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Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Pixwix on 02 December 2018, 12:08

Title: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 02 December 2018, 12:08
Can't believe it but kerbed my wheel  :sad: so would be great if anyone has any recommendations for a place I can  get it refurbished in the West Yorks area, Austins so Diamond cut.
Meanwhile...just getting the bucket and lacquer out! (Presume I can use the lacquer in the paint touch up kit?)
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: wantmygti on 02 December 2018, 13:36
Can you courier it down to Lepsons?
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 02 December 2018, 13:48
Mmm.. I know everyone seems to rate them but I probably couldn’t even get the wheel off! 😂 not very practical like that. Unless I can last till Christmas and OH home. Seen a place in Birstall called Transalloys, anyone had any experience of them?
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Ryan90GTI on 02 December 2018, 17:31
I had mine refurbished but you could tell it had been done. Personally I'd look at finding a good used one on eBay.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Zan on 03 December 2018, 21:36
Like yourself I put a small ding on one of my santiago's and after a lot googling I have just cleaned the ding up and plopped some lacquer on it. 
I've never understood the trend for diamond cut wheels as they can look quite the worse for wear after a few years vs normal painted alloy's plus having to re-machine the alloys for a proper refurbishment means it can only be done a finite amount of times.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 03 December 2018, 21:51
Mmm... I had a small ding to, caused by a stone I think by the position it was. I cleaned and popped lacquer and was managing to ignore it. However as I was trying to tidy up the kerbed one as best I could I took a look at the ding and stupidly and carelessly rubbed with what I thought was really fine sandpaper in the area. ... and yes, diamond finish is not forgiving. Needless to say that now looks a right mess, not as bad as the kerbed one but will be approaching my car now with eyes averted 😢.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Watts on 04 December 2018, 10:23
Are they really that bad? I've kerbed mine a few times but I'm waiting to get them refinished as there are a finite number of times they can be done and nothing attracts a kerb stone to a wheel more effectively than a recently refurbished alloy :rolleyes:
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 04 December 2018, 19:42
Mmm...I know what you're saying watts...logistics mean I'll have to leave it a few weeks and that will give me time to see how I feel. Maybe leave them till better weather. Had gone nearly  2 and a half years without anything though, a lot depends on what I decide in the next few months about swapping after 3 years or not.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Ryan90GTI on 04 December 2018, 20:23
If it's on a lease I'd either leave it or just get it touched up.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 04 December 2018, 22:59

When I messed with it the other day I have taken the shine off some of the flat part of the wheel, the kerbed bit, scrunched bit, is right on the lip. Any ideas how to make the bit I have dulled shiny again?
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: SRGTD on 05 December 2018, 08:38

When I messed with it the other day I have taken the shine off some of the flat part of the wheel, the kerbed bit, scrunched bit, is right on the lip. Any ideas how to make the bit I have dulled shiny again?

Any pictures?

It’s probably looking a bit like the dull finish on car paintwork that you’d get if you were to wet sand it to remove the orange peel effect (some purists/perfectionists do this - I wouldn’t dare, for fear of striking through the clear coat!). After wet sanding, the paintwork is then machine polished to remove the dull finish to get a mirror like finish.

Without seeing it, I’d say that if you know someone with a machine polisher and they use an appropriate combination of pad and polish, it should restore the shine.

If it’s only a small localised area and you don’t know someone with a machine polisher, then you can probably do a pretty good job hand polishing the dull area using a foam polish applicator pad and a product like Meguiars Ultimate Compound or Autoglym Scratch Remover. I’ve not used either of these so can’t vouch for how effective they’d be. Just be careful not to polish too hard as you may risk polishing through the lacquer!
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 05 December 2018, 17:55
Would add photo SRGTD if only knew how...have searched forum and can't find any recent instructions. Do I need to be using photobucket?
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: SRGTD on 05 December 2018, 18:37
You need to use a photo hosting site; I use Postimage.org.

Upload your picture(s) to the photo hosting site. For the pictures you want to include in your post, copy the ‘Hotlink for forums’ and paste the link into your post.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: joe6 on 05 December 2018, 18:38
Not much help to you and would not touch the flat area like this, but when I curbed the very edge of a wheel rim I used a file to remove the 'dent' and get the shine back then lacquered the area. Can only tell if you know its there. Flat areas need machining unfortunately. I have used Perfection wheels and that has lasted 4 years so far without problems on a Monza Shadow. I believe they have a rep in Leeds?
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 05 December 2018, 20:22
https://www.flickr.com/photos/145585097@N04/shares/r8Hucg

Not sure this has worked...
Photo of wheel and then another one of the car as I've never put a picture on before..
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 05 December 2018, 20:26
It worked... the photo thing..thanks SRGTD.
and thanks everyone else for suggestions..
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: SRGTD on 05 December 2018, 20:48
@Pixwix; if it’s the slightly dull area on the widest part of the wheel spoke immediately below the scuff marks on the rim, I’d have thought it should be possible to polish that area by hand to bring back the shine.

Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Watts on 05 December 2018, 20:50
Hopefully this is easier. You just need to pasre the BBCode into your post.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4863/46143392412_e0a7259826_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2diwWXf)LND_A1C9AC3E-957C-4777-B91D-BED7D5A15BA9 (https://flic.kr/p/2diwWXf) by cazpixwix (https://www.flickr.com/photos/145585097@N04/), on Flickr
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Booth11 on 05 December 2018, 22:34
If you have access to a DA the dulled area will easily polish out. If not, as suggested, try some polish on a foam pad by hand to refine the damaged area.  Obviously the kerbed area will need a full diamond cut refurb.  If you are going to get the wheel refurbished soon, then there’s no point in polishing the dulled area as they’ll run the lathe over the whole face. If you’re leaving it then polishing the dulled area will improve that bit.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 05 December 2018, 22:49
I think I'll be getting that wheel refurbished. Will try the polishing on the other wheel that has the smallest ding that I then made worse. Any ideas for a polish to use?
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Booth11 on 05 December 2018, 23:13
I think I'll be getting that wheel refurbished. Will try the polishing on the other wheel that has the smallest ding that I then made worse. Any ideas for a polish to use?

Something like Meguiars Ultimate Compound will do it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meguiars-G17216EU-Ultimate-Compound-Restorer/dp/B002KKCLO6/ref=sr_1_1/257-8151844-0947328?ie=UTF8&qid=1544051058&sr=8-1&keywords=meguiars+ultimate+compund

Halfords sell it to so should be easy to find.
Title: Re: Alloy refurbishment - recommendation West Yorkshire area
Post by: Pixwix on 06 December 2018, 00:03
Cheers Booth11.