Decided to refurb my kerbed wheel.

[s5tuart]

Been on YouTube and seen how easy it is and will make a start when it's a tad warmer outside.
One other wheel has some lacquer issues on the centre bit but I don't know if I'm brave enough to tackle that.

 

[JBell]

What's the mark on the spoke below the M?

 

[mioba]

For what it costs for a full refurb and the quality of finish I would be more inclined to get it professionally done. I would be too scared of making a hash job and constantly seeing it.

Good luck and keep us updated at the progress.... with pics and a write up course.

 

[AnthonyUK]

For what it costs for a full refurb and the quality of finish I would be more inclined to get it professionally done. I would be too scared of making a hash job and constantly seeing it.

Good luck and keep us updated at the progress.... with pics and a write up course.

Or at the very least get one side done

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I had a go at tidying up my son’s W213 20in wheels which are same turbine style as yours. I’d be inclined to get them done professionally what I didn’t realise when I started is that the diamond cut part has a silver base coat applied before the lacquer so you won’t be able to match it unless you can source the exact paint code and even then it would be difficult.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

What's the mark on the spoke below the M?

What you are seeing below the ‘M’ is the colour of the alloy when the silver base coat has been removed so that part of the wheel has already been touched up. I haven’t come across this before and it makes any remedial work very difficult. A car paint repair guy might be able to do something with it but if you factor the cost of that in it’s not going to much cheaper than a proper refurb

 

[JBell]

For what it costs for a full refurb and the quality of finish I would be more inclined to get it professionally done. I would be too scared of making a hash job and constantly seeing it.

Problem is in this country it will happen again, diamond cut wheels are not good as the climate is too moist

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

The interesting thing is that they are not ‘diamond cut’ wheels ie, there is no lacquer straight on to alloy the bright part of the wheel which we would associate as being diamond cut is painted with a bright silver - very clever from MB but not very easy to touch up. In contrast my BMW 442M alloy wheels are diamond cut ie, lacquer straight onto alloy on the rim and outer parts of the spokes

 

[Snake Charmer]

Or at the very least get one side done

POSH!

 

[s5tuart]

What's the mark on the spoke below the M?

Where I touched in a scuff last year. I'll fix that too.

 

[s5tuart]

The interesting thing is that they are not ‘diamond cut’ wheels ie, there is no lacquer straight on to alloy the bright part of the wheel which we would associate as being diamond cut is painted with a bright silver - very clever from MB but not very easy to touch up. In contrast my BMW 442M alloy wheels are diamond cut ie, lacquer straight onto alloy on the rim and outer parts of the spokes

That is interesting! I'll see how the rim repair goes on the other wheel and report back. It may be that I have to get them professionally done but I'll try myself first.
And you're right...I did think they were diamond cut then lacquered over the alloy and not painted.
That process would be a difficult thing to achieve because the "diamond cut" parts are a different colour than the rest

 

[rorywquin]

That is interesting! I'll see how the rim repair goes on the other wheel and report back. It may be that I have to get them professionally done but I'll try myself first.
And you're right...I did think they were diamond cut then lacquered over the alloy and not painted.
That process would be a difficult thing to achieve because the "diamond cut" parts are a different colour than the rest

MIne are corroding at the hubs like yours. I considered doing the job myself but decided that as it will cost less that £300 for all 4 to be done, by the time I’ve purchased the tools and materials & the possibility that I will mess it up, it is just easier to get them done by professionals.

 

[s5tuart]

MIne are corroding at the hubs like yours. I considered doing the job myself but decided that as it will cost less that £300 for all 4 to be done, by the time I’ve purchased the tools and materials & the possibility that I will mess it up, it is just easier to get them done by professionals.

So far my costs have been £10 for a can of lacquer and £4 for an assortment of wet and dry, so I don't mind having a go on the rim first to see how I get on.
Spending £300 means I'll have to eat cabbage stump soup for a month!

 

[00slk]

So far my costs have been £10 for a can of lacquer and £4 for an assortment of wet and dry, so I don't mind having a go on the rim first to see how I get on.
Spending £300 means I'll have to eat cabbage stump soup for a month!

Good to here that you are going to give it a go Stuart. I will expect a step by step account and pictures..........You see I have my old EClass wheels off the previous s211 to do and......well you get the picture, I need inspiration

 

[rorywquin]

So far my costs have been £10 for a can of lacquer and £4 for an assortment of wet and dry, so I don't mind having a go on the rim first to see how I get on.
Spending £300 means I'll have to eat cabbage stump soup for a month!

Yep but, I’d need a trolley jack and wheel stands. My back would not take hours bent over sanding in situ etc........I would take all 4 off and do each stage on all of the wheels at the same time.

 

[s5tuart]

This is the first "before" pic of the kerb damage.

 

[s5tuart]

...and after 20 minutes of hand sanding with 320 grit wet and dry!
It's smoothed out a bit but it's very cold outside and I'm seriously considering a small sanding disc attachment for my drill.

Also, I bow to Malcolm's knowledge. There is definitely some sort of paint on there.

 

[Manc Rick]

Could always sand them right down all over and prime, then with some careful masking with normal masking tape plus something like 3M finish line knifeless tape to do the wheels silver and the faces a brighter silver. Very fiddly though - there are a few YouTube videos of two tone wheel painting like this

 

[Tony Dyson]

Yep but, I’d need a trolley jack and wheel stands. My back would not take hours bent over sanding in situ etc........I would take all 4 off and do each stage on all of the wheels at the same time. View attachment 74018

That looks like the typical blistering of electrolytic action going on between the centre disc and the alloy wheel, is the centre disc, or does it have, metallic friction clips holding on to the alloy wheel and have they found bare metal at all? Mineral rich Rain or Saltwater at this time of Year would act as the electrolyte, if the insert is a plastic it may even be the metallic properties of the silvered finish, look for further corrosion inside and see what you find?

 

[rorywquin]

That looks like the typical blistering of electrolytic action going on between the centre disc and the alloy wheel, is the centre disc, or does it have, metallic friction clips holding on to the alloy wheel and have they found bare metal at all? Mineral rich Rain or Saltwater at this time of Year would act as the electrolyte, if the insert is a plastic it may even be the metallic properties of the silvered finish, look for further corrosion inside and see what you find?

Tony, I’ve never pulled it off but it is not any form of physical damage (kerbing etc) and I expect that what you say is 100%. It very rarely gets driven on gritted roads (and if i do it gets pressure washed pretty soon afterwards). But yea looks like an electrolytic reaction as you say.