Well as my current list of projects is dwindling it's finally time that I got around to refurbishing the alloy wheels on my E91 after Lazylegs's confrontation with a kerb a few months ago...
I will not be attempting this job myself as I want them powder coated and not painted to give a more durable finish, I also want them a different colour to offset the colour of the bodywork. I have spoken to a couple of people about this, but I am after some opinions.
This is the car..
These are the wheels - 18" MV3's
And finally these are some of the colours that I am considering - NOT new wheels, just a refurb...:thumbsup
The one on the right...
Or the centre colour of these wheels...
But I think that I am liking these quite a bit and think that they would look good on a Titanium Silver car..
Basically a darker "gun metal grey" sort of colour and a gloss finish....
Opinions please guys....
I do like a gunmetal grey, but not sure how that would look on a silver car :confused
Just as a matter of interest, I was at a powder coater I know recently and he had coated some wheels in a Chrome finish. Looked exactly like the real thing!
Whatever colour, JUST KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THOSE KERBS! :hihi
The Matt he is referring to is Matt Neal, the BTCC guy, who is a Director of Team Dynamics, the refurb part of the business is Rimfurbish. Based in West Brom IIRC.
Very little point in me making a choice Kevin, been looking at different wheels for near on 12 months and still can decide, will end up changing the car before the wheels but looking at the pics I do like the gunmetal, tomorrow might be different!
Interesting as ive been thinking what colour wheels other than silver would look good on a silver car. Kevin's offer sounds good. Just need to decide on the colour and sort out the some temporary wheels
I have found his price to be very competitive and have seen his work.... I will be using his services as soon as I can organise to get over to him:thumbsup
Did you get them done in the end Kev???
And was it at 1st class alloys? They're about an hour from me but it's a good price and with a 2 year guarantee on top:thumbsup
I've really had more important things to worry about but every time I bathe my baby it makes my skin crawl to see the inside and between the spokes blistering. And the odd curb mark, one of which is new and I'm pretty sure it wasn't me:confused
I've only let her drive it once without me and it was only half a mile away but the first time she drove my old 7 she got it stuck on a gate post:jaw-dropping But don't worry, it wasn't stuck for long, a few minutes scraping it backwards and forwards and she soon had it off
So anyway, I wanna get mine done. I would like them a shade darker but the spare has never been turned so not sure:confused
Anyone have any opinions on me getting them done white? I can't decide if I'd love it or hate it:shifty: It's a bit rally for an e65 but I don't want them dark or bright so it doesn't leave me much option apart from std silver or light grey:confused
They are off for refurbishment tomorrow and yes I am taking them to 1st Class Alloys for that refurbishment to be done in a Charcoal Metallic finish....
Off to see a "friend" to borrow some alloys first for the duration of the work (1st class alloys are squeezing me in despite being very busy ATM)...
Here are some pictures of the damage to the worst wheel (thanks for that Lazylegs), will post up some pictures when they return.:thumbsup
I also bought another one of these while I was at it....
This means that I have now got a full set of the Bridgstone RFT's and will keep the Michelin as a spare (it's got about 5mm tread on it still but figured I would get it replaced at the refurbishment stage and avoid any potential damage in the near future... The bead protector is bigger on the Briggestone's and so hopefully the misses can't do this again...)
Went to see my friend today to borrow some alloys off him for the duration of the refurbishment.... This is how the car looks today,
Nice set of 225M's:thumbsup But, by the life the ride is firmer on 19" wheels with the MSport suspension, seems to tramline a bit as well too(tyres aren't RFT's)...Gutted really, I always wanted a set of these and they look awesome, just don't quite drive like I hoped (just hoping that checking and adjusting the tyre pressure may improve things)....:frown
When I got there, the ever helpful Paul (owner) put each of my MV3's on the machine to check the trueness, he soon found that one of the fronts (the one that was potholed) is also a bit buckled - so he is also attending to that while he is doing the refinishing work. After carefully considering the options, I have decided to have them refinished in the original colour (bright silver) as shadow chrome and charcoal metallic don't seem to suit the thin spokes of these wheels..
Whilst at my mates house today, I found this lurking on his drive.
Yep, Vorny's Porsche is loverrrllllyyy and was lucky enough to be taken for a spin in it too... Goes like stink, the exhaust and sports suspension are amazing...:yes:biglaugh
Big thanks to Mark for all his help changing my wheels over today (and even cleaning the 225M's for me), the loan of his wheels, his amazing hospitality and for taking me out in that crazy car..... Great day..:thumbsup
On Thursday, we (Lazylegs and I) made the trip to London to see a concert, on the way down we drove to see Paul at 1st class alloys to collect my refurbished wheels...
The place itself..
Some of Pauls work on display..
Anyway, when I arrived Paul was kind enough to make us a cup of tea whilst I drove the car into his workshop in order that we could refit my MV3 alloy wheels. Below are some pictures of the finished product, they don't really do the wheels justice - the finish is absolutely flawless...
Paul initially chemically strips the paint from the wheels before inspecting and repairing any damage that they have inccured. The wheels are then baked in the oven before having a powder coat base is applied and put into the oven to "cure" again, the colour finish is then wet applied before being rebaked and a laquer powder coat added to ensure a deep shine without runs...
After talking it through with Paul, I decided to have the wheels refinished in the original colour as shadow chrome does not work well on thin spoked wheels and a darker colour might not look too good against the silver of the bodywork.
And here is a photograph of Paul and me after the job was done, can you see how pleased I am?:hihi
I cannot recommend Paul and his service enough, if you need your wheels refurbished or repaired and you are anywhere near his establishment then you really need to get down and see him, please tell him you are from the forum, he has promised to look after us all..:thumbsup
Made up with them mate, absolutely top work by a top bloke - couldn't do enough for either me or Lazylegs when she came along with me. Sat her in the office with a cup of tea whilst he showed me around and refitted my wheels.:thumbsup
They look superb Kevin, Pauls work is excellent and I would recommend hom to anybody....:thumbsup
My contours are away at the moment but im using lepsons this time, no problem with Paul just that logistics collecting them are a nightmare at the moment....:frown
I know what you mean mate, but all the guys locally are cr@p and overpriced, Paul is a couple of hours from me but it was worth every mile. I know who will be refurbishing my Contours for me when I have saved my pennies again
(Nothing wrong with Lepsons from what I have heard though, just Paul's work was recommended by Mr OCD.:hihi
They look superb Kevin, Pauls work is excellent and I would recommend hom to anybody....:thumbsup
My contours are away at the moment but im using lepsons this time, no problem with Paul just that logistics collecting them are a nightmare at the moment....:frown
I was gutted I couldnt get them to him, not enough hours in the day at the moment. Partly my fault as I want them ready for the meet on the 5th june and in typical Steve fashion it ended up last min as usual....:hihi
I know that feeling too mate, I was looking for a window to drop them off and collect them (I told Paul to fit them in around his other jobs due to his/my time and wanting the best job that I could get and not rushed).... Fell into place in the end, but of course it helps when you have a good mate with some spare wheels to loan out close by...:thumbsup
Enjoying driving it ATM in all honestly... I have done 600miles since Thursday.:thumbsup
Also had to book it in for a service at Rybrooks (BMW Shrewsbury) on the 6th June as it's been two years since they last saw it (It's done 12k in that time).... They have kindly allowed me to supply the oil and brake fluid for the service to save me some money.
I think that silver(standard) is really the way to go with alloy wheels these days, keep it looking inconspicuous. Starting to think that despite anthracite/graphite/black looking great, it just looks a bit too council estate for me now.
They look awesome Kev and I would have gone for the original silver as well.
How close is the colour match to the original??
I've got a few to get to him when I get the time....proper busy like!
Will do. They're not exactly local but then last time I used someone local I wasn't completely happy with the results. Lepsons were high on my list too as I've only ever heard good reports of their work.
Thanks, that's a fantastic offer, I may well take you up on it depending on what I end up doing.
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