Diamond cut alloy wheels problem

[Playbill]

The lacquer on the wheels of my girl friend's car is peeling making them look milky. I rang a mobile service to get an estimate for refurbishment and they asked if the wheel needed repair as well. I said I did not think so but come and have a look for yourself. When they arrived they immediately told me they could not strip and re-lacquer the wheels as they were diamond cut. They suggested simply having the wheels painted silver as this would be a cheaper and long lasting solution.

After they told me that I looked for information about these sort of wheels, and it is worrying. The lacquer is easily damaged and to bring back to the original finish the wheel needs to be skimmed which can weaken it.

Has anyone had similar problems, and what did you do about it?

[ChuckFickens]

Diamond cut just means a part of the wheel is skimmed back to metal and lacquered after the wheel has been painted. so in the example below the whole wheel would have been painted black and then the silver parts machined down and lacquered.
http://www.alloywheel...normal/DOTZ_Hanzo.jpg

If the wheels have never been refurbished before then there shouldn't be any problem in getting them diamond cut again if you want (and are prepared to pay!), they only remove a fraction of a mm so it won't weaken the wheel by a significant amount.


However, diamond cut wheels are not as long lasting as powder coated wheels and it would cost more to do, so it's up to you if the cost if worth the image.

[Playbill]

Thanks Chuck.

Since I discovered this I got another price from a different company. They want almost £350 and will only guarantee the work for six months due to the likelihood of stone damage which is the main cause of the problem.

They are standard VW wheels. Painting them will cost less than £200 and be guaranteed for the life of the car. (Verbal promise - so I would ask to see it in writing before going ahead!)

Trying to convince GF to not waste the money is another matter

[Donquixote]

Golf GTi wheels, by any chance? They're renowned for it...

[Playbill]

No, a Jetta. Automatic and diesel. Not exactly a sports car

Mind you, with the turbo it does go surprisingly quickly. Also has very good fuel consumption (when I drive it!)

Made me change my mind about diesels and automatics.

[Donquixote]

Well, if you're gonna go diesel, German's the only sensible way to go ...they sure know how to make the oil burners work!

[Hopkirk]

Decoration is always just about top show really.

If painting them silver looks OK then surely that is the way to go.