Wheel Re-furb !

[BenMMellor]

Decided to use up my last day of holidays from 2006 and get my slightly scabby 17" wheels refurbed before the roads get coated in all sorts of corrosive chemicals for the bad weather and make them look like they have the plague.

Luckily I have a cracking place local to me in Preston who did a great job on my Celica alloys. Its called 'Wheel Repair Centre' and is run by Jerry Walsh (known as Mysh to the GT4 community).

Rather than just some spray over wth a can of paint, I went for the full hog and got them powder coated - I also spent time painting up the calipers to complement my wheel choice. As it is still ****** it down I've not got a good photo of them in the sunlight but they really sparkle ! I'll add better pictures in the next day or so !

Ok here's the car just in the workshop :

A close up of one of the flaked wheels which was apparently 'refurbed' (read sprayed with a spray can so as to make the caliper look like it's a zebra) by a previous owner :

Prep work - sorry no pictures of this bit.

Prepping the wheels involved stripping the wheel of the tyre and weights, then soaking it in a paint stripper bath to remove the poor Toyota Paint. The stripped wheel is then washed down and shot blasted to preaper the surface and then any kerbed edges or imperfections are removed by expert sanding (cheers

Jerry !)

Example of wheel prepped for the powder coating :

Hot wheel being powder coated in dark anthracite(Cue the set blaster to stun jokes) :

Then being lacquered to keep the nasty brake dust at bay !

Once they're cooked enough, leave to cool :

Then put they tyres back on and balance up - re-fit to the car and voila - sexy !

Jerry is also doing a promo on wheel refurbs at the moment so if you want to contact him you can get him on www.wheelrepair.co.uk (under a bit of re-development) or Tel: 01772 627600 Mobile: 07814 749769

[aido]

They're looking great, are you going to get the wheel caps done to match as well?

[BenMMellor]

They're looking great, are you going to get the wheel caps done to match as well?

It doesn't show it as well as it looks in the flesh in the pictures but they look good with the colour combination of dark grey and silver - especially after painting up the calipers in silver.

If I'd had more time I'd have got him to also powder coat the brake dust shields in silver as well.. hmm maybe another weekend when I get a pass out off the missus....

Still, they passed the ultimate test and got the nod of approval from 'she who must be obeyed' ! and she's very into colour co-ordination !

I'll get a photo in the daylight (wihout rain) asap - but if I want the caps done the same colour it's not a problem for him to do it.

[P38Aaron]

They do look the part, good job!

What was the time scale and guide to price?

[MacRS200]

Looks like a photoshop job to me or the the first 4x4 IS

[T7RY B]

My opinion and thats all it is, MY opinion.

They looked better in the 1st. pic.

Dark wheels with the silver centre cap and crappy looking wheel nuts just don't do it for me.

Ist. pic to the last pic .The car looks better in the 1st.

[BenMMellor]

They do look the part, good job!

What was the time scale and guide to price?

It depends on the turn around time you want. Jerry offers different levels of service - eg some people buy a set of wheels of eBay and ship them direct to him, he re-furbs then posts them out within an agreed time period, in some cases (like a local Dodge Viper last week) he'll pick the car up and do the wheels in 24 hrs.

His 'record' for a complete wheels off - re-furb - drive out is 5.5 hrs.

Price wise it depends also on the work involved - you're best contacting him for pricing but a complete powdercoat on my wheels would be about £250 for simple wheels ( I got all five done). He has an offer on at the moment so best contact him for current pricing.

Split rims are a little more expensive due to the time it takes to take them apart. Last time I popped in for a brew he was allen keying a set of 19's back together which had about 30 allen bolts on each wheel !

B)-->

QUOTE(T7RY B @ Jan 7 2007, 02:21 AM) ←

My opinion and thats all it is, MY opinion.

They looked better in the 1st. pic.

Dark wheels with the silver centre cap and crappy looking wheel nuts just don't do it for me.

Ist. pic to the last pic .The car looks better in the 1st.

no problem with your opinion - but to be fiar the picture was taken inside a workshop under flourescent lighting.. not the best for flash photography. I would have gone outside but Noah was starting to build another ark in Preston on saturday.

I'm going to get fresh wheelnuts asap to finish it off - and when Jerry his new supply of flush fit valves they're being fitted.

[wheelrepair]

Hi Guys,

Cheers for the shout out Ben, The anthracite looks great on your car.

Just to let you all know i have offered the LOC a 20% discount off the price of powder coating sets of wheels, details can be found at www.wheelrepair.co.uk/offer.html. This offer was going to be for december and january but it's now jan/feb as it took me ages to get it sorted and december has already gone.

please feel free to email me with any questions

cheers

Mysh

[RayKhan]

Hi Guys,

Cheers for the shout out Ben, The anthracite looks great on your car.

Just to let you all know i have offered the LOC a 20% discount off the price of powder coating sets of wheels, details can be found at www.wheelrepair.co.uk/offer.html. This offer was going to be for december and january but it's now jan/feb as it took me ages to get it sorted and december has already gone.

please feel free to email me with any questions

cheers

Mysh

I too can vouch for the quality of Mish's work!

He did a set for my GS last year and I still come out and look at them with pride!

[Kremmen]

After 30K my wheels started going in places, especially the leading inner edges of the spokes, so I pointed them out at the 30K service and they got changed.

Even though they reckoned I had been given 'new' wheels I'm not so sure because they are different to the spare. The outer rim near the tyre is not shiny like the spare.

However, they do seem to have a generous layer of laquer, wonder if these will last 3 years till they start to go ?

[BenMMellor]

Here's a couple of shots when it wasn't raining in Preston today and the sun was out.

[puresilk]

Its just an opinion!

But they look better in the first pic for me too!

Silver is an awesome colour for alloys!

[johnplatt]

Your wheels look great but I bet it wasn't cheap. I've looked around for a while now to get mine done but I finished up having a go at them myself. I took each wheel off the car but left the tyres on. After a good clean-up with white spirit and a bit of wet and dry I masked off the tyre and the 'polished bits' (these were in good condition - it was the corrosion on the powder coat that offended the eye. I put the masking tape on then cut carefully round with a Stanley - it wasn't as difficult as it sounds.

I then gave them a coat of grey primer followed by at least 2 coats of alloy wheel spray (from Motorworld) and 3 coats of clear laquer. The finished item is very slightly darker than the original colour but virtually indistinguishable. I haven't got any pictures but they look as new now and no signs of corrosion yet (6 months later). Total cost about 2hr per wheel plus £20 or so for materials. I'm also right proud of what I've achieved.

[ashpilot]

try the fairy liquid masking method. Put a reasonable coat of any washing liquid on the tyre, once finished painting simply wash off with a hose pipe.

BTW my multi spokes started corroding after 1 year from new, having them changed tomorrow. The centre caps corroded as well.

[T7RY B]

Sun was shining in Manchester today so out came the chrome polish !

[spikes]

@ben,not my choice of colour but they look a good finish :D

B)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(T7RY B @ Jan 14 2007, 06:28 PM) ←</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->

Sun was shining in Manchester today so out came the chrome polish !

bet they won't look like that next weekend if you drive on them all week :D

[BenMMellor]

well one advantage of that colour is that the wheels still looked mighty fine after a trek upto Edinburgh and back over the weekend to work - motorways where a mess given the weather !

[spikes]

well one advantage of that colour is that the wheels still looked mighty fine after a trek upto Edinburgh and back over the weekend to work - motorways where a mess given the weather !

good point,won't show up all that brake dust.

ps,need some tyre shine on those tyres :D

[6OLDE]

Firstly i must say the refurb job looks superb!!!

HOWEVER i'm not quite feeling the finish you decided on going for.. It MAY have looked nice on a white is200 but does suit your metallic blue.

Just my opinion though....

[Bloodygoodbloke]

well one advantage of that colour is that the wheels still looked mighty fine after a trek upto Edinburgh and back over the weekend to work - motorways where a mess given the weather !

I foudn a place here in Edinburgh that will refurb my wheels to standard finish for £80 a wheel

Thats good since i only need 3 wheels done.

cost me the same to get 4 wheels powdercoated

but i must admit i like Bens.

just wont go on my GRanite Sky car.

[Bob King]

Come on Ben ,blue car must have blue brakes :P .....

[BenMMellor]

au contraire bob - blue brakes are for silver cars like my Celica !

[corsavandal]

au contraire bob - blue brakes are for silver cars like my Celica !

i agree, BLUE calipers - Silver OR black car

blue car - RED calipers!?!?