Refinished wheels - the good the bad

jdTrader

jdTrader

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2009 FX50S
Discount Tires knicked my 21'' eikels while balancing. They will be sending in the rims to have refinished to factory and it is going to take about 5-7 business days. They use keystone.

The positive: I've had quite a few knicks already - from other guys, rock chips, etc, so I've been looking on doing something like this for awhile and/or touch up paint to match, but haven't been able to find anything matching, so this is like a free-be to me. I've done some research and it appears this keystone place is top notch for refinishing wheels - the place Discount Tires deals with.

The negative: I'm concerned with future issues...factory wheels would probably never peel or have issues, but who knows about refinished wheels...is that the case? I know some other members with wheels have had peeling issues, so just wondering. Should I look for something when I get them back and put on the car from Discount? I also want to make sure I don't end up getting some replicas or something...yeah I know I'm being paranoid, but just want to make sure I dot my Is and cross my Ts with this. Any suggestions, what to look out for, should I be even worrying, etc would be helpful.

Thanks!
 
I had my wife's Mercedes wheels done through the dealer and they came out really nice. Most companies give you a year warranty, the only problem was i don't feel they put enough clear coat on them and they kinda lost their glaze after a while. I would confirm that they offer a warranty and that they clear coat the shit out of them. But they looked brand new for well over 2 years. Good luck!
 
I've seen wheel refinishing done at reputable shops before and no matter what they do it never matches the original color perfectly. The OEM color of the wheels is called hyper silver. My neighbor had his wheels refinished a couple times and they look slightly off compared to the rest of the wheels. Knowing my OCD I can spot these kind of things. Ofcoarse he doesn't notice it. Thank god my tire guy is not an idiot and only uses hunter equipment.
 
Renhalt said:
I had my wife's Mercedes wheels done through the dealer and they came out really nice. Most companies give you a year warranty, the only problem was i don't feel they put enough clear coat on them and they kinda lost their glaze after a while. I would confirm that they offer a warranty and that they clear coat the shit out of them. But they looked brand new for well over 2 years. Good luck!
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Thanks. I'm hoping since this keystone place is more well known to handle these kind of things that they more so do what they are supposed to be doing. I think most dealers give it out to local wheel refinishers instead of a major service like keystone that maybe Discount has a relationship with. But who knows.

---------- Post added at 09:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 AM ----------
Fire0nic3FX said:
I've seen wheel refinishing done at reputable shops before and no matter what they do it never matches the original color perfectly. The OEM color of the wheels is called hyper silver. My neighbor had his wheels refinished a couple times and they look slightly off compared to the rest of the wheels. Knowing my OCD I can spot these kind of things. Ofcoarse he doesn't notice it. Thank god my tire guy is not an idiot and only uses hunter equipment.
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Yeah that could definitely be a risk if you only do one wheel and my guess is that wheel shop was just cheap then if you can notice like that. I think keystone specializes in refinishing wheels to factory, but I don't know perfectly. Would be interesting to know if anybody else has had it done through Discount Tires and/or used keystone.

The equipment they use is good and the kicks are not on the outside of the wheel, they are around the center. It was the guys fault completely, he just put the rim on twirling it getting it on the machine. I think if you did that on any machine it would have happened....maybe the factory finish is wearing off that it was so susceptible, who knows.
 
If I were to have them done, I would do all four. I think if you only have one of them done it probably wont match.
 
Also won't match because every wheel will have scuffs and the new one will be brand new, less sun exposure, etc....it's like getting new headlights...you would hopefully not just get one replaced....I did that to my old mustang....not refinished, but just got 1 brand new same exact rim....and it stood out like you have no idea....everybody noticed...one was shiny and nice and looked like a different color and the other 3 looked different color even though it was the same exact factory same color. I think it's perception that the shops just use the wrong color. I wish you could see the differences in just one wheel makes it's crazy. I know if I got a brand new eikel wheel right now it would stick out like a sore thumb just getting one or one side replaced.
 
I had my OE wheel refinished (powder coated) with a reputable local shop. Only two months into it, there is a quarter size chipped off. Can't tell if the chip was due to debris or just bad refinish job. This one issue makes me re-think of getting wheel refinished. It will be hard to color match! If not refinish all four, at least two so it match up on one side :smile (2):
 
Andy when did you get yours done? I wonder if you get it done with the winter temps changes it doesn't give it enough summer heat for it to bake and set in possibly?

You should have gotten minimum 1 year warranty. I would go back to the local place. I know Andrew's copper FX has had his wheels peeling and those were not even refinished! Seems like so many companies and skimming on steps this time that maybe extra cost to have it done right is important. I find the same with painting the house even....you can get it done cheap, mid, or expensive, and all 3 levels you will get very different results (whether just paint and bad prep, some prep, or very good prep and redoing lots of the mudding so that every single spot you will never see).
 
Chris also had his oe wheel done at the same shop and one this wheel already bubbled. I had mine done in mid December, but Chris had his done in November. IDK, I'll take it in just to see, but the shop isn't local local. It's like an hour plus from me.
 
AeroBFA said:
It's a shop in Highland Park. Wow, Chris is bubbling too? Not a good idea to go then Jonas, lol.
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no lol..not going to that shop! Going to another national place that I guess specializes in factory oem restore. Supposedly keystone is the best in the business from what I hear, but no ideas what the cost would be if it were out of pocket. Curious if anybody heard of them...they are new to me.

What do you plan on doing with your rims? Sending them back or refinish or just living with it?
 
said you got knicked at the tire shop;- how did it happen and how big was the knick..?
did the guy tell you he knicked it ? or you were watching while he was doing the job...
just curious.... thanks
 
angryfx said:
said you got knicked at the tire shop;- how did it happen and how big was the knick..?
did the guy tell you he knicked it ? or you were watching while he was doing the job...
just curious.... thanks
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They handed me the keys, I went outside, saw a few knicks, wasn't happen, manager confirmed they did it after taking a look, and simple as that. I wasn't angry and was very pleasant actually. I just felt bad of the whole situation, but in all actuality was probably going to refinish or do something at some point anyway. Wheels were already getting pretty bad with the old knicks.
 
jdTrader said:
What do you plan on doing with your rims? Sending them back or refinish or just living with it?
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I already sent it back in January and got it back already, lol. Another bad thing, there is now bubbling on the lip on one of my rears. When I had Discount Tire dismount the wheel they said all the flaking is probably from air bubbles under the lip and the wheel. Now I have another wheel to ship back to Cali to fix again, sigh.
 
I will say get ll four of them done. When I had an issue with my fx50 rims and had to get them replaced I found one from a shop in Detroit that refinished the wheels and sold them. The wheels did not match at all bc the replacement wheel looked brand new ompared to the other three wheels. So I ended up going to a shop to get them Powdercoated where they get dipped in acid to strip the wheels. The guy from the shop told me hat the hardest wheel to do was the one that I purchased from detroit bc it had several coats of paint or whatever they used to make it look new. He was able to get all four to match and this guy did not give me the wheels back until they matched. I remember one day I was going to pick them up and he called me to tell me to go another day bc after taking them out of the oven he noticed one was a little off and did it over. I will say if you get them done make sure you get them done by a shop that really knows what thy are doing.
 
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good advice ocal21. They mentioned it wheels will have to be completely stripped of the color to be done right. I wonder what the proper best factory procedure is? This way, maybe I can get a phone # of the guys doing the wheels and then confirm the steps.
 
jdTrader said:
good advice ocal21. They mentioned it wheels will have to be completely stripped of the color to be done right. I wonder what the proper best factory procedure is? This way, maybe I can get a phone # of the guys doing the wheels and then confirm the steps.
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When I got my wheels done the guy explained to me how some shops try to strip the rim with a high pressure gun but that in turn causes damage to the rim that you won't be able to see it until it gets painted or powdercoated and the sun light will hit the rim and then you can see the imperfections. Basically it's like he told me you get what u pay for, just check the review on that particular shop you going o send your rim to. I know the shop I went to had a federal government job going on where they were powder coating pieces of metals for the towns bridges so they must be good with what they do.
 
I had a set of OEM 20's done (powdercoated black) by a guy in the LaGrange/McCook area and so far so good. No flaking or chips or anything. keeping my fingers crossed.

But these are my summer's so I duno if they go through much compared to the winters here. If you guys are interested let me know
 
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