Refurbishing Celica alloy wheels

RichyX

I bought a 04 VVTi last November. The finish on the wheels was peeling quite badly, as most of the 16" original ones seem to be after a while.

I took this into account and budgeted for a refurbishment of 300-400€.

After getting it serviced recently I asked my mechanic if he could recommend somewhere in Dublin to have this done.
His response was that it isn't worth my while as with these wheels the same issue develops a year of 2 after.

Does anybody have any experience of getting these wheels refurbished and the long term prospects for their condition if it's done?

This model:

rgfuller

I had this done in January 2012 by Eurosonics - Blanchardstown - http://www.alloywheelrefurbishment.ie/

Alloys are still fine with no sign of wear or surface bubbling.

Used a pigsback voucher to bring the cost down to around €200 for the four but was charged a bit extra for car storage since I left the car with them.

MetzgerMeister

I would highly recommend Wheel Wizards in Finglas for this job. I paid €350 to get my set of 18" alloys done and a set of 16" is €286 + 13.5% VAT = €324.61.

They do the following:

- Replace your alloys with a set if they have them so you can drive off again
- Remove tyres (themselves)
- Acid bathe to remove all old paint
- Sandblast
- Repair any kerb damage (welding is available too but costs extra)
- 3 coat Powdercoat (Primer/colour/lacquer)
- Oven bake
- Replace tyres (and clean them)
- Balance the wheels

It's a huge amount of work for the price to be fair and I couldn't be happier with the finish. I'm an anal bollix car detailer so perfection and attention to detail and finish are very important to me.

RichyX

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

I would highly recommend Wheel Wizards in Finglas for this job.

Cheers, I saw some of your previous posts about this.
It looked like good work, but my concern is how it'll hold up long term.
I did see some comments saying their finish was a bit on the soft side.

The mechanic did say it would be a waste of money as those alloys apparently peel again due to the 'powdery metal' they're made from.
Any views on this?

MetzgerMeister

I coated mine in Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour so that strengthens the finish further. To be honest, no finish is going to be as strong and tough as an OEM factory finish. I've had wheels powdercoated before by other companies and they chipped within a few days. Mine are still perfect.

I would agree to a certain extent in regard to the "powdery metal" thing. A lot of Jap alloys are like this. The ones on my RX8 (powdercoated) are the ones that chipped and on my MPS all the paint was corroded before I got the car. It's hard to know what will happen though.

CJhaughey

RichyX wrote: »

Cheers, I saw some of your previous posts about this.
It looked like good work, but my concern is how it'll hold up long term.
I did see some comments saying their finish was a bit on the soft side.

The mechanic did say it would be a waste of money as those alloys apparently peel again due to the 'powdery metal' they're made from.
Any views on this?

If the surface is prepped properly ie sandblasted and acid washed it should be good.
Its when you leave the old aluminium oxide in place that it starts again.
Sanding won't work as it only touches the high points, blasting is the only way to remove all the old corrosion so the metal is fresh.
Think of it like rust, unless you remove every last bit, it will return.
Alloy corrosion is exactly the same thing.

RichyX

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

I would agree to a certain extent in regard to the "powdery metal" thing. A lot of Jap alloys are like this. The ones on my RX8 (powdercoated) are the ones that chipped and on my MPS all the paint was corroded before I got the car. It's hard to know what will happen though.

Hence my hesitance to spend 300€+ on something that there's a good chance will only last a year or 2!

MetzgerMeister

But as CJ said, once they are sandblasted to remove all corrosion (which is the powdery stuff) they'll be fine.