[Saeagle]

Man, talk about a mare of a week. First the stone chip and now this.
Somehow or other managed to scuff my front right alloy. Didn't hear or even feel it, but saw I had done it when i got home.

What I wondered was, has anyone ever used one of those mobile alloy repair companies? They seem like they offer a good service and the before and after pictures seem to justify that it works.

But I am worried because it says they have to take the wheel off to do it, and wondered whether this woudl affect the alignment once they put it back on or not put it back on properly. I also wondered whether they would be able to match the colour etc as the Cairns seem to be at least 2 toned.

Or is it best to just take it to the dealer to do?

Cheers as always.

 

[SBK61]

Saegle .
I don't think the mobile repair companies can repair these wheels ,they are diamond cut and have to be sent away . I was quoted £160 a wheel nearly 12 months ago .

 

[rich.cath]

saegle, the dual colour alloys are diamond cut and have to be sent away. They redid mine when I bought car and it cost dealer £300 for all 4 to be done properly. Sad thing is they are marked again.

 

[Saeagle]

Cheers Rich.cath.

I did wonder whether they were diamond cut (not that that means anything to me).

I'm not sure how they would send mine away as don't have a spare wheel so would render the car useless for a few days. Prob worth me giving the dealer a call?

How did they come out looking once they were done. Maybe I will save it as a once a year thing.

 

[chud786]

No easy solution to this problem

I have 3 marked alloys,been like it for a year because I have no spare to put on while they are away getting repaired.
Only solution I could come up with is to buy a new wheel and tyre and send the damaged ones away one at a time to be repaired
Would be a pretty expensive and slow way to do it though

 

[rich.cath]

saegle, they came out looking really good, but as I say did'nt last. With such low profile tyres it seems inevitable they will mark again. Mine were done - all four - whilst prepping car for me, it took about 4 days, tyres have to come off etc. You could always get them done when you are on holiday? Rich

 

[Saeagle]

Cheers Rich/Chud. I was thinking I go away in June, so may just get it done then. Do you reckon it is ok to get the one done, and not look out of place, or do you think it is best to get all 4 done (the way my luck is at the moment, I will prob need all four by then anyway

).
I agree about being low and just getting more marks. Like I say, I didnt even hear the scratch yesterday, so would really like to know how or when I did it.

Thanfully it doesn't seem to stick out too much.

 

[chud786]

Any good repairer should be able to get a good colour match so getting one done should be ok.I am considering getting mine re coated but not diamond cut,it just dosen't seem durable enough to me

 

[Richard Thornton]

I scuffed 2 of my alloys last week around the rim after they dropped into a pothole, didnt look good. I repaired them myself by lightly rubbing the scuff away with fine emery cloth then a bit of lapping paste on a cloth to bring back the gloss. You cant even see the marks.
As the wheels are aluminium alloy they can be polished out quite easily. Saved me a lot of money and im not as paranoid about potholes anymore.

This will work for any dents or scratches around the outer rim. Just dont rub too hard or you will alter the profile and see it.

 

[Saeagle]

Thats good to hear Richard.
i assume you have the Cairns as well?

Which Lapping paste did you use?

 

[Richard Thornton]

Thats good to hear Richard.
i assume you have the Cairns as well?

Which Lapping paste did you use?

Yes, I have Cairns black alloys.

 

[rich.cath]

I am trying the wheelwrapz protectors as they cover edge scuffs and protect in future - £30 a set cheaper than diamond cut!

 

[Saeagle]

Do you get a choice in the colour? If so, what have you gone for?

 

[rich.cath]

saeagle, they do them in 6 colours - a couple are even too dayglo for me! - unfortunately not white, which might have gone well with my pearl white DS4 but they do silver, which fits the alloys.I get them next week so will report back.
Ther are other makes rimblades(blocks?) is one I think but it did not get a good write-up in auto express.
Alligator are the creme de la creme but are fiddly to fit and double the price - you need to jack up each wheel and let all air out of each tyre, then put 10 metal clips under rim (could damage alloys?), then connect alligator then pump up tyre -repeat 4 times. The wheelwrapz just stick on and come with a spare rim if you should sheer one off!!

 

[Proco2020]

How are the wheelwrapz working out as my local dealer just quoted my £125 for a set of Alloygators and while cheaper than a rim repair still a chunk of money.

I'll now Google Wheelwrapz for price and reviews.

 

[Hoovie]

Hi, just thought I would drop a comment on this one as it is inmy line of business ...


Most of the Citroen Alloys tend to be diamond Cut rims now, similar to a lot or other manufacturers.

How Diamond Cut wheels are made is that the wheels are painted in the usual way, then they are turned on a computerised lathe with a diamond cutter, which moves into the wheel 'slicing' off the paint and a fine later of metal, that leaves the very fine grooves, like a CD when you look up close.
Then the wheels are lacquered to protect the surface.


Problem is that the adhesion between the lacquer and the bare metal is poor, so corrosion sets in VERY easily and thn you starte getting 'spider-webs' appearing which you can sdee but cannot feel (as it is under the clearcoat lacquer) and bits start to go black. This can happen with the slightest of stone chips let alone kerbing.
and of course, with kerbing, the diamond-cut surface is destroyed anyway. This is true of ALL diamond cut wheels from ALL makes - Citroen is by no means the worse, it is a feature of the wheel finish!


Note that to recreate a diamond-cut wheel after damage, it goes back on a lathe and metal is removed from the face, just like sanding down a wooden floor to remove scratches, and just like that, it can only be done a number of times safely!
As has been noted by someone, the pitting comes back anyway just like it did on a new wheel, due to the poor adhesion of lacquer on bare metal.


Personally, when I repair a Diamond-Cut Wheel, I, (obviously after discussing with customer!!), repair the damage of corrosion and kerbing and then paint what used to be diamond cut - this gives a much better lasting finish (if you look closely at ANY diamond cut wheels on a car over 6 months old, you will see at least the start of pitting somewhere on the wheels - and that will only be on the diamond cut part of the wheel, not on the painted part!
When I get my DS4, it will no doubt had diamond cut wheels, and I will ask the salesman what the policy is on wheel corrosion, and then get them replaced before the time limit is up as I KNOW they will be suffering from corrosion within months (few weeks ago I did a 12 plate Mercedes wheels for some kerbing, and all 4 wheels had corrosion on the diamond cut section).


I know this sounds a bit doom and gloom, but it is a fact of liofe with Diamond-Cut wheels and the best (and only) long term solution is remove the diamond cut section and paint - and in reality, most people don't even know they have those kind of wheels, and don't care if they lose that effect.

Hope this was of interest to someone - just off now my my local Citroen Dealer (who I fix Wheels for as well ) to discuss purchase of DS4

David.

 

[rich.cath]

Hoovie/Dave, sounds good, can you do ours?