Warning cowboy wheel refurbers now with pics Now redone
- Thread starter MR BLACK
- Start date
Pretty poor job, gives an idea what to look for when I go for a refurb in the future.
I was planning on using the new Newcastle branch of The Wheel Specialists, they seem to have a good reputation.
What finish are they supposed to be? simple Silver or one of the power,audi or whatever Silver finishes?
I was planning on using the new Newcastle branch of The Wheel Specialists, they seem to have a good reputation.
What finish are they supposed to be? simple Silver or one of the power,audi or whatever Silver finishes?
After rubbing down/prepping my 107's at the weekend, I'm not surprised these wheel refurbers gave up half way :wink:
They are a bugger of a wheel to work on and get really nice and smooth, surprisingly. I imagined they would be ok, but when you get going they are not.
Also, my friendly *wet* painter, said new BMW/BBS base coats are VERY hard, and he would soak the wheels for 3 days before blasting... powdercoaters will use a faster process for faster turn around, and likely hit a brick wall with getting a good base (ie, 100% clean and flat), so resort to (as they often do), building the materials too high and just leaving a naff finish
The wet painter I spoke to was happy to do powder, but he said they were more ideal for agricultural and 4x4 use etc, where their hard wearing nature is better than their visual properties... and simply uses wet for road cars because it looks tons nicer!
£90 a wheel though
Almost cheaper flogging your old ones, and buying new ones from BMW
They are a bugger of a wheel to work on and get really nice and smooth, surprisingly. I imagined they would be ok, but when you get going they are not.
Also, my friendly *wet* painter, said new BMW/BBS base coats are VERY hard, and he would soak the wheels for 3 days before blasting... powdercoaters will use a faster process for faster turn around, and likely hit a brick wall with getting a good base (ie, 100% clean and flat), so resort to (as they often do), building the materials too high and just leaving a naff finish
The wet painter I spoke to was happy to do powder, but he said they were more ideal for agricultural and 4x4 use etc, where their hard wearing nature is better than their visual properties... and simply uses wet for road cars because it looks tons nicer!
£90 a wheel though
Almost cheaper flogging your old ones, and buying new ones from BMW
WTF
Mr Whippy I feel that you have had a bad turn done by a powder coater at some point in your life, you just don't like them do you?
Anyway I'm not going to start a debate in a thread about someone else's bad refurb, suffice to say I think you're wrong and an excellent finish is achievable by a good powdercoater. A bad painter can make a mess of a wheel in the same way as a bad powdercoater can and vice versa.
Anyway I'm not going to start a debate in a thread about someone else's bad refurb, suffice to say I think you're wrong and an excellent finish is achievable by a good powdercoater. A bad painter can make a mess of a wheel in the same way as a bad powdercoater can and vice versa.
dgm said:Mr Whippy I feel that you have had a bad turn done by a powder coater at some point in your life, you just don't like them do you?
Anyway I'm not going to start a debate in a thread about someone else's bad refurb, suffice to say I think you're wrong and an excellent finish is achievable by a good powdercoater. A bad painter can make a mess of a wheel in the same way as a bad powdercoater can and vice versa.
Not sure about that statement. Powdercoating in inherently a tougher and more lumpy finish simply due the the way it's constructed and applied. Wet paint and lacquer will always be a better finish, but less durable. Of course that does not mean that there are not good powder coaters or bad paint finishers.
I stick to powder coating my Jeep wheels and spraying the cars
dgm said:Mr Whippy I feel that you have had a bad turn done by a powder coater at some point in your life, you just don't like them do you?
Anyway I'm not going to start a debate in a thread about someone else's bad refurb, suffice to say I think you're wrong and an excellent finish is achievable by a good powdercoater. A bad painter can make a mess of a wheel in the same way as a bad powdercoater can and vice versa.
I did have a bad turn with some wheels, but then I found out that what I deemed bad was actually *normal* for powder coated wheels!
Just read what this guy has to say.
http://www.steve-edwards.com/alloy_wheels.php
I've not had work done by him, but what I have seen on wheels and bodywork, is literally stunning. I could not find a single fault on the wheels he has worked on. Better than OEM was my only description. Reflections like mirror! £90 a wheel for my 107's though!
And it is not just me that thinks he is good. Anyone who asks for wheel refurbs in Yorkshire (on Pistonheads) is sent his details. Powdercoating is simply a cheap effective, fast coating, for wheel refurbs. It fills a gap in the market, and is good enough for 90% of the people out there with Mondeo's and Vectra's who just don't care THAT much and don't want to pay alot/wait days for a really good wet paint job!
I do bet that a powder coated wheel can look pretty damn good, and alot of the time be good enough, but a wet painted wheel with proper prepping at each stage through the process will always look better!
Just depends what you want I suppose. After having my wheels re-done and not being happy, and my friend having his done TWICE at two powdercoaters, and not being happy, and finally going to Steve Edwards and being over the moon, I know who's advice/know how to trust
Well rememberedgannet said:
Mr Whippy is right,the finish is not as good as a wet paint finish, that's for sure. TBH though it depends what you want, I bought some new wheels and wanted my existing set refurbed to run winter tyres on, so for me the harder wearing powder coated finish was better than a wet painted finish, especially with all the salt etc on the roads. I paid £240 for four wheels including taking off the old tyres and putting new ones back on again.
I just took these pics today so these wheels have done about 7k miles through the winter and were on the car for 6 months, and not washed much during that time, maybe once every 3 weeks. This is a front wheel.
Attachments
That's a decent standard of work in Mike's pictures. I'm not advocating one method over the other by the way, I've used both and have seen good and bad examples of powdercoating and wet painting. All I'm saying is don't dismiss powdercoating as a cheap and totally inferior option.
Mik said:
That would be a shame to just agree to disagree. One of the things I really like about the board is that opossing arguments come out. That allows others to decide from an informed perspective, which is great. Only if such debates drop to personal insult, etc shoudl a line be drawn.
I think Wondermikes are pretty good to be honest... but they also look a fairly easy wheel to get right.
Those tight gapped spokes on the 107's can be hard to spray right (my early sample of the paints I chose to use were hard to get into the nooks and crannies!)
If you could ask them to put a good thick layer, or better still, two, of their lacquer on, and then cut it back so it's super smooth, that would be ideal... just a shame they don't do that in with the price!
Dave
Those tight gapped spokes on the 107's can be hard to spray right (my early sample of the paints I chose to use were hard to get into the nooks and crannies!)
If you could ask them to put a good thick layer, or better still, two, of their lacquer on, and then cut it back so it's super smooth, that would be ideal... just a shame they don't do that in with the price!
Dave
Looking much sharper
I'll probably be asking for the same finish when I get mine done How much for all four alloys?
I'll probably be asking for the same finish when I get mine done
How much for all four alloys?