Finish on alloy wheels

[william thomson]

My R129 (1995 sl 320 Mille Miglia) has 18 inch six spoke alloy wheels which were supplied as part of the original car. When I went to the local MB dealership to ask about refurbishing the wheels which have developed some bubbling around the centre, I was told that the finish on the wheels did not seem to be a standard MB one. They thought they should be plain metal with a clear lacquer, whereas mine have a silver finish which matches the colour of the car. Can anyone advise whether the dealer is correct in what they say? I would like to keep the car as original as possible. Can a wheel which has been overpainted be returned to plain metal and lacquered?

 

[Smalley]

I purchased 8 hole wheels from a 1995 E320 that required refinishing.

They were polished / machined with a clear coat.

After doing some research, I found that in some years on the C / E / S classes, the wheels were painted silver with a clear coat, while other years were polished with a clear coat.

I know that on E classes, 1992-1994 were all painted silver, while 1995 E class wheels are polished with a clear coat.

I don't know whether or not the C, S, or SL classes follow the same pattern, but I'm inclinced to believe they do.

I noticed that virtually all, if not all, 1996 and newer cars all have silver painted wheels.

I believe your wheels can be returned to the original finish.

I did a search locally (here in Southern California), and contaced Brabus and Lorinser. They gave me a couple of refinish shops they could recommend.

I paid about $140 U.S.D per wheel.

The wheels were chemically dipped in vats to strip off the old lacquer.

They were then milled on a CNC machine, which left them with a highly reflective finish. If you examine the wheels very very closely, you can see tiny grooves around the wheels, much like the lines on an old vinyl record.

The clear coat (lacquer) is then applied. It is actually powder coated, not sprayed on, and baked. This leaves a much more durable finish than simply spraying on the lacqer in the conventional manner.

On some of the wheels, you can see tiny bubbles, which is caused by porosity in the alloy metal. They told me it was unavoidable.

They offered to redo the affected wheels for free, but they couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. They warned me they could even turn out worse.

Just my $0.02. (and another $2.98 will buy you a gourmet cup of coffee at Starbuck's).

 

[william thomson]

Hi Smalley,
Thank you for your very helpful reply. Armed with this information will do a bit more research with the dealer.
William

 

[peterchurch]

Hi,
Smalley thanks for this I need to refinish my wheels but I was totaly clueless about how they were finished. I knew they where not normal on account of the grooves.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Smalley]

Hey, just like the James Taylor song, "That's Why I'm Here" ---- I'm just here to be helpful.