Halting Alloy Wheel Lacquer Delamination

[lard-ajc]

Anddenton - could you post a pic of the new wheels on the car when you can? Was debating whether to go black or anthracite - hope that your pics will make my decision

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[Anddenton]

Is that paint or powdercoat. I wondered about the orange peel effect. They would likely have needed a bit of sand blasting on the old polished finish for the new finish to get a good key.

Yes powder coat, all done properly. Wheel needed sand blasting ect. to get rid of the rot where water had got under the varnish.

The process I am informed is as follows-

They will go through a 3 stage powder coating process to give a very durable and high gloss finish.

* Tyres are removed as are any weights and valves.

* Wheels are then hot pressure washed to remove excess dirt & grime.

* Placed into a chemical stripping tank to remove old paint & lacquer coatings.

* Hot pressure wash rinsed.

* Wheels are lightly grit blasted to remove blemishes and corrosion.

* The wheels are then inspected for damage especially the lips of the rims any cracks & deep scratches on the rim edges, faces and spokes will be filled in by alloy tig welding, they will then be machined using various techniques & hand tools. They are then always finished by hand.

* Next the 3 stage powder coating / painting takes place.

* The wheels are pre-heated in an industrial oven to 200 degrees for 20 minutes to de-gas the alloy then a powder coat primer is applied.

* Next the wheels are cooled to 60-80 degrees and if they are having a colour coded or bespoke finish they are spray painted and put back into the oven for a further 40 minutes to cure.

* The final powder coat clear lacquer is then applied and the wheels are then put back into the oven at 200 degrees for a further 20 minutes.

* Once cooled the wheels are fitted with new valves and the tyres refitted and are electronically balanced. Stick on weights are placed on the inside of the wheels so that it does not spoil the appearance of the finish.

[rap1]

Mine were done 3 years ago at the wheel specialist in Leeds, still look good

Those really do look quality finished... especially after 3 yrs too!

[Wardy]

Obviously I did my homework as I didn't want a cheaply spray job, but having spoken to Steve at Diamond Wheels in Stockport he sounded like the perfectionist I was looking for and quoted £220 all in. He has done a top job too! Colour is anthracite (He also had charcoal as a deeper grey) which I am happy with as I always thought the wheel specialist ones were a bit dark for the car.

Anyway all in all I am a happy bunny and would recommend Steve at Diamond Wheels to anyone looking for this service in the Manchester area (And the Wheel Specialists in they want something a bit more expensive).

Sounds good. Did that price include removal and re-fitment of tyres?

[Anddenton]

Sounds good. Did that price include removal and re-fitment of tyres?

Yep, he even put my new tyres on (made no odds to him which tyres went back on). He would quite happily also have taken the car for a day and removed and refitted the wheels had they been on the car.

[Wardy]

Nice, good to know he can do a same-day service on the car too - saves me swapping back to my winters while they're in

[Anddenton]

I got a call my wheels were ready today. I took them to the tyre fitter & the previous manager has left who fitted tyres to my last refurbs & they have a new policy (official or ad hoc, I don't know) - as the wheels have just been refurbed, any marks from the fitting of the tyres or (more likely) the balancing process will be at my risk. If I leave it 2 weeks they will accept responsibility for any damage.

So they will be given a few coats of Collinite while I wait.

I'm very please with the powder-coat finish - same as on my refurbed Audi wheels I use for my winters, but the Proteus wheels look better. I'll not miss the original polished finish!

The Audi winter wheels.

The refurbed original Proteus wheels in plain silver.

They do look good on a silver scout.

[Howardian1]

Had the same issue with my '08 Scout when I got it at 9k, but missed the boat as regards warranty replacements. The dealers could just about find a stone chip at the seat of every point of corrosion.

As my wheels are covered in mud for most of the year then I find it's unnoticaeable! Car gets a wash at each service ('cos the dealers do it) - somehow I just seem to have more important things to do each weekend... And before you all shout at me, no, I don't expect it to be in as good condition as one that gets cleaned regularly.

Good to see that Silver's had good results from Ian Jemison, as he'll be my most local refurber too.

Have to say that a Scout on 16" rims just looks under-tyred, which is why I'm still pursuing something 17" for winter tyres. Have finally got sick of changing just tyres twice a year so getting some more rims is this summer's project.

[SB1962]

I'm not going to shout at you - got more important things to do.

[Howardian1]

Fair point - I deserved that. Last part of my post was especially badly-written, seeing as it's a highly personal opinion.

[SB1962]

Mine's got 16" winter wheels on & I agree with you looks-wise but not enough to do owt about it.

[Anddenton]

Got my Scout alloys back from the fefurber at the weekend an I'm pretty happy with the result:

As you can see when side by side with my winter wheels they are a bit lighter, but I can't decide which I prefer at the moment:

However I think they will look good when on the car:

I decided to leave the winters on for another week because of the forecast which I think was vindicated when I woke up to this yesterday morning:

Just a few more comparisons:

So the winters are remaining for now:

(Hope this has worked as it is the first time I have tried photos on here)

Thought people might also want to see some before shots to show the improvement:

[SB1962]

Urgh -Didn't need reminding! Mine weren't as bad as that but a real shame they don't seem to have got to grips with this issue - or have they?

Actually 2 of the wheels on my car were worse but the dealer changed them befoe I'd buy it.

[Anddenton]

The refurbed Scout wheels are now back on the car! (Finally took the winters off, more out of hope than anything else), pics to follow (If it ever stops raining).

[Anddenton]

Anddenton - could you post a pic of the new wheels on the car when you can? Was debating whether to go black or anthracite - hope that your pics will make my decision a

Finally summer wheels are back on the car:

P.S. Will try to get some better pics when it stops p1ssing down.

Edited 30 April, 2012 by Anddenton

[Wardy]

Look good so far - yep, more pics when it's dry please

[Anddenton]

Couple of Phone pics as it actually stopped raining while I was at work yesterday:

[silver1011]

It looks ex-military!

[Anddenton]

I quite like the all over grey look, could just do with some smoked head and tail lights to complete the look.

[Jeeves]

Think the grille looks great too. I have some graphite wheels which I didn't think would work against anthracite, but your combo (no pun intended) has convinced me it can work.

[Wardy]

Nice pics - and they suit the Scout well

[Wardy]

Also, for other people in the locality, a friend of mine has just dropped wheels off today at www.smartwheelrepairs.co.uk - in central Manchester.

He was going to use Diamond Wheels, but they couldn't guarantee the shade he was after (very dark anthracite) and this place had done wheels previously in exactly the finish he was after.

I'll put some photos up when they're done - so there's another option for people

[Anddenton]

Also, for other people in the locality, a friend of mine has just dropped wheels off today at www.smartwheelrepairs.co.uk - in central Manchester.

He was going to use Diamond Wheels, but they couldn't guarantee the shade he was after (very dark anthracite) and this place had done wheels previously in exactly the finish he was after.

I'll put some photos up when they're done - so there's another option for people

Interestingly I got quoted the same price from Smart Wheel Repairs (£220) as I did at Diamond Wheels, but in the end I felt that Steve at Diamond Wheels could at least talk the talk better than Smart Wheel Repairs so he got the business.

[TheFormula]

Guys, why don't you all report this issue on watchdog - http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/. If they get enough people reporting in on this delamination issue that clearly isn't being sorted then they can bring light to this issue to the general public so Skoda will have to do something about it. Worth a try right?

[mannyo]

Well its not going to make any difference, all polished and lacquered wheels will go this way eventually. Audi, Porsche, BMW and more have the same issue, its not just a scout / Skoda thing. Why, well its because alloy wheels corrode and with only a lacquer coating between the alloy wheel and air/water, the slightest damage from a stone chip, kerbing, poorly fitted tyres, brake dust pitting etc. will cause water to get under the lacquer and the wheels start to "Rust".

Painting gives added protection due to paint thickness, and also masks the corrosion that could well be going on, just out of sight under the thick paint.