Within a month of delivery the wheel hub bodies on my vRS rusted up as water got underneath the cracked paint. After lobbying my dealer they repainted them at their own cost SUK really did SUCK on this.

I'm pleased to say that despite my initial concerns that they would show signs of corrosion in no time - a year and 22K miles on they're still looking great.

Just some info in case anyone was waivering on whether to put the effort into repainting them or not.

Be interested to know which type/brand of paint they used...

Smoothrite I'd say.

Scary thing is that a lot of manufactures seem to be going down the cheap route here.

I recently commented on a 07 530D BMW that i saw and said to my self that did not look good.

what ****ed me off then is that when i saw my own i had the same issue. RUST. also my friend's 2006 Leon has the same issue.

i'd prefer them to put good paint on my hubs instead of using more paint on my calipers.

They're not hubs, - it's part of the brake disk.

Mine rusted soon after I had it and the dealer rubbed them down and painted them. The rust re-appeared almost a year later and the dealer wouldn't do it again FOC so I did it myself using some Hammerite.

Thats the route i'll be going down good oul Hammerite. i ended up looking at most cars now as i'm walking across the carpark in work...sad but amazing what you'd see rusting..

I felt better after I noticed it on a 911!

I felt better after I noticed it on a 911!

ouch ! scary..

Mine rusted soon after I had it and the dealer rubbed them down and painted them. The rust re-appeared almost a year later and the dealer wouldn't do it again FOC so I did it myself using some Hammerite.

I bet it'll last more than a year this time , what is it they say about a job needing to be done right .........

I bet it'll last more than a year this time , what is it they say about a job needing to be done right .........

I actually quite enjoyed the satisfaction of doing the job myself too

I also had the same problem when I bought my second hand Octy Vrs from a dealer, so I wire brushed the rust and put two coats of smoothe silver hammerite on them and they look mint.

I'll be fitting new brakes at some point so will probably paint the hub area with silver smooth hammerite.

I actually quite enjoyed the satisfaction of doing the job myself too

I noticed mine are slightly starting to go now.

got mine done by the dealer under warranty, initially they refused to replace them when I told them I didn't expect them to replace them and would be happy with them rubbing them down properly and re painting them (as Audi had done for my boss's car). They agreed to carry that out

got mine done by the dealer under warranty, initially they refused to replace them when I told them I didn't expect them to replace them and would be happy with them rubbing them down properly and re painting them (as Audi had done for my boss's car). They agreed to carry that out

Slightly inconsistent approach to this from the dealers then

I noticed mine are slightly starting to go now.

I fully expect mine will need doing again at some stage but it's only a couple of hours work and it gets me out of the house

Is there any prep work required for best results prior to painting, in terms of rust removal? Mine are starting to look really bad so I need to do this.

Is the Smooth Silver hammerite a good match & what size tin would I need?

Does it take long to dry and how many coats need to be put on?

Edited 16 March, 200917 yr by GAFF

You would only need the small tin and the paint is quite thin and dries very quickly.

mine are starting to rust :( 3 months old car from new

shoiuld I be bitching at the dealer? im not such a hands on person to take wheels off and be painting stuff really. sad but true.

my vRS did this too, just got my passat, thats exactly the same, did the calipers red at the weekend, should have done the hubs at the same time!

What colour do you think would look best, Black or Silver?

Mine also need done and not sure which colour of hammerite to get!

What colour do you think would look best, Black or Silver?

Mine also need done and not sure which colour of hammerite to get!

Silver

Is there any prep work required for best results prior to painting, in terms of rust removal? Mine are starting to look really bad so I need to do this.

Is the Smooth Silver hammerite a good match & what size tin would I need?

Does it take long to dry and how many coats need to be put on?

The corrosion rubs off easily with some fine sand paper although I used my electric sander.

The corrosion rubs off easily with some fine sand paper although I used my electric sander.

I don't want to rub it too much with Sand paper if the paint is that light (there's a nice finish on the metal as is). A good going over with wonder wheels might get rid of the bulk of the rust.

It's high carbon steel, so it's going to rust very easily.

That material however is one that makes for a good braking surface at a sane price.

You didn't notice it on older card because they had drums, steel wheels or alloys that hid more of it from view IMHO.