Changing my alloys

[Wugga]

Thinking of changing my alloys as the former owner had the wheels sprayed Grey and it seems to lose paint every time I wash them ( see pics) anyone recommend some alloys ?

[Bluto]

Maybe the previous owner's choice of alloy wheel refurbisher wasn't up to par?  If you like the VW wheel design why not get them refurbished and repainted, may be cheaper than replacing all the wheels?

But if you do want a change, as with most things relating to design, it's down to personal taste and budget.  You know what you like and can afford.  For me I also wanted a non-diamond cut wheel design that was easy to keep clean. Wasn't too fiddly to wash and a colour that did a good job of hiding the brake dust between cleans  .  For my winter wheels I went for some BBS SR in Himalaya Satin Grey.

[SRGTD]

@Bluto; BBS SR is a really nice design of alloy and IMHO they are very OEM in style. The criteria you set for your alloys is the same as mine and I’m also a great fan of alloys in various shades of grey - my last three sets of alloys have been a shade of grey.

I would never choose diamond cut alloys - I dislike them with a passion and I wish car manufacturers would stop being obsessed with fitting these ‘bling’ ‘bling’ alloys to an increasing number of the cars they produce. Why do I dislike diamond cut alloys?

• they have poor durability, especially if on a car all year round that’s used as a daily driver. It’s only a matter of time before the dreaded white worm corrosion starts.
• more expensive to refurbish than alloys with a powder coated finish, and can usually only be refurbished a maximum of twice, otherwise structural integrity can be compromised
• easily damaged by careless, inexperienced or overzealous tyre fitters

@Wugga; IMHO it looks as if your alloys were probably given a quick blow over with a rattle can or spray gun  and maybe the prep work was poor prior to painting, which would help explain why they’re flaking. A good quality refurb where they’re stripped back to bare metal, prior to priming, powder coating and lacquering should eliminate the risk of future flaking / peeling. For a top quality refurb job, you’d probably be looking at a cost of £80 - £90 VAT per wheel. Some companies may offer a discount if refurbishing all four wheels, but they may charge extra to remove and refit the tyres.

One company that gets quite a few favourable mentions on forums is Lepsons - link to their website below;
https://www.lepsons.com/how-we-produce-stunning-wheels/

Another is The Wheel Specialist; I’m aware of a forum member over on uk-polo.net who’s used them and they were very pleased with the refurb work carried out.
https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/

[dubber36]

Personally I don't think the grey wheels looks right on the OP's car. I would get them properly redone in the original silver colour. Silver can make the wheels appear to be bigger, so they could look just as good on the car as a set of darker 18's.

[Bluto]

@SRGTD thanks, yes that was part of the reason I like the SR ones because of their OEM looks and in my personal opinion the design suits my GTI.  I guess BBS have done a lot of alloy wheels for VW over the years so that may have influenced in my head how a GTI OEM wheel looks.

Agree with all you've said on the diamond cut alloys.  I share that view.  My 18" Monza Shadows have been diamond cut refurbed twice since I've had my Mk6.  Laquer started to lift on a wheel following a stone chip, so knew the dreaded white worm would soon invade.  Other time was kerbing as I entered a Sainsbury's car park - oops  . I was very cross with...myself LOL.

I know there is only so many times you can have them re-cut, so at that point I'd had a enough of wheel damage paranoia when parallel parking (or entering supermarket car parks  ) or tyres were being changed. So got them painted and vowed that I'd never have diamond cut wheels again.

@dubber36, I too would get them properly redone rather than buy replacements.  As @SRGTD says, looks like the previous refurb job has been done on the cheap and/or too quickly.  I agree that the colour of the car is crucial to selecting the colour of your alloys.  Silver would look good. 

@wugga, I've used both the companies that SRGTD has mentioned, Lepsons in Kent and the Leicester branch of The Wheel Specialist.  Can only comment on their painting of my wheels, was happy with the work from both companies.  The company, Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes, that did last my diamond cut refurb (did a fantastic job) has since closed  .

SRGTD is spot on what you should expect to pay.  TWS in 2020 charged me £336 to have all four 18" Monza Shadows repainted.  But I just dropped them the wheels with no tyres as I have a good relationship with my local tyre fitter.  Lepsons charged me £116 including courier insurance (optional) for repainting one of my 17" BBS Alloys using BBS's paint code - again wheel only no tyre.

If it was me, I'd get them all refurbished. As there'll be discrepencies in any colour matching no matter how good if you only get the damaged ones done.  If you're wondering if I've gone against my own advice there with respect to my single BBS.  That BBS is now my spare wheel in the boot.   

       

[Wugga]

Thanks all - comments are awesome ! I live in South Wales (close to Cardiff) bit of a trek to go to Leicester - I’ll have to do some research for local wheel refurbisher’s seems best option is to sort the wheels I have and get them looking right, is there a way that I (diy) could remove the crap spray paint myself without affecting the paint underneath being affected to much ?

[Bluto]

Hi Wugga:

Believe TWS has locations all over the UK, check out its website to see if there is one near you, and any customer reviews associated with it.  I think getting some quotes and doing research on your local wheel refurbishers would seem like the next natural move.

Personally I'd not bother trying to remove the flaking top coat if you're planning on a professional refurb.  Not sure there is any value in that?

The wheel refurbishment process I've had done in the past has involved the company removing all the wheel's paint back to base metal, fixing any inperfections in the metal e.g. flat spots, kerb damage. Then applying a primer and top coat (an oversimplification of the process I'm sure).  But definitely something to ask the company what its refurb process is when gathering your quotes etc.

Once you've decided on the company, the toughest decision you'll have is what colour to choose!   

[SRGTD]

Thanks all - comments are awesome ! I live in South Wales (close to Cardiff) bit of a trek to go to Leicester - I’ll have to do some research for local wheel refurbisher’s seems best option is to sort the wheels I have and get them looking right, is there a way that I (diy) could remove the crap spray paint myself without affecting the paint underneath being affected to much ?

The Wheel Specialist has a branch not that far from Cardiff (less than 20 miles?). They’re at;

16 John Baker Close
Llantarnam Industrial Estate,
Cwmbran NP44 3AX

(01633 873172)

There’s a link to The Wheel Specialist website in my post above (reply #2). The Cwmbran branch gets good Google reviews; 4.9 out of 5 based on 121 reviews. The Wheel Specialist was also featured on an episode of Wheeler Dealers a few years ago.

I’d leave the paint removal to the wheel refurbishers. If you use a reputable, experienced company then the processes they’ll use to remove the old flaking paint (likely to be either dipping in an acid bath or sand blasting) should leave a factory smooth finish which should provide a really good key for primer / powder coat / lacquer layers prior to baking and the result should be a very hard wearing and long lasting finish.

I’d avoid having them refurbished in a diamond cut finish as it’s not a very durable finish. Definitely go for a powder coated finish.

[Wugga]

Ok thank all ! Another question my brake callipers are a bit weathered, best way to get them resprayed ? Ie can they be done without taking them off ?

[SRGTD]

Ok thank all ! Another question my brake callipers are a bit weathered, best way to get them resprayed ? Ie can they be done without taking them off ?

Yes, it is possible to paint them without removing them. There’s a (quite old) guide on the forum at the link below;

https://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=77966.0

There are also quite a few videos on YouTube; try a search on ‘repainting car brake callipers’.

When jacking up the car, be sure to use the designated jacking points, otherwise the car’s sills can be easily damaged! Don’t rely on the ‘widow maker’ jack supplied with the car either, as it can fail.