium shows through, then lacquered. It cannot be done without the lathe and there is a limit to how many times one wheel can take it. The whole of that job is on its own page.
Powder coated. Dry powder applied and then baked on, which gives a hard and durable finish. Popular for a full colour change and for wheels that take a hammering.
Not sure which yours are? Photograph one in daylight and we will tell you. The difference matters, because it changes what can be done and what it costs.
What actually moves the price
We do not publish a price list, and the reason is not coyness. A figure on a web page is either so high it frightens people off or so low it has to be revised once the wheel is in front of us, and neither is a good way to start.
What moves it is this.
How many. Four of the same wheel in one go costs less each than one on its own, because the setup is done once.
The finish. A painted wheel and a diamond cut wheel are different amounts of work.
How bad it is. A light scuff and a rim that has been ground down over two years are not the same job.
Wheel size. A nineteen inch wheel has a lot more face on it than a fifteen.
Send a photograph and you get a real number in writing. That is quicker than a price list and it is actually true.
Where the work happens
At the workshop on Nursery Lane in Forest Gate, E7. The car can come to us, or just the wheels if you have somewhere to put the car up, and for repairs rather than full refurbishments we will often come to you instead.
We cover nineteen areas out from E7, from Plaistow at under a mile to Romford at seven, and each has its own page on this site with the detail for that area.
Common questions
How much does alloy wheel refurbishment cost?
It depends on how many wheels, what size they are, what finish they have and how bad the damage is. Wheel Repair Ltd quotes off a photograph rather than publishing a figure that turns out to be wrong once we see the wheel. Send one and you get a written price.
Can you do just one wheel and match the other three?
Usually, yes, and it is a very common job. Matching a single wheel to three that have aged in the sun is harder than matching a set, which is why we want to see a photo of it next to an undamaged one first.
Can corroded wheels be saved?
Most of the time. Corrosion that is only in the finish comes off with it. Corrosion that has eaten into the metal, particularly around the bead where the tyre seals, is a different matter and we will tell you honestly if a wheel is past it.
Do the tyres have to come off?
For a full refurbishment, yes. There is no way to prepare the bead area or the rim edge properly with a tyre in the way, and a refurbishment that skips it will lift at the edges. For a single kerb repair, often not.
Is it worth refurbishing or should I just buy new?
Refurbishing a set is almost always the cheaper answer, and on an older or less common car it is often the only one, because a matching replacement is not easy to find. If we think you would be better off buying a used wheel we will say so.
Will the repair be invisible?
That is the aim and on painted wheels it is usually achievable. What we will not do is promise it in advance on a wheel we have only seen in a photograph. We will tell you what we expect once we have it in our hands.
Get a price
Send a photo of the wheel, taken straight on in daylight, and we will tell you what it needs and what it will cost. Call or WhatsApp 07922 222272, or email info@wheelrepairltd.co.uk. Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 6pm.