Alloy wheel repair needed

[Brechin Slate]

It was bound to happen.  My wife has just told me that she's kerbed the car and damaged the front nearside wheel, pics below.  The car is in otherwise immaculate condition and I've lavished time and effort to keep it that way so to say that I'm disappointed is an understatement.  Can anyone recommend a top class repairer in the Hants/Dorset area?  I'd much rather go on the say so of a Lexus owner than take the risk of finding one online.  I think I'm right in saying that this wheel is only fitted to the IS300h Premier (18") and is a smoky silver grey colour which is quite unusual so will need someone who knows what he's doing when it comes to colour matching.  Of course there's no spare so the car will be off the road while it's being done.  Thanks in advance.

[LenT]

I had very similar rim damage on my IS250 alloys, which appear to be a similar colour.  I contacted our local ChipsAway operator who did a marvellous job.  There was no trace of the repair and the colour match was perfect.

To prove it wasn’t a fluke, he repeated it on another wheel when I scuffed it again!

No doubt, some operators may be less skilled than others and you may not even have one near you.  But another advantage is that it’s a mobile service that comes to you.

Incidentally, realising this could become an expensive habit, I had a set of Alloygator Rim Protectors fitted and rim damage is now highly unlikely to be a problem.

 

 

[Brechin Slate]

10 minutes ago, LenT said:

I had a set of Alloygator Rim Protectors fitted

Which colour Alloygator did you go for?  Any pics?  Might be a good way to go, looks like the repair is ITRO £180!  Very happy with some paintwork done by Chips Away on my IS250, unfortunately there's no longer an operative in my area, he was so good he's probably gone on to better things.

[LenT]

21 minutes ago, Brechin Slate said:

Which colour Alloygator did you go for?  Any pics?  Might be a good way to go, looks like the repair is ITRO £180!  

I chose black, Mike, as I wanted the plastic to match the tyre so that it didn’t stand out.  And I thought any further scuffs would be less obvious.

 But you can go for a colour and make a style statement of them!

I’ll try to attach a recent picture showing the wheels undergoing a protective coating treatment which does show the Alloygators in situ.  I’d also point out that the Goodyears already have moulded on what Goodyear describe as a rim protector.  But you can clearly see that the Alloygator projects even further out than the tyre itself, so further protecting the tyre.

 

[Brechin Slate]

19 minutes ago, LenT said:

I chose black, Mike, as I wanted the plastic to match the tyre so that it didn’t stand out.  And I thought any further scuffs would be less obvious.

 But you can go for a colour and make a style statement of them!

I’ll try to attach a recent picture showing the wheels undergoing a protective coating treatment which does show the Alloygators in situ.  I’d also point out that the Goodyears already have moulded on what Goodyear describe as a rim protector.  But you can clearly see that the Alloygator projects even further out than the tyre itself, so further protecting the tyre.

 

Looks good!  My Bridgestones have that rim protector too but it didn't stop someone who was obviously determined..

[Linas.P]

First of all your alloy isn't damaged, just paint little bit scuffed. "damaged alloy" I consider to be buckled, bent or cracked. Any normal alloy reform place could repaint it ~ £50-90.

I would be careful with rim protectors, if you just brush the kerb very lightly (like probably was the case with your one) it may help, but any harder and they not only don't protect the rim, but you as well need to replace them immediately, because they may separate from the wheel at motorway speeds and wreck entire corner of your car (side panel, bumper, wheel arch lining etc) - think of them as grass trimmer wire, just attached to 18" wheel traveling at 70MPH+. 

[paulrnx]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

First of all your alloy isn't damaged, just paint little bit scuffed. "damaged alloy" I consider to be buckled, bent or cracked. Any normal alloy reform place could repaint it ~ £50-90.

I would be careful with rim protectors, if you just brush the kerb very lightly (like probably was the case with your one) it may help, but any harder and they not only don't protect the rim, but you as well need to replace them immediately, because they may separate from the wheel at motorway speeds and wreck entire corner of your car (side panel, bumper, wheel arch lining etc) - think of them as grass trimmer wire, just attached to 18" wheel traveling at 70MPH+. 

I have a clear picture of what you have described in my head Linas. Not good! 👍

[paulrnx]

4 hours ago, Brechin Slate said:

It was bound to happen.  My wife has just told me that she's kerbed the car and damaged the front nearside wheel, pics below.  The car is in otherwise immaculate condition and I've lavished time and effort to keep it that way so to say that I'm disappointed is an understatement.  Can anyone recommend a top class repairer in the Hants/Dorset area?  I'd much rather go on the say so of a Lexus owner than take the risk of finding one online.  I think I'm right in saying that this wheel is only fitted to the IS300h Premier (18") and is a smoky silver grey colour which is quite unusual so will need someone who knows what he's doing when it comes to colour matching.  Of course there's no spare so the car will be off the road while it's being done.  Thanks in advance.

There is a brilliant place at Tewkesbury called Reinventing the Wheel. Probably too far away from you but they would do this repair for about £70-80 I would think based on work my family have had done there. This does mean there are places out there that offer a good service at a reasonable price.

[Stuart Aspey]

It might also be worth contacting your local dealership and asking which body repair shop they use. I was directed to a local place called 'LoveMyCar' they had all the Lexus colour codes and did a great job on my wheels. 

[rayaans]

Most Lexus dealers dont have an onsite body shop so outsource. I know Lexus Stockport/Bolton have their own bodyshop they use but everyone else sends the wheels elsewhere. Ask the dealer first who they use.

Also worth checking facebook/instagram for companies and their work. 

I had a smart repair done on the Jag diamond cut wheels for £55 a wheel all inclusive so £180 to repair that is taking the royal mickey.

Additionally, dont believe the alloygator hype. They do have a tendency to fling off and also, they look awful once theyve contacted a kerb as well.

[LenT]

17 hours ago, Linas.P said:

First of all your alloy isn't damaged, just paint little bit scuffed. "damaged alloy" I consider to be buckled, bent or cracked. Any normal alloy reform place could repaint it ~ £50-90.

A little more than JUST a paint job, surely? The surface looks damaged and will surely need rubbing down and blending in before it can be repainted – two different coats, remember. And it would have to be done carefully to avoid any change in the rim profile – depending on how concerned the owner is to remove all traces of the encounter.

I suspect that two wheels done to that standard will cost more than fitting a set of Alloygators – which would have prevented that damage in the first place.

17 hours ago, Linas.P said:

I would be careful with rim protectors, if you just brush the kerb very lightly (like probably was the case with your one) it may help, but any harder and they not only don't protect the rim, but you as well need to replace them immediately, because they may separate from the wheel at motorway speeds and wreck entire corner of your car (side panel, bumper, wheel arch lining etc) - think of them as grass trimmer wire, just attached to 18" wheel traveling at 70MPH+. 

I hasten to add that I think all the concerns expressed about this product are perfectly valid. But I didn’t choose to fit them on a whim. Like many things in Life, it’s a matter of assessing reward v risk. While the scenario that Linas posits is possible, is it a probable risk? How does it compare, for example, with the inherent risk of ‘travelling at motorway speeds of 70MPH+’ when statistically your chances of being involved in an accident are greatly diminished at 60mph, or 50mph?

How often do you consider the risk of a tyre blow out? It’s certainly possible, because it happened to friends of ours in their newish BMW. But we don’t consider it very probable, do we?

This product has now been sold in over 50 countries for more than a decade. I’ve only come across a handful of claims that rims have separated from wheels. On examination these often turn out to be DIY jobs or fitting to unsuitable alloys. Frankly, an impact that might render the Alloygator likely to leave the rim would probably also leave the wheel unusable in the first place.

It’s also worth mentioning that this product has been approved by testing at MIRA and by the German TUV organisation.

Another claim is that water and grit gets under the plastic and damages the alloy surface. Well apart from raising the question of whether the surface was already damaged and the Alloygator used to conceal that fact, this is by definition cosmetic surface damage and very easily rectified. Or even hidden under a new Alloygator!

And it’s surely preferable to having to pay for repairs to seriously damaged alloy rims.

From personal experience I can confirm that everyday scuffing, as illustrated by the OP, is not going to remove an Alloygator. That’s because this is a rubbing action when a moving wheel contacts a vertical surface, such as a kerb. Lifting the Alloygator away from the rim requires a different impact, such as a vertical force applied to the side of the plastic – as when the wheel drops off a kerb and the edge of it hits the side face of the plastic rim.

But again this is very obvious damage. Deflating the tyre and the use of a soft faced mallet is generally enough to replace the Alloygator back on the rim.

I see that another criticism is that ‘they look awful once they’ve contacted the kerb’. Well, that’s one reason why I chose black – and scuffs on the plastic can be smoothed out anyway. And remember, every scuff represents more serious alloy rim damage that has been prevented. And as the OPs pics clearly demonstrate, that will surely look worse!

To put the choice of ‘to fit or not to fit’ another way: Some people are refusing the Covid-19 vaccines on the grounds that they may have side effects. Well, in some people they do. But not having the vaccine can have even more unpleasant side effects.

As it happens, I don't ever remember curbing a wheel until I got the Lexus and had my first experience of low profile tyres and alloys.  And if you can be sure that you'll never do it then save your money -  you'll never need any rim protection.

So as my folks used to say ‘you pays yer money and you makes yer choice!’.  

PS: I realise this has become a long post.  My apologies!

[Brechin Slate]

2 hours ago, LenT said:

A little more than JUST a paint job, surely

Absolutely right, the aluminium is damaged and I've sanded it back to remove the rough edges.  As a stop gap, I've reprofiled the rim using some Holts knifing putty that I had lying around, now sanded and primed but no idea how good it's going to look until I spray it tomorrow. I'll still probably go down the professional repair route and just waiting to hear back from Lexus Poole with their recommendations. 

[rich1068]

21 hours ago, Brechin Slate said:

Looks good!  My Bridgestones have that rim protector too but it didn't stop someone who was obviously determined..

Where is she living now?

[LenT]

19 minutes ago, Brechin Slate said:

Absolutely right, the aluminium is damaged and I've sanded it back to remove the rough edges.  As a stop gap, I've reprofiled the rim using some Holts knifing putty that I had lying around, now sanded and primed but no idea how good it's going to look until I spray it tomorrow. I'll still probably go down the professional repair route and just waiting to hear back from Lexus Poole with their recommendations. 

I did treat myself to a home repair kit by e-tech, as featured in the ChipsAway site from, I believe, amazon.  It sorted out the profile repair well enough, but I couldn’t match the colour.  It was too bright a silver. I even tried, unsuccessfully, to add some black!

[Linas.P]

@LenT - I didn't say alligators or similar products are bad, I just pointed out that not only they don't work 100% of the time, but as well you must replace them as soon as you hit the kerb. That is not something I have invented but the instructions of the product. £180 for 4 = £45 per wheel. Whereas wheel refurbishment is £50-90 depending on size, quality and the place you living... and how greedy you local wheel refurbishment shop  is or how much clientele they have. Basically, having rim protectors reduces your repair costs by 30-50%.

On top of that I actually don't like how they look (my personal thing) and I consider them as equivalent of support wheels on kids bicycles (basically indication you could not feel the corners of your car). They kind of suits some cars- like is you have pin Lamborghini and matching colour rim bands that is kind of style of the car, but this is more of exception.

2 hours ago, Brechin Slate said:

Absolutely right, the aluminium is damaged and I've sanded it back to remove the rough edges.  As a stop gap, I've reprofiled the rim using some Holts knifing putty that I had lying around, now sanded and primed but no idea how good it's going to look until I spray it tomorrow. I'll still probably go down the professional repair route and just waiting to hear back from Lexus Poole with their recommendations. 

Scratches from the kerb isn't "damaged aluminium" - just lick of filler and it will be gone. Considering some of the wheels I have refurbished in the past your your "damage" is literally joke - just a scratch. 

...and you are clearly not waiting to hear back from Lexus Poole as it is little bit late for their recommendations!😁But good effort there... + I guess the service guy is having a laugh as you basically asking how to refurbish a wheel. What you expect them to say? "Take it to wheel refurb place". Well I guess they can recommend the place they use as they should be using one frequently. But considering how far you have gone by yourself... again it is kind of too late for the professional job.

I think you really stressing out far too much about the thing which is literally frequent occurrence (well maybe for you it isn't, but generally it happens to million people every day). 

As you have done it all now, it is kind of too late, but sadly I feel like you have wasted a lot of effort. Any wheel refurbishment place and considering how small the damage was - even mobile repair vans would have easily done the job for you in a matter of minutes. Call me pessimist, but after you going to spray it you still going to need to eventually get it fixed by professional shop and it isn't even that expensive ~ tank of fuel.

9 hours ago, Stuart Aspey said:

It might also be worth contacting your local dealership and asking which body repair shop they use. I was directed to a local place called 'LoveMyCar' they had all the Lexus colour codes and did a great job on my wheels. 

Lexus wheels have no colour codes, but most reasonable wheel refurb places matches the colour close enough. Obviously, if you know the shop used by dealership then maybe that is advantage... although I feel it could be "double-edged sword" - you see... dealerships will always refurb the wheels in the cheapest possible way, because they literally do hundreds of them. What I am saying - place which dealership uses are likely to know how to match wheels closest to Lexus colour, but they work quality might not be the best quality.

 

[LenT]

41 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

I just pointed out that not only they don't work 100% of the time,

I hope that I didn't imply that you had!  I certainly wouldn't claim it.  However, the OP's pictures do illustrate exactly the common problem for which they do seem to be very effective.

48 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

but as well you must replace them as soon as you hit the kerb.

Actually the Company states that they can be reused, as when fitting new tyres, for example,  if they haven't sustained heavy impact.  That would be a matter of personal choice and one's definition of 'heavy'.  I've also come across a fitting operation that suggests replacing them every two years anyway.  But I would have thought a mileage basis would be more appropriate than time.

But as far as cost goes, my set were fitted on 18" wheels for £120 exactly two years ago. Before that, Mr ChipsAway had charged me £90 per wheel, inc. VAT, and did an excellent job - on both wheels!

 

[Linas.P]

No I don't think you claimed they work 100% of the time, I just wanted to be clear on that point and that is it. 

Sorry, I thought you said it was £180 for alligators, for £120 it seems more acceptable cost. However again I just don't like how they look.

£90 is like the highest you could be charged for wheel repair, I would say average would be closer to £75, but if you know where it could be done for even less.

I am sure they could be reused when refitting tyres, never said it is not the case. However, what I have said that they should be replaced once damaged... and as your own explanation suggests it is a little bit of grey area when to replace them and what is considered damaged. This results in some people running them damaged and "exploding" corner of their car when these things gets detached at speed. I might be exaggerating a little bit as it again depends on your luck - they my simply fly off, or they may take corner of your car with them... certainly there is possibility of later. 

Finally, indeed in case of damage like Mike's - they would have helped, but that is because damage on his wheel is literally tiniest damage one can get... just a tine scrape. In most cases they either would not help, or would help, but look horrible by themselves and would require replacement 

 

[Brechin Slate]

2 hours ago, Linas.P said:

and you are clearly not waiting to hear back from Lexus Poole as it is little bit late for their recommendations!

Yes I am, I've done a first aid repair which improves the look until I get it professionally sorted, it's not too late and an hours work is not wasting a lot of effort when I had nothing better to do on a sunny afternoon. Oh and I'm not 'stressing out', it's not something I do, I just want to look after my vehicle which had a list price of over £40k, pretty sure that's understandable.  I'm not a concours man but I do take pride in my vehicles.  All constructive recommendations will continue to be welcomed until the final repair (and it IS a repair) is done.  I'm not really that interested in criticism or unconstructive opinions though. 😉

[Linas.P]

It wasn't criticism, it just seems you doing a lot of stuff for what is quite standard and cheap fix, contacting Lexus dealership and all that... perhaps my definition of being "stressed-out" is different than yours. 

I do enjoy looking after my car as well, but it seems that the real solution here would be to take the wheel to refurb place and let them refurbish it - that is exactly what they do all day and every day. And they would do all the same prep you did included in the price.

Finally, if me finding it little bit funny that you did "all that" whist waiting for response from Lexus is somehow offensive, then sorry I will leave this thread alone. I am sure I have already said everything there is to say... and any wheel refurb shop will sort it out in 30 minutes... and your car will looks as good as they day it rolled off the dealer lot at it's list price 🙂 

[Brechin Slate]

17 hours ago, LenT said:

I did treat myself to a home repair kit by e-tech, as featured in the ChipsAway site from, I believe, Amazon.  It sorted out the profile repair well enough, but I couldn’t match the colour.  It was too bright a silver. I even tried, unsuccessfully, to add some black!

I remember trying the same thing with the e-tech kit on my IS250, the sanding and filling is OK but the final colour is 'take it or leave it'. I guess they can't make a kit for every shade of wheel.  Also they don't supply the primer which is an essential and they also say to use etching primer before the regular primer if you're spraying bare aluminium.  Needless to say, I've got a lot of the kit left for other projects 🤣

[m4rkw]

I think Lepsons are regarded as one of the best, if you care about the car that much.

[LenT]

1 hour ago, Brechin Slate said:

Needless to say, I've got a lot of the kit left for other projects 🤣

Yes, I wonder if there’s a market for barely used e-tech alloy wheel repair kits?  To be fair, it did enable me to reprofile the rim but the colour mismatch was possibly even more obvious than the original damage.  Hence the attraction of the Alloygators.

Still, you’re better off than I am as I have no other projects.  We have a small Suzuki SX4 4x4, but unlike the Lexus alloys with their tendency to break out in a rash at the first sniff of a kerb, the Suzuki has proper ‘who-are-you-looking-at’ steel wheels which are unmarked despite engaging in unarmed combat with local kerbs, potholes and ploughed fields.

[Vadim]

I have marked two of four near-immaculate wheels when parking a newly bought RX at home. After my wife did the same on the other side next day, I swapped the tyres to 2cm wider (255 instead of 235mm), no worries about curbing since then. For some reason Lexus and other manufacturers started fitting tyres, which are almost level to the wheel rim edge, so with a lightest touch curb reaches the rim. Sometimes you can even find curbed rims on new cars at dealer's parking...

[NemesisUK]

1 hour ago, Vadim said:

For some reason Lexus and other manufacturers started fitting tyres, which are almost level to the wheel rim edge, so with a lightest touch curb reaches the rim. Sometimes you can even find curbed rims on new cars at dealer's parking...

Both factory new cars, 2016 and now my 2019 RC300h came with tyres giving plenty of rim protection, impressively so IMHO

[65mike]

Hi all.

If you are near the Wheel Specialist they are worth ago our dealer i could not recommend enough 5 star work.

We have just had a Diamond Cut wheel on the Aygo done this is re machining the face and it was £132.00. Diamond wheels are more expensive.

I have used them before so know they are well worth it.

I do not have anything to do with the Wheel Specialist just giving my opinion as have had excellent service when have used them before.

65mike.