Dealer wheel refurb

[inkey$]

So I contacted my local Stephen James bodyshop in Blackheath (some here remember I used them for the now infamous 335i Day One ownership garage scrape).

Two of my MRs wheels need refurbing. Near side so am guessing previous owner wasn't great at parking on the left!

Been quoted £60 inc VAT per wheel. They did a great bodywork job on my old 335. Seems a pretty good deal for the wheels right? Here are the photos I sent them of the damage.

 

[Stark]

My dealers bodyshop now does wheel refurbs themselves without using a contractor. It's a big business

 

[Simon_P]

So I contacted my local Stephen James bodyshop in Blackheath (some here remember I used them for the now infamous 335i Day One ownership garage scrape).

Two of my MRs wheels need refurbing. Near side so am guessing previous owner wasn't great at parking on the left!

Been quoted £60 inc VAT per wheel. They did a great bodywork job on my old 335. Seems a pretty good deal for the wheels right? Here are the photos I sent them of the damage.

Going rate price wise and best to get both done on the same side as often the colours are not an exact match. It Won't matter when looking from side to side.

 

[MrPT]

I'd get them refurbed at a dedicated wheel place. Dealers do a lot of "re-conditioning" work on wheels and don't necessarily have the equipment or skills to do a full strip, correction + powder coat. I'm generalising, of course, but it's worth asking to have a look at their kit + process.

 

[mr wilks]

Agree with MrPT here Inkey , , you will be greeted with a great looking wheel but chances are it will be a makeover with tyre still on (most probably while still on the car :? )

A full on refurb at a dedicated wheel specialist should,nt be much more ?

http://www.exelwheels.co.uk/

 

[PerryGunn]

If Gillingham's not too far for you, Lepsons have a very good reputation

 

[andysat]

Agree with MrPT here Inkey , , you will be greeted with a great looking wheel but chances are it will be a makeover with tyre still on (most probably while still on the car :? )

A full on refurb at a dedicated wheel specialist should,nt be much more ?

http://www.exelwheels.co.uk/

Agree

 

[inkey$]

Thanks all. The bonus with Stephen James was that they're 1/2 mile away and I wanted to get some of the bodywork marks looked at too. Plus Z8Cookies dealer refurbed wheels looked great...

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=57296

I shall investigate all options further

 

[PerryGunn]

Thanks all. The bonus with Stephen James was that they're 1/2 mile away and I wanted to get some of the bodywork marks looked at too. Plus Z8Cookies dealer refurbed wheels looked great...

Just be careful, as a blowover will look good... for a while... but it won't last. A full strip and powdercoat only costs slightly more but will look good for years (as long as you don't damage them)

 

[inkey$]

Thanks all. The bonus with Stephen James was that they're 1/2 mile away and I wanted to get some of the bodywork marks looked at too. Plus Z8Cookies dealer refurbed wheels looked great...

Just be careful, as a blowover will look good... for a while... but it won't last. A full strip and powdercoat only costs slightly more but will look good for years (as long as you don't damage them)

Roger that. I might just ask Stephen James what process they use anyway; see if they do it properly or not. Elite look good. Lepsons is i know by reputation, fantastic but a little far, although not impossible and would require some planning.

 

[PerryGunn]

Thanks all. The bonus with Stephen James was that they're 1/2 mile away and I wanted to get some of the bodywork marks looked at too. Plus Z8Cookies dealer refurbed wheels looked great...

Just be careful, as a blowover will look good... for a while... but it won't last. A full strip and powdercoat only costs slightly more but will look good for years (as long as you don't damage them)

Roger that. I might just ask Stephen James what process they use anyway; see if they do it properly or not. Elite look good. Lepsons is i know by reputation, fantastic but a little far, although not impossible and would require some planning.

It does take planning but it's worth it in the long run, when I had a full refurbishment on mine in May, I took them to Platinum in Swindon - it's a 240 mile round trip, but I thought it worthwhile on the basis of their reputation and personal recommendations from people I trust... and I had to do it twice as I took them up one Saturday and picked them up a week later - it turned out to be a fairly painless trip as, both times, I left home early enough to be there when they opened

Oh, and they did a superb job

 

[inkey$]

Interesting [and slightly patronising] response from Stephen James when I enquired on how they refurb the wheels...

"The wheels remain on the car and the edges ground back to repair them. They are then sprayed in wheel silver and lacquered over afterwards. They are not full face refurbs, this would only be the case if the wheels were flaking down the spokes which would require what we call ‘shot blasting’ to remove the flaking laquer."

Time to call Elite/Lepsons.

 

[inkey$]

Interesting [and slightly patronising] response from Stephen James when I enquired on how they refurb the wheels...

"The wheels remain on the car and the edges ground back to repair them. They are then sprayed in wheel silver and lacquered over afterwards. They are not full face refurbs, this would only be the case if the wheels were flaking down the spokes which would require what we call ‘shot blasting’ to remove the flaking laquer."

Time to call Elite/Lepsons.

 

[Mr Whippy]

I'd avoid powder coat and get a proper painted refurb.

It'll cost more but they will look like new and last a long time, not look a bit like new for a bit, and then look dull and tatty after 2-3yrs.


I've heard good things about Lepsons but have yet to sample their powder-coating to see if it's actually that much better, or if they are just really good at marketing it as better. After about 3 lots of powde-rcoating I've not been happy with over the years I'm just going to proper wet painters in future (or what is even better, just sell the old ones and buy brand new ones as the overall cost difference is often about the same as a good wet paint job)...
Also you get nice new round wheels etc.

Dave

 

[MrPT]

Just had mine done at FA Wheels (NW6). Not used them before, but they were recommended on here and I liked the fact that I could basically walk all around their shop while they were working, and that they have loads of wheels on display in various states of repair. They were also properly busy, which I guess is a good sign (about 10 guys, totally flat-out).

My MV2s looked like new when I bought the car last October, but almost immediately the blow-over started to peel off. Not terribly, but I didn't want to go through another winter with them potentially being unsealed. Very happy with the job FA have done - the finish is very even and has a nice, deep clear coat.

The job was £240 exc VAT, which is their list price, but they chucked in new M Badges and a minor straightening of one of my old rims.

 

[PerryGunn]

I'd avoid powder coat and get a proper painted refurb.

It'll cost more but they will look like new and last a long time, not look a bit like new for a bit, and then look dull and tatty after 2-3yrs.


I've heard good things about Lepsons but have yet to sample their powder-coating to see if it's actually that much better, or if they are just really good at marketing it as better. After about 3 lots of powde-rcoating I've not been happy with over the years I'm just going to proper wet painters in future (or what is even better, just sell the old ones and buy brand new ones as the overall cost difference is often about the same as a good wet paint job)...
Also you get nice new round wheels etc.

Dave

If powder coating is done properly they should look as good as painted wheels, as the colour layer is spray painted, but tougher

Proper powder coating should, ignoring all the preparation steps, involve
- a powder coat primer (oven cured)
- colour coat spray painted and oven or IR cured
- powder coat clear lacquer (oven cured)

The difference with painted wheels is that the primer and lacquer are both sprayed and heat or IR cured - all else being equal the tougher powder coat lacquer should be more resistant to knocks and scratches than the painted equivalent

 

[tomscott]

Be careful. Lloyd's BMW did my 224s when I bought it they did the outside not the inside loads of overspray. Look good from the outside just wish they had done it properly

 

[Juiceloose]

Be careful. Lloyd's BMW did my 224s when I bought it they did the outside not the inside loads of overspray. Look good from the outside just wish they had done it properly

Same here. Sytner repaired two of mine prior to me buying it. It was only after I'd bought it and took them off to clean the inside and wax them that I discovered that they had done a good job on the outside but had sprayed over dirt and brake dust on the inside instead of cleaning it before spraying.

I'd recommend a dedicated wheel refurbisher every time.

 

[Mr Whippy]

The difference with painted wheels is that the primer and lacquer are both sprayed and heat or IR cured - all else being equal the tougher powder coat lacquer should be more resistant to knocks and scratches than the painted equivalent

You see I've been told this time and again, but in practice where stone chips hit my wheels the effect seems to be that the clear coat powder isn't very well bonded to the base coat. You get shattering away and so on.

Maybe I'm just unlucky to have had 3 sets of badly done powder coated wheels by professional wheel powder coating companies?


The way I look at it is, if it's so good why do people wet paint at all any more? And why do manufacturers not use it for OEM?


In truth it's cheap and easy, but isn't as good looking or as hard wearing *from my experience*... and the fact OEM's don't use the technique suggests they feel the same too.

Dave

 

[srhutch]

My 224's i have just removed have been powder coated, no wet paint or lacquer. They have only done about 4k in two years but are as good as new. The finish though is not as good as wet paint.