# diamond cut alloy help



## silky1873

just wondering / looking for a bit of advice ,

got a 2016 insignia with the atomic alloys on them and both the front wheels lacquer has failed in a lot of places giving a cloudy appearance and ruining the look of them, going to be looking into getting them refurbed next year but was wondering if there was anyway i could rectify them in the mean time to make them look a bit better and prevent further damage over winter from salt etc.. not sure if its as simple a step as taking off where the damaged lacquer is, cleaning the crap thats under the lacquer off and resealing with a few coats of lacquer , anyone advise


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## Caledoniandream

Yes, your can carefull remove the loose lacquer, clean up and relacquer.
I use to this on a set on my Mondeo ST, stops the weather to corrode to much into the alloy. 
It looks alright from a distance, but it doesn’t look the real McCoy.
But it helps if you are recutting the face again in a refurb. 

I use to carry a bottle of clear nail varnish with me, to touch any chips in on the wheels, exactly for the reason to avoid corrosion.


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## silky1873

thanks a lot for that, im away to buy some lacquer and masking tape then since im off this week, :thumb:


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## Andyblue

silky1873 said:


> thanks a lot for that, im away to buy some lacquer and masking tape then since im off this week, :thumb:


Don't forget, pop a thread up with your process and a few before / after shots 

Good luck in repairing them ...


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## TonyHill

Is the car out of warranty? If not, then the dealer needs to sort them out surely??


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## Caledoniandream

TonyHill said:


> Is the car out of warranty? If not, then the dealer needs to sort them out surely??


Most wheels are only 1 year for cosmetic, and even than any chips void your warranty.


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## silky1873

wee bit of a long story 

bought it from vardy hillington last year ( april) 1 previous owner ) with the two front ones getting fixed before i picked it up , in December they started to cloud over, took it in after christmas period and they only warranty the wheels for first 6 month.

so i kicked up a riot in front of other buyers asking why ?.. if i had took the car as it was and got them done privately it would come with a yrs warranty but only 6 months if they do it.. was it a case of cheap as hell fix to get car out the door ? 

i bought the guy i spoke to the point where he couldnt answer my questions and just stuttered, told them me and my family have spent the best part of 100k buying cars from vardy over the last 9 yrs or so years and wont be back as your customer care is shocking, never got anywhere with them as the manager was being a bit of a $%^$£.. but it was good to get it off my chest as i cant tolerate idiots at the best of times, even better to have two customers say to them thats shocking and walking out behind me


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## c87reed

Diamond cut wheels look great when new and/or in great condition but in the real world the finish is just not durable enough, especially as most will be run through winter and infrequently washed. From the point of view of the dealer any refurbs will eat into their margins, but if they are willing to do the job it should be done properly and last beyond 6 months. I'm due to pick a different car in the next week or two and diamond cut wheels are standard fit, I'd rather just have a conventional painted finish if given the choice; chances are in the future they will be painted completely if the finish deteriorates.


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## Andy1972

I know the wheels. I had them on my 2016 Sri vx line. Two of mine did it but only the two that the dealer refurbed for me when I bought it. Strangely it wasn’t caused by chips, seemed to happen in random in damaged areas too. The two that were OE were fine.

Got same type of thing on my insignia grandsport. Hope they hold out as they are 20” so won’t be cheap to refurb


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## silky1873

this is my rear one 


and the worst front one

[/URL

might as well show one of the car too since ive just finished polishing it lol
[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/basher/media/car%20photos/IMG_20180923_120936_zpsym8d2ooa.jpg.html]


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## bigalc

I wouldn't have diamond cut alloys on a car ever again...terrible for corrosion.
I would get them blasted and painted instead.


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## Andyblue

Cars looking fella, but that alloy looks a right one...


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## HEADPHONES

I feel your pain.
Got a 2011 Kia Sportage.
Black rims with diamond cut faces.
Never been kerbed but all 4 wheels had whiteworm.
Replaced under warranty after 3&1/2 years.
Now out of warranty and they're going again!
If I refurb them it will be with normal paint on the faces with either hypersilver or shadow chrome faces against the gloss black.


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## MBRuss

Could applying a ceramic coating to the wheels prevent this? Surely that would stop any moisture getting in if you applied it day one when the car is new?

That said, why does it happen? The same thing doesn't happen to the bodywork, or painted wheels.

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## GP Punto

HEADPHONES said:


> I feel your pain.
> Got a 2011 Kia Sportage.
> Black rims with diamond cut faces.
> Never been kerbed but all 4 wheels had whiteworm.
> Replaced under warranty after 3&1/2 years.
> Now out of warranty and they're going again!
> If I refurb them it will be with normal paint on the faces with either hypersilver or shadow chrome faces against the gloss black.


You did very well to get them replaced under warranty. VW said they would only give 12 months warranty on wheels and they would need to be rusted through. Cost of refurbishing 4 wheels was £450, I didnt go ahead


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## Harry_p

MBRuss said:


> Could applying a ceramic coating to the wheels prevent this? Surely that would stop any moisture getting in if you applied it day one when the car is new?
> 
> That said, why does it happen? The same thing doesn't happen to the bodywork, or painted wheels.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


It does happen to painted wheels eventually, but they have primer, paint and lacquer to all keep the alloy sealed. Diamond cut just have a lacquer trying to cling to a polished surface of a material which constantly wants to oxidise.

Same for bodywork, multiple layers of protection. Panels can still rust from the inside out if there are impurities in the material before it's coated.


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## MBRuss

Harry_p said:


> It does happen to painted wheels eventually, but they have primer, paint and lacquer to all keep the alloy sealed. Diamond cut just have a lacquer trying to cling to a polished surface of a material which constantly wants to oxidise.
> 
> Same for bodywork, multiple layers of protection. Panels can still rust from the inside out if there are impurities in the material before it's coated.


Good point. Could a coating help? It'll keep ferrous fallout and moisture off of them.

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## tosh

Coating diamond cut does help, but they all corrode eventually. When you coat them, it helps to remove the centre caps as well. 


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## Radish293

I have a damaged diamond cut wheel and was quoted £150 for a refurb which couldn’t guarantee to get all the scrapes out as they are deep and would need to remove a lot of metal. The guarantee would only be 6 months, as they would only get lacquer. Recommendations was a refurbishment and conventional paint. But, that would mean all four would need doing to match. The choice is live with it or buy a replacement wheel. Bugger!! 


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## J306TD

I'd get all 4 refurbished and go down the powder coat route. As that's what I'm looking into with mine.

Also buying a new wheel might not mean a 100% colour match

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