# BMW Alloys



## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

Guys I picked up my approved used BMW X5 today and it has black alloys. I am sure I saw a guy posting on here saying his brand new car was the same but wanted to check. The front of the alloys are gloss black but the backs of the alloys are dull and rough feel. Is this normal I am used to nice painted alloys back to front.


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## Streeto (Apr 3, 2008)

Probably had a cheap man in a van smart repair on the wheels and it's overspray


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Streeto said:


> Probably had a cheap man in a van smart repair on the rear wheels


Very helpful


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

camerashy said:


> Very helpful


Harsh, I think its a misunderstanding


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Take the vehicle back to them Shane and query it, that doesn't sound right to me, I assume it's still under warranty so they should sort it, most BMW dealerships have a wheel refurb service so enquirer about it and ask them to repaint the rear wheels in gloss black at no cost to you.


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I think we are discussing the back of the wheels, not the rear wheels ?
Will put my glass of wine down if I've missed the point.


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## Derek-Eddleston (Aug 17, 2016)

Streeto said:


> Probably had a cheap man in a van smart repair on the rear wheels


I've seen quite a few wheels that look excellent from the outside, but are very disappointing when removed. When it comes to selling a car, not many people will dig deep in to their pockets to do more than achieve the sale. On a used vehicle I am always suspicious if the wheels don't have a few battle scars, and this makes me look a lot more closely.


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## macca666 (Mar 30, 2010)

Not BMW (or black gloss!) but my Jeep is similar I've attached a thread below if you scroll halfway down you'll see mine when I took one off to give it a deep clean. Mine was a dark silver / grey and was rough to the touch as well which was the design. I'd asked the question and it was the way they're meant to be and it was because the rough partially matt style surface wont show up the dirt / brake dust / fallout etc as much as a smooth gloss surface.

Here's my thread...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=389182


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

dholdi said:


> I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I think we are discussing the back of the wheels, not the rear wheels ?
> Will put my glass of wine down if I've missed the point.


That's how I read it too


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Sounds like the front of the alloys were only painted & lacquered and the rear of the wheel has taken on some overspray or the back of the alloys had been painted but not lacquered


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## smarty5927 (Jan 9, 2007)

All the alloy wheels we have had on vehicles over the past 20 years have been lacquered only on the outer/front faces, with the inner barrels and behind the spokes being painted but not lacquered.

This is irrespective of vehicle brand, i.e. MG, Smart, BMW, Audi, MINI, Jaguar.


John


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

Like everything it will come down to who does the wheels and the cost.


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Most glossy black wheels I have seen on Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus are like that.
It looks a bit rubbish but it meant to be like that.
Similair to silver wheels where the back isn’t lacquered.
I still would coat them with a good heat resistant wax, to avoid corrosion


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Yes, agree with this

The barrels of my RX and IS are painted matt black but not lacquered.


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

Thank you for all your comments. 

I went back to the dealer and had a look at some other BMWs and it seems normal. So basically the fronts are painted and laquared and the barrels just look to be painted and feel rough.


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

Same on VW’s, gloss on the outside, just paint on the inside barrels with no clear. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## MarkP80 (Jun 28, 2011)

shane_ctr said:


> Thank you for all your comments.
> 
> I went back to the dealer and had a look at some other BMWs and it seems normal. So basically the fronts are painted and laquared and the barrels just look to be painted and feel rough.


Our X6 has those wheels, or at least they look the same. The inside of the wheel is lovely and glossy, right across the full width of the rim. There's nothing feels rough at all.

There's a bit that's a pain to keep clean - there's a small shallow circumferential groove just behind the spokes. At first I thought that wasn't painted properly but then I wondered if it was actually just collecting contamination due to the shape.

My Biberry cleaner didn't touch it, so I tried a fallout remover which did improve it slightly so I thought I might be onto something. I bought some acidic Wonder Wheels and carefully applied it just to that groove. The result was that the groove came up a treat, same glossy finish as the rest of the wheel.

So, my twopenneth is that my wheels are fully painted but do pick up contamination readily. So the inside of yours might just need a slightly more aggressive clean. Why not take one off and give it a go?

Cheers,
MarkP


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