Halting Alloy Wheel Lacquer Delamination

[silver1011]

Only Skoda are daft enough to fit polished alloys to a 4x4 though.

[SB1962]

I guess I'd have been really p'd off it I'd had it from new but I prefer the look of my refurbed powdercoat alloys to the polished look anyway.

[blueR36]

Having some new Bellone wheels fitted to my wife's Ds3 as the first batch ( 60 plate) dealers were damaging the diamond cut centers fixing the center caps, new ones have 3 layers of lacquer and dealers grease the center caps and apply more care

[silver1011]

Thought I'd keep this post alive.

Noticed a slow puncture on my N/S front tyre the other week on our 2008 Scout.

At the same time I noticed some new delamination to the same Proteus alloy. This alloy was one that was not replaced under warranty last time due to it not displaying any of the usual symptoms. I knew it would eventually but the dealer was insistent they couldn't replace it if it looked OK. Fair enough.

Fast forward 18 months and it's crept around the rim and is now visible. The other three that were replaced are looking OK, for now!

Not sure on the cause of the slow puncture (checked for nails / damage etc.) I popped down to the local tyre fitter.

After removing the tyre he confirmed that the seal was broken between the tyre and the rim due to heavy corrosion which was allowing the air to leak out.

He cleaned it up as best he could and applied some "sealant" claiming it wouldn't be a permanent fix but should do the trick for now. If it fails again in the next 6 months he said to bring it back and they'll seal it again for free, however the only long term fix would be to have the alloy refurbished.

At £18 it's not the end of the world, but it got me thinking isn't this a potential safety issue?

Cosmetically it could be argued that a 5 year old car's alloys might not be showroom perfect, I accept that, although this is cleary a manufacturing defect and not wear and tear, but regardless of that the car is well out of warranty.

But what if the seal had failed at speed and around a larger circumference of the alloy, is it reasonable to expect an alloy wheel to be safe for longer than 5 years, especially when it hasn't been kerbed or damaged and kept free of salt and dirt from new?

[Anddenton]

See previous post 112 in this thread for what my alloys looked like after 4 years. Having said that they never broke the seal on the tyres.

With corroded alloys I wouldn't expect the seal to go suddenly but you never know.

Could always put an inner tube in lol.

I have to say on these wheels in seems to be when not if.

[SB1962]

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.

Had my summer wheels on for a few weeks now. So glad I got the Proteus wheels refurbished & got rid of the polished look.

Edited 6 May, 2013 by SB1962

[silver1011]

It's the polished look that make the Proteus alloys for me.

Sure the delamination is a major disadvantage but when clean, polished and with some tyre black on they always out shine standard painted alloys.

I spoke with Skoda UK last week. They asked me to take the car in for the dealer to take a look at. They might then look at contributing to the cost of a repair, whether that be a refurb or new alloy.

[mark999]

My dealer was initially reluctant to replace the corroded alloys on the Scout, but eventually relented and the last of the 4 will be replaced on Mon. Just hope they dont F*** up the tyre as they did last time.

[silver1011]

Had the alloy examined today, the dealer agreed the alloy was badly corroded.

Skoda's goodwill contribution - 0%

Dealers goodwill contribution - 35%

List price of a Proteus alloy wheel? £270!

So £175 after discount.

The dealer have said they'll enquire with Skoda next week to see if they can do better.

[mark999]

Had the alloy examined today, the dealer agreed the alloy was badly corroded.

Skoda's goodwill contribution - 0%

Dealers goodwill contribution - 35%

List price of a Proteus alloy wheel? £270!

So £175 after discount.

The dealer have said they'll enquire with Skoda next week to see if they can do better.

When I ordered the scout in 2010 I paid £173 for a spare alloy, this was included in the VAT free deal.

[silver1011]

Hmmm, might be worth ringing around another few dealers for prices then...

£256 here...

http://www.skodaparts.com/product/octavia-scout-alloy-wheel-2008-2013-31592

Edited 10 May, 2013 by silver1011

[Wardy]

So you're going to spend £700 on new alloys, AFTER dealer contribution?

Why don't you just get your current wheels refurbed and done with a fresh diamond cut finish if that's the look you want?

Can't see the logic in buying fresh wheels, when its the longevity of the factory finish to the wheel face that's the issue.

[pipsyp]

Diamond cut wheels are a nightmare whatever the car, i'll do my best never to have them again on any car regardless of how they look.

Had to have an entire set of four wheels on my old Fabia vRS after 9 months due to spider web corrosion then they started doing it again several months later. Kerbed a couple of them too and they were a mare to get repaired.

If I had this problem again i'd probably just get them refinished with paint and lacquer.

[silver1011]

So you're going to spend £700 on new alloys, AFTER dealer contribution?

No, I only need the one wheel. The other three were already replaced under warranty.

Therefore if I have it refurbed I'll need to have the polished finish restored so that it matches the other alloys.

Edited 12 May, 2013 by silver1011

[silver1011]

Well, I bit the bullet last week and had all four of my Scout's Proteus alloys refurbished.

 

There were only two that had delaminated but I didn't want mismatched wheels so had all four done, especially knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the other two followed suit.

 

One was leaking air so bad was the delamination around the rim.

 

I really thought long and hard about getting them diamond cut again but decided against it as this car is a keeper and no way will I be refurbing the alloys again in its life time. I was sad to loose the great polished finish but now they are fitted with fresh rubber I'm happy with the results.

 

I asked for the brightest silver they had, they were sandblasted, powder coated and then painted silver.

 

SEM alloys in Sunderland (a very good reputation), £65 inc. VAT each (17") so £260 plus £520 for a full set of Dunlop Sport SP01 tyres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[andyjl1968]

They've done a great job....

[Guest]

I recently had mine done, went for a matt anthracite. Wasn't sure at first, but after replacing the wheel centres it has now grown on me!

Fin

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Guest]

I recently had mine done, went for a matt anthracite. Wasn't sure at first, but after replacing the wheel centres it has now grown on me!

Fin

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Sarge]

Nice colour that. Our work's Scout had the delamination big time but ours were just redone in bright silver. Looks good enough but I do like your anthracite.

[silver1011]

Matt!? Wheels should 'shine'