[davethefish]

Originally Posted by teaston

My clear coat was fine, which one did you use? I used this stuff:

Auto Inpart Clear Gloss E-TECH Alloy Wheel Lacquer Chip resistant Wheel refurb https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0079Z6M..._D44ZBb5F8SCH7

I used the wurth alloy wheel lacquer. to be fair it lasted about a year before it went white after de bonding.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wurth-Gloss.../dp/B001MPUH6O

but i'll give the other stuff a go this time round

might get a can of this Adhesion Promoter to test as well, see if it will help the lacquer to bond.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mipa-Adhesi...esion+Promoter

[teaston]

Originally Posted by davethefish

I used the wurth alloy wheel lacquer. to be fair it lasted about a year before it went white after de bonding.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wurth-Gloss.../dp/B001MPUH6O

but i'll give the other stuff a go this time round

might get a can of this to test as well, see if it will help the lacquer to bond.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mipa-Adhesi...esion+Promoter

I didn't have my wheels for a year after i refurbed them, they got replaced for corrosion around the centre caps.

[jamiem1987]

Many thanks! I have the laquer ordered and will give it a go this weekend. I highly doubt i’ll get any where near your quality however as my curbing is fairly deep and goes round approx a quarter of the wheel

[jamiem1987]

Originally Posted by teaston

I have posted this on another thread but no one's looking at it so thought I'd give it a thread as I'm so impressed with the results! I will never get a diamond cut wheel refurbed again.

I used Halfords emery paper kit, first the medium grade and then the fine, always going in the same direction, then with 2000 wet and dry (dry) & finally 3000 grit wet and dry paper (wet). Then polished with Autosol metal polish, cleaned thoroughly with IPA & finally finished it with E-Tech alloy wheel lacquer.

Edit:
To get a better finish fine wet sand again after lacquer has fully heardened, then polish with paint cutting compound.

If you look closely you can see where the repaired area is a slightly different colour, but you would have to be looking for it.

Before and after:






free upload pictures

Teaston just wondering if you can tell me what exact grit you started wih? you mentioned medium but the paper kit I have is only labelled in grit numbers rather than sizes.

Also when you re lacquered the repaired bit with the ETECH stuff, how many passes did you do with the spray? I have the same lacquer arrived today, will be trying this on Saturday - my curbing is fairly deep i’m
just a bit worried about taking too much off to get down below the gouges but looking at yours, yours looks fairly deep too and I would be more than happy if mine turns out as good as yours so this gives me confidence!

Thank you

[teaston]

Originally Posted by jamiem1987

Teaston just wondering if you can tell me what exact grit you started wih? you mentioned medium but the paper kit I have is only labelled in grit numbers rather than sizes.

Also when you re lacquered the repaired bit with the ETECH stuff, how many passes did you do with the spray? I have the same lacquer arrived today, will be trying this on Saturday - my curbing is fairly deep i’m
just a bit worried about taking too much off to get down below the gouges but looking at yours, yours looks fairly deep too and I would be more than happy if mine turns out as good as yours so this gives me confidence!

Thank you

Starting with 800 grit should be ok, although if the damage is deep you might need 400. Then finish with some 1500 or 2000 before cleaning thoroughly with alcohol.

I do 4 or 5 coats of lacquer around 15 mins between each other. Make sure the spray can is at least 17°C, and preferably the wheel and ambient temperature too. Then leave it at least 24 to 48 hours to dry, and don’t put any sealant or wax on it for at least a couple of weeks to allow all the fumes to escape.

[TQMp5135]

Excellent job! Thanks for the detailed guide too. I've managed to keep the 19's on my 435i pretty spotless until rolling into a high curb on a dark night a few weeks ago :-(. The damage is fairly noticeable so don't really want to leave it. I've ordered my stuff and am going to give this a go as soon as it arrives! Will post results!

[fuzzybunny]

Ive got a guy coming out next week to clean up my diamond alloys. He uses a manual technique just sanding down himself by hand, polishing and lacquer, takes about 90 mins per wheel. He take the wheel off and deflates the tyre before setting to work. I'll post results and cost in due course. He is employed as a contractor by my local BMW Yeovil so assume he is OK!

[teaston]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

Ive got a guy coming out next week to clean up my diamond alloys. He uses a manual technique just sanding down himself by hand, polishing and lacquer, takes about 90 mins per wheel. He take the wheel off and deflates the tyre before setting to work. I'll post results and cost in due course. He is employed as a contractor by my local BMW Yeovil so assume he is OK!

I'd be interested to see his results! No doubt better than mine, but if it's totally invisible i'll be shocked.

[Alice Coupe]

The question isn’t really about how good it looks now, but what it will look like in a years time. Not many repairers will give a year warranty on diamond cut.
Love to be surprised though.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Alice Coupe

The question isn’t really about how good it looks now, but what it will look like in a years time. Not many repairers will give a year warranty on diamond cut.
Love to be surprised though.

That’s the good thing about doing it yourself, if it goes milky you can just sand it again and give it a few more coats of lacquer.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by teaston

I'd be interested to see his results! No doubt better than mine, but if it's totally invisible i'll be shocked.

I'll let you know, you've got me worried now! Your repair looks great so well done. The 'wheel specialist' in Weston gets good reviews but that's an hours drive away and I have to leave it with them so quite a faff, they remove the wheels and tyres then grind the surface, relacquer, rebalance etc. Cost for that is £250 for two wheels and I think there's a limit as to how many 'grinds' they can do. There is another service where they come to the house and take the wheels off and take them away, (leave the car on bricks and you never see them again! LOL).
So much easier to have someone come to the house and do it while I'm there as I work at home a lot. We shall see, I'm not expecting the perfect job that defies close inspection just want it to look good when standing next to it. Pictures will be posted in due course.

[Alice Coupe]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

I'll let you know, you've got me worried now! Your repair looks great so well done. The 'wheel specialist' in Weston gets good reviews but that's an hours drive away and I have to leave it with them so quite a faff, they remove the wheels and tyres then grind the surface, relacquer, rebalance etc. Cost for that is £250 for two wheels and I think there's a limit as to how many 'grinds' they can do. There is another service where they come to the house and take the wheels off and take them away, (leave the car on bricks and you never see them again! LOL).
So much easier to have someone come to the house and do it while I'm there as I work at home a lot. We shall see, I'm not expecting the perfect job that defies close inspection just want it to look good when standing next to it. Pictures will be posted in due course.

If your car is in warranty, I'd just wait for the wheels to corrode and claim new ones.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by Alice Coupe

If your car is in warranty, I'd just wait for the wheels to corrode and claim new ones.

You make it sound like an inevitability, hope you're wrong!

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

You make it sound like an inevitability, hope you're wrong!

I'm on my third car with diamond cuts and I've never had any corrosion on any of them
I'm on my 6th BMW and I've never had any problems with any of my wheels
That said, when the roads are bad - full of salt and crap during the winter months - I don't use the car much

EDIT: And i NEVER use the pressure hose anywhere near them

[Alice Coupe]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

You make it sound like an inevitability, hope you're wrong!

2.5 sets on a BMW in 3 years. 4 sets on a Kia in 6 years.
If I can avoid diamonds cut in future, I will. They are not fit for purpose.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

I'm on my third car with diamond cuts and I've never had any corrosion on any of them
I'm on my 6th BMW and I've never had any problems with any of my wheels
That said, when the roads are bad - full of salt and crap during the winter months - I don't use the car much

EDIT: And i NEVER use the pressure hose anywhere near them

Two of my 442M's have been replaced due to corrosion around the centre cap, and they're not on my car at all during winter!

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by teaston

Two of my 442M's have been replaced due to corrosion around the centre cap, and they're not on my car at all during winter!

Blimey. The climate where you drive the most must have something to do with it. Plus use of a pressure washer on the wheels - which I avoid.
I've never had a problem :

[Alice Coupe]

Who said anything about a pressure washer?
I only use soap and water to clean the wheels. Judging by the number of threads on this forum alone, it's a very very common problem and not limited to BMW.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by Alice Coupe

2.5 sets on a BMW in 3 years. 4 sets on a Kia in 6 years.
If I can avoid diamonds cut in future, I will. They are not fit for purpose.

Wow, now you've got me worried, got any pics of the kind of corrosion that happens on the centre is it around the wheel bolt holes?

[Alice Coupe]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

Wow, now you've got me worried, got any pics of the kind of corrosion that happens on the centre is it around the wheel bolt holes?

Plenty of threads here with pics.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

Wow, now you've got me worried, got any pics of the kind of corrosion that happens on the centre is it around the wheel bolt holes?

Directly around the centre cap, like this:

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by teaston

Directly around the centre cap, like this:

Thanks for that teaston just had a look and I have got similar marks (dam!) so will take the car to my local dealer for inspection. I'm expecting to be fobbed off as I don't have the full car history, (apart from service history), but we shall see. I don't even like the diamond wheel appearance TBH but kind of stuck with them.