# Wheel finish failing?



## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Although I wash my wheels regularly, I've not been able to get them off at home to wash / inspect the insides. Anyway, today I took one off for a peek, and I had a bit of a shock when I finally did. They were covered in brake dust of course so I gave them a quick going over with some wheel cleaner (AutoGlanz Alkalloy @ 20%) and a brush, and rinsed off with a watering can.
























There is quite a lot of bubbling of the finish - is this the aluminium corroding under the paint? If so I'm pretty disappointed considering the car is only 3½ years old. Given it's a Toyota and hence five year warranty, I'm wondering if this a warranty job (or if they'd just say "wear and tear, sorry").


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Looks like an awful lot of brake dust on it though..... How often are the insides cleaned?


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

They get a full clean (ie completely cleaned including barrels with a speed brush) every three or so weeks. Sometimes I do the faces in between that. Iron Out every 2-3 months. The car's only done 25k, and about 7k of that is since we bought it in April 2015, so it's not like it's doing loads of miles. The pads on it do seem to dust like mad, though.


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

should be covered under warranty, get out is usually if it's started due to stone chips etc which is unlikely given its inside the wheel. Can't hurt to ask


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

Definitely worth a warranty claim, no harm in trying. 
Corrosion like that is very common on the inside of wheels, a lot I have cleaned don't even have clear coat on the barrels.

Gonz.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Thanks all, will give them all a good clean and pop down to the glass palace to see what they say.


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## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

Don't clean them at all, they might turn round and say that it was your fault in using chemicals that they have never heard of, so act dum say nothing.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

It's going to look a bit odd if three are mucky and one is clean(ish) ! I could wait until they're all mucky again but that would do my head in. 

Ironically there's a place in the front wheel where it just kissed a kerb, I was really expecting the white worm to set in (they're diamond cut) but absolutely nothing's happened there. It's only in the barrels, I suspect like gonzo says, there's no clear on them.


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## Streeto (Apr 3, 2008)

Sadly as brilliantly engineered and reliable Japanese cars are they aren't lavish with paint and finish in certain areas. Same on the bikes if it's hidden away or out of sight they either leave it bare or skimp on paint etc.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Yeah I'm coming to that conclusion myself. I suppose they have to pay for the engineering somewhere. I think if Toyota won't cover it under the warranty then at some point I'll get them powder coated and lose the diamond cut.


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## Streeto (Apr 3, 2008)

Yeah think diamond cut is only a finish I will keep on my wheels whilst they in warranty. If they go bad out of warranty, I'll be getting them painted.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Spoke to the dealer today, they said to come in and they'll take a look but didn't think there was much chance of warranty support from Toyota. Bah. Worth a shot anyhow.

Best start getting some quotes for powder coating!


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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

If your going down the power coat route I would consider the wheel specialist Manchester.

They come highly recommended on many forums and ive recently had mine done at the Chester depot and the workmanship and finish is second to none!


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## AIRTUNE UK (Dec 24, 2015)

Early corrosion in wheels on imported Japanese vehicles is not uncommon. Sadly, I very much doubt your warranty will cover them but always worth pressing your dealer to help. Don't let them do a smart repair and simply give a temporary fix to the problem. They need stripping right back to bare metal and a baking at high temperature before powder coating. That should give you another 2 to 3 years.
They say that salt is not used on roads in Japan and hence wheel finishes do not have to meet such demanding standards as that needed in the UK. However, they clean all their vehicles endlessly as a dirty vehicle is a sign of a bad person or company. Definitely the cleanest cars and trucks anywhere in the world!
Good luck!


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Ironically it's a British built Avensis, so ought really to have had properly lacquered wheels from the off! I'm getting quotes for a full refurb because I suspect Toyota are going to (very politely) decline my request to the issue to be dealt with under warranty.

Anyone had any dealings with Diamond Wheels in Heaton Norris? (www.diamond-wheels.net) they are quoting me £60/wheel on a same day basis (which is essential as I don't have any spare wheels and we only have the one car).


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Jonny_R said:


> If your going down the power coat route I would consider the wheel specialist Manchester.
> 
> They come highly recommended on many forums and ive recently had mine done at the Chester depot and the workmanship and finish is second to none!


Thanks for the recommendation, their work looks tip top; I did give them a call but unfortunately they want the car / wheels for 3 days which I just can't manage.


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## AIRTUNE UK (Dec 24, 2015)

*Anyone had any dealings with Diamond Wheels in Heaton Norris?*

I think you will find that the same day service and £60 is for powder coating rims with no tyres. Diamond cutting will certainly take them longer and cost more but that is not mentioned on their site. If you are local, pop in and see their premises and showroom, discuss the process and timing and compare them to the Wheel Specialist and then make a decision. 
Cheers. Julian


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## lisajmerrick (Mar 3, 2015)

I had some wheels powder coated by the wheel specialist in Manchester and they did it in a day. They are handy for me as they are only around the corner from my house. They did my dad's wheels too when he saw how great mine came out. 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

AIRTUNE UK said:


> I think you will find that the same day service and £60 is for powder coating rims with no tyres. Diamond cutting will certainly take them longer and cost more but that is not mentioned on their site. If you are local, pop in and see their premises and showroom, discuss the process and timing and compare them to the Wheel Specialist and then make a decision.
> Cheers. Julian


From the phone call I had with the proprietor, my understanding that the price was for wheels delivered "on the car" so to speak. I would of course be checking exactly before I went ahead. I wouldn't be keeping the diamond cut effect if I got the wheels refurbed, just not durable enough.

@lisajmerrick, thanks for the info, I'll bear it in mind as if they were able to do a same day job that would put them back in contention. I'm away up to the dealer this afternoon so the warranty administrator can take a look, so we'll see what Toyota say about it.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Warranty administrator was significantly more upbeat than the Service Dept chap about getting some support from Toyota on this. Apparently I should expect to hear something next week.


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## AIRTUNE UK (Dec 24, 2015)

steelghost said:


> From the phone call I had with the proprietor, my understanding that the price was for wheels delivered "on the car" so to speak. I would of course be checking exactly before I went ahead. I wouldn't be keeping the diamond cut effect if I got the wheels refurbed, just not durable enough.
> 
> @lisajmerrick, thanks for the info, I'll bear it in mind as if they were able to do a same day job that would put them back in contention. I'm away up to the dealer this afternoon so the warranty administrator can take a look, so we'll see what Toyota say about it.


The Wheelspecialist always offer a same day service for powder coating and you get a 12 month guarantee with a huge choice of finishes. Good luck with the warranty administrator!


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

So Toyota called back this afternoon, they're going to replace all four wheels with new ones under warranty  So now I need to think about what I do to stop the finish going wrong again - do I need to order some C5?


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

That's fantastic news


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

So, I have four brand new alloys on my car, and a bottle of CarPro Dlux on the way :thumb:

Few questions about this stuff - anyone know if there is there any benefit to doing multiple coats? Im thinking particularly about the barrels of the new wheels where the finish failed on the original ones. The paint finish is "textured" in the barrels in any case so I'm not worried if it doesn't necessarily give a beautiful result, I'm more interested in maximising durability.

OK, OK, I'm also interested in being able to do this sort of thing


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

If the paint is suspect then I wouldn't use a pressure washer.

As you are starting with brand new wheels get a good coat of something on them even if it is only fk1000p. Once done you should be able to keep them clean with just soap and water with a soft wheel wooly type brush. Use a sponge or something to get behind the spokes as well.

As soon as the wheel feels a little sticky then it is time to re-do the fk1000p.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

The paint on the new wheels is fine, I think the old ones had a couple of years of being washed very seldom (especially in the barrels) and driven on salty roads. 

Plan is to get the new ones coated as soon as possible, hopefully the easy cleaning nature of the coating should keep the paint in its current good state for a long time.


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