New wheel refurb place in Glasgow (WheelPro)- Great Experience

[Dougie S]

Sorry this is a bit of an essay but I think it deserves it... Posted in SVAG forum originally but thought it might be of interest in here

I'm not a big forum poster but I thought I'd pass on a good experience I had today at WheelPro Scotland in Baillieston. Having used ESP, Powdertech and Chameleon in the past I thought i'd give them a go for various reasons... ESP did a poor job on a bike frame for me which took them 3 weeks and will never have my custom again, Powdertech have always been quite good but a bit pricey and Chameleon are quite far from me being in the East end (plus I've heard a few not great things recently - though probably just the usual petty moaning).

I was quoted about £220 for four 17" wheels done in gunmetal or silver sparkle over the phone, same day service with any necessary repairs, tyres off & on then rebalanced and refitted. The £220 was a special offer they have on at the moment and is still £20 more than Chameleon but having seen that James who works there is on SVAG and heard some good things through the Ford RS forums along with a pretty encouraging website... I thought I would pop in and see what the set-up was like. It's just off the M8 and easy to find. The premises is very nice and up to date,just has a general feeling of being a legit, well run company.

The reception had a great selection of sample wheels done in all kinds of finishes and colour combinations which all looked high quality. Hugh (who I presume was the owner) was very welcoming and offered to show me round their workshop which was organised, clean and professional looking. I was asking how business has been and he indicated they have been getting a lot of work from numerous dealers which I presume is a good thing.

The equipment looks to be pretty modern and high spec including what seemed to be a specialist wheel lathe and tools for checking out buckles/dents and repairing them properly (no hammers involved). A few car lifts so I'm guessing cars aren't just left on Jacks like elsewhere. Wheels are all acid dipped then heat treated to ensure the alloy is prepared for the base coat (something to do with removing air from pores in the alloy I guess). After this the base powder coat goes on, is cured in the oven at the right temperature to avoid weakening the wheel. If any special finishes are required a paint can be used between the base powder and the final clear powder coats (I think that's how it works). I guess the paint work is extra but it looks like they can do some pretty cool finishes/combinations.

Hugh then passed me on to James who was very friendly and helpful, and also a VW enthusiast which is always reassuring... He looked at my wheels, one of which has a big chunk out of it which I presumed would not be repairable (I have a spare wheel to replace this which I would have got coated instead). He was confident it would be repairable without any problems which I was happy to hear. Had a quick chat about colours and he carried a sample wheel out to the car to hold it up and give me an idea of how it would look. Decided on Anthracite and then it got even better....

I had asked for James as when I was searching for any people's experiences of the company one of the results was his post on here saying that he worked there and would probably be able to sort a SVAG discount. Given the price I had already been quoted was including a 30% off special offer I didn't even bother hinting about an SVAG reduction (although I mentioned I had seen his post there) but he took the price down even further... and to top it off, when I asked how much extra it would be to do the spare wheel I have in the back which was meant to replace the damaged one, he said he'd just put it through with the others. JACKPOT! Don't want to say how much the price was as I'm not sure if it's an official discount structure and I wouldn't want people to be going in expecting the same deal thus causing him problems but it's better value than anywhere else.

While I was leaving Hugh, the owner was very clear about how highly they value good service. They give a 12 month warranty and he insisted that any problems at all would be sorted without issue. I'm booked in for Friday so will post some before and after pics to let you know how I get on but if today was anything to go by I will probably be very happy!

Edited 16 October, 2012 by Dougie S

[Tommytom]

Thats about 4 forums i frequent that you've posted that on!!

Commision

[Dougie S]

Thats about 4 forums i frequent that you've posted that on!!

Commision

I know... (E38 where the mods deleted my text and wrote Mike the Polisher... rado forum and scottish vag?)

Given the job they've done for me I feel I want to do them a good turn... and if I get them some business hopefully they'll continue to be kind to me . I used to work in a company where customer service was the no1 priority - it was then taken over and profit margins became more important...funnily enough service went down the pan and a lot of regular customers left, as did I. I firmly believe that it's worth letting people know when you find a good company. I just hope they keep up this level of service.

I actually met the guy (who I think is the owner?) Gary today, he was very helpful and spent a bit of time showing me the workshop equipment that I was asking about like the hydraulic wheel un-buckling jig and the acid bath - great for disposing bodies apparently. The hydraulic wheel un-bluckling jig is quite clever using a reposition-able small hydraulic ram to gently work the buckles and dents out from whatever direction is required. Better than the mash hammer. Turns out there was a buckle on one of my wheels which this had to be used on. He seemed very straightforward and knowledgeable about the business.

Well on to the wheels, all went well. Dropped the car off at the end of the day yesterday because I didn't fancy going up at 8.30AM today. James even drove me to the train station so I didn't have to walk on my way home

Really happy with everything they have done. To save me the hassle of putting on some new tyres I had in the house I asked if they could put them back on instead of one of the original rear tyres and move the remaining decent rear tyre onto the spare. I was also replacing the existing spare wheel because it had been welded in the past and I wanted all 5 to be tip top... I won't go into it but the request for the rearrangement of 6 wheels and 5 tyres was confusing even to me when trying to explain. However Gary didn't make any issue of it and simply said no problem. Got a call at about 3PM to say that car was all ready to be collected so headed over to collect it. The wheels look absolutely spot-on, as good as or better than any powder coat finish I've had done before and the repair they've done to the wheel which was badly gouged is invisible. The wheels look brand new. They even washed the car for me and cleaned off all the tyre soap. Can't reccomend them enough. Ask for James if you go in and please tell them that Dougie with the Fabia VRS recommended them if you do. They'll do anything - not just wheels and can wet spray as well. See the before and after pics below - sorry they are camera phone ones - didn't think to take my good camera.

BEFORE

AFTER (had just driven home in the rain so they are a little wet and have probably picked up some dirt)

I also left them a spare wheel I had that had cracked, been welded, then cracked again so they could do it up and use it in the showroom as it was going to scrap otherwise. In addition I was having my existing spare wheel replaced with another as it had been cracked then welded too - I don't trust welded rims after the first one cracked again. James and Gary decided they would do something special and Skoda themed (chrome base with green and black detail) for me with the welded wheel I was going to keep (it was in a cosmetic state and I hadn't asked or expected them to touch it as they were already doing my new spare for free). Looked awesome but I have no use (missus wouldn't like it as an ornament :( ) for it so just told them to hang onto it for the showroom. They've said they'll strip it and coat it standard if I ever need it back which I though was brilliant. They were also in the middle of masking up the other (totally fubarred cracked wheel I gave them) for a special blue & white job to show off.

Few pics of the set up while I was there. All the interesting stuff is hidden round the corner but he was saying the oven and spray room are both 3m so they can take in big things like roll-cages no bother. They'll do pretty much anything, bikes car parts etc, wet spray or powder coat or wet spray under powder coat. James is a panel beater and sprayer to trade so does all the wet spraying on fancy stuff.

A very happy customer indeed, I will be back!

[Grubtraw]

Very interesting Dougie, thank you for posting. I'm guessing that they also do steel wheels. I have a set of five to be refurbished for my Wartburg restoration project and I'm looking for somewhere reasonably local to do the honours. The wheels were grit-blasted and primed a while ago but will probably need to be done again. My Octavia alloys could do with being smartened up too ...

[Dougie S]

Very interesting Dougie, thank you for posting. I'm guessing that they also do steel wheels. I have a set of five to be refurbished for my Wartburg restoration project and I'm looking for somewhere reasonably local to do the honours. The wheels were grit-blasted and primed a while ago but will probably need to be done again. My Octavia alloys could do with being smartened up too ...

Hi John, they will do pretty much anything you want. Ask for James if you go in and say Dougie with the fabia sent you along. He will do a spray finish with a powder clearcoat or just straight powder. They are very good - That's why I felt compelled to post the review.

[Grubtraw]

That's great Dougie, thank you very much. Always good to have a recommendation and yours was glowing!

[a_waugh]

After reading this thread i decided contacted them as my wheels could do with a tidy up. 1st class service. Gary responded to the online enquiry within 5 minutes (on a Sunday evening aswell) I popped in to see them and the car is booked in for next friday. Having a look around and chatting to the guys they deffinently know their stuff. Couldnt be more helpful. Looking forward to the results.

[a_waugh]

Just an update on the refurb today. Dropped the car off this morning 1st thing, was met by Gary who said it should be ready for mid afternoon. Double checked the work that had to be done then I left it with them. Headed back in for 3 and the wheels were just getting types put back on and onto the car.

Big thanks to the guys for their help and the results are fantastic. Pictures will follow after Sunday.

I also seen the spider alloy today. Looks brilliant in the flesh.

[Grizzle]

Looking forward to seeing the quality. Hope its good lol.

[evobaz]

Interesting thread this.

How are your wheels holding up new they've been done a few months?

The reason i ask is that I had a set of OZ wheels powder coated years ago (not by this place though) and stored them in my garage. Sold them about a year later and the buyer contacted me within a fortnight saying that some of the spokes on the wheels had cracked

Obviously I gave him his money back and i can only think that they've cracked as a result of the powder coating process.

I am now thinking about buying a set of Compomotive MO's which have been powder coated by Wheel Pro Glasgow hence my interest in how your wheels are now.

[Arkaig]

WheelPro now have a branch up and running in Edinburgh - St Ninian's Drive (Corstorphine). Service is great - ask for Gary, Hugh or Alastair.