Wheels - refurb or replace?

[johnf]

I like my wheels and think they suit the car well. They are however looking a little \'tatty\' and in need of a professional quality refurb.

Took the car along to Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes today for them to have a look and give me a quote.

I didn\'t expect the cost to be cheap, you only get what you pay for etc and their price of £850 [I think it could creep up] is not really out of the question.

However a couple of the things they said made me think;

They would use the existing bolts, as they are and I think this could let the the finish down.

There is only a six month warranty on the work and that the powder coating only.

They tell me I will have to clean and polish the wheels every other week and they aren\'t exactly \'easyclean\'

So is it worth spending that much money on a refurb job or should I be thinking about new wheels.

Call me old fashioned [or just old] but I do like deepish dish wheels, I hate the current trend of wheel rims that stick out wider than the tyres.

Anyone have any suggestions on alternative wheels, I can always keep the tyres.

These are mine when they looked good;

[McCARTHY]

split rims are a real pig to do. they take a good day or two just to get them apart thats why they are askin so much. that and pristen arn\'t the cheapest bya long way but they do a good job. they are a big company so they can be picky with what they do so they could be over pricing because they don\'t want the hassle or doing them.  


I would suggest getting other quotes form different companys i know a sprayer that sends his rims away to have them refurbed but he colours etc himself so i\'ll let you know who he uses next time i see him.

[ZAB]

I There Mate If U Have The Time Ur Better Off Doin Them Ur Self Put Afew Hrs A Nite Take U Afew Weeks.

I Have A Set Of The Racing Advans Three Spoke Split And I Am Polishin Them Myself Only Using Auto Glem Metal Polish N Alot Of Elbow Grease!!! Worth It A The End

U Can Put Afew Layers Of Wax On Once U Have Finishd Polishin Them And That Will Protect Them For A Lil While.

Can Mail U Sum Pic Of The Wheel I Am Doin At The Moment If U Gie Me Ur E-mail Add

Zab

[kermit]

I have the same alloys on my car and they are in a real mess.  

Im not keeping them on the car as I have some other alloys to go on, but I cant see anyone paying much for them in there current tatty state so Im looking at having a go at refurbishing them myself in the new year.


ZAB, what did you use to undo the studs?  Are the studs strong or should I be worried about them shearing off?  Send me pictures of the wheel you have done to martin_skinner@tiscali.co.uk.

Cheers :Thumbs-up

Martin.

[Jono FD3]

The studs are normaly stainless so you shouldn\'t have any issues with them snaping!! The best way to polish the ally rim is to use wet n dry sand paper: Depending on how bad they are work from 400 grit down to 1200 / 1500, then invest in a polishing kit from screw fix (£25 I think) fit it in a drill and polish away to a mirror finish!!!!

I did this with mine, but unfortunatly I left them go last winter and they have never been the same since!!!! So in the new year they are coming off again to be redone, but this time I\'m going to be laquering the outer rim to save the agro of cutting them back every time I clean the car!!!

Jono

[johnf]

I could quite fancy the diy route but how difficult is it to re seal them and how is it done. Is it some sort of rubber gasket or silicon type seal?

What about laquering them afterwards is that an option?

John

[Jit]

are they 3 piece or 2piece? they look like 2 piece to me inwhich case you wont need to re-seal..

[DLN]

keep those re wheels, they are stunning, and would look awesome when like new again.

[D1 WTF]

from my knowledge of doing some race car 3 piece split rims they really arent difficult to do.  sealing them back is easy really.

prestine seem to be taking the p......... with that price really.

[kermit]

The studs are normaly stainless so you shouldn\'t have any issues with them snaping!! The best way to polish the ally rim is to use wet n dry sand paper: Depending on how bad they are work from 400 grit down to 1200 / 1500, then invest in a polishing kit from screw fix (£25 I think) fit it in a drill and polish away to a mirror finish!!!!

I did this with mine, but unfortunatly I left them go last winter and they have never been the same since!!!! So in the new year they are coming off again to be redone, but this time I\'m going to be laquering the outer rim to save the agro of cutting them back every time I clean the car!!!

Jono

Hi Jono,

What did you use to undo the studs?  

Fortunatly the outer polished part of the rim on mine are in very good condition apart from one that has a small amount of curbing.  Im hopeing to get away with just buffing them up a bit the rubbing down and re painting the centres!

[Grizzly]

£200 a rim?? thats a bit steep. I bet it would\'nt cost a great deal more to buy new ones?

You\'ll proberly find they just don\'t want to do Split rims (so the submit a Big estimate)

Also you may be best off stripping them yourself get the Rims polished by a Chrome/Platers and have the centers Painted (can get that done at your Local bodyshop), Depending on where you have them done i can\'t see it costing much more than £300. A mate had a set of 3pc rims done a year or so ago, he said if you get the Option get the rims waxed/Clear Anodised when there Polished that way the shine lasts longer and not left in raw Alloy (His went dull after 1 winter).

BTW, Stainless bolts are much easyer to snap that Mild steel (Stainless is more Brital) they mainly use them becouse they look nice

[Jono FD3]

Hi Jono,

What did you use to undo the studs?  

Fortunatly the outer polished part of the rim on mine are in very good condition apart from one that has a small amount of curbing.  Im hopeing to get away with just buffing them up a bit the rubbing down and re painting the centres!

I just used a 8mm spaner..... I\'ve got the Rays MS01\'s so they are 2 piece & nut & bolted. Dont know if the RE:A rims have nut & bolt or bolt into the ally of the inner section???

Jono

[tinker-27]

i did my oz split rims it was a real pian in the a*se but they looked fantastic when they were done i had the rims polished and the centre powder coated ,you can get the bolts re coated if ness (they are not normally s/steel) give us a bell if you want them doing i can get them done for you (for a realistic price !!!) craig

[adib]

hi got same rims 1 off mine is bad , so going to try and remove old coating and get it powder coated at a place my work uses and see what it comes out like

[johnf]

Update on my wheels

Decided to split them myself and take it from there.

Found a polisher in Brum that took the pieces and did this.

Considering what a poor state they were in when he took them on I\'m well pleased.

I\'ll put pics up when they\'re back on the car.