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Alloy wheel refurb.

  • 17-06-2012 7:41pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,190 ✭✭✭


    I'm considering getting the alloy wheels on my '91 Mercerdes 230TE refurbished but have no idea of cost. Anyone know who does this near south Dublin, how much it costs, and how long it takes. Oh, and do the supply "loan" wheels while the originals are been done? This part is vital as the car is used every day and has to stay that way.


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 90 ✭✭little swift


    dont know about pricing but you can call them and find out.
    http://www.tallaghtpowdercoating.ie/alloy-whr.html


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 2,957 Mod ✭✭✭✭macplaxton


    May I also suggest asking Barelle: http://www.barelleltd.ie/

    I had six 4B x 14 steel rims done by Jeff at Tallaght Powder Coating in 2008. A wide range of colours/shades were offered and the workmanship was good. I chose a metallic silver finish.

    One issue that did arise with these wheels (and steel wheels in general) is consistency of coating in the deep valley join between the centre (nave) of the wheel and the outer (rim) section. It is very difficult for any powder coater to avoid the Faraday cage effect you get in this area and subsequent lack of attraction of the coating. After powder coating I had to use a similar coloured sealant to seal the join with a neat bead and prevent water getting in. There should be no problem with alloy wheels as they don't have the same deep valley joint to cause this problem.

    I had five 4.5J x 13 steel wheels and five 5J x 13 alloy wheels done at Barelle in 2011/2012. The five steel wheels were finished in black and although they were finished very well, there was still the minor imperfections in the coating at the nave/rim joint. Again I sealed these with a bead of black sealant to prevent water ingress.

    The five alloy wheels were finished in a metallic silver, although there was due to limited demand, a limited choice in colour. (If you have a preference for an exact colour this may be negotiable subject to the extra cost of have to order in a small quantity of the required colour.) The issue that arose with these alloys was of small craters in the finish due to "outgassing" of the casting. Bear in mind these alloys were of a rare design and over 30 years old! The amount of outgassing experienced when powder coating an alloy lump depends on the quality of the casting. Sometimes you won't get it and sometimes you will get loads. It occurs when the wheel is put in the oven to cure and the gas trapped inside the casting permeates through the coating as it's curing, leaving small craters/pinholes in the finish as bubbles of gas try to escape. It can be minimised/eliminated in a few ways or a combination of. One way is to pre-heat the wheel in the oven before coating to drive the gas out before the coat goes on. Another is to change the formulation of the powder coat so that the bubbles can escape before it sets.

    I would happily use either company to coat steel parts. Alloys I'm not so sure, having had the outgassing problem. If someone could guarantee no outgassing problems then I might go for powder coating again. Other than that I would probably get that same set of alloys wet sprayed the next time they need doing.

    I'm not aware of anywhere in the area that will do it same day (I do know one place near Glasgow where you can drop the car off in the morning and come back in the afternoon with them all done and back on the car) You are probably looking at a week, but it really depends and you should just ask the firm undertaking the work.

    As for loaners, I don't know of anywhere that does them. I would recommend obtaining a set of four steelies to put on while they are away and when you get them back get the steelies done in black and fit winter tyres to them for the other half of the year.

    With regards to cost, I can only offer a ballpark figure and it's really a question to put to the relevant firm. I would say expect to pay somewhere between €50 - €100+ per wheel for powder coating. It really depends on how many wheels / what size / what colour / what finish, etc.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,307 ✭✭✭✭alastair


    Wheel Wizards in Finglas - who have a pretty good rep from a couple of forums, do one day turnaround on refurbs - price list on their website: http://www.wheelwizards.ie/


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