# wheel powdercoating and window tint recommendations around west lothian?



## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

Just bought a new to me motor, but the wheels need a bit of tlc and it could do with some tints, a black 5 series m sport just needs tints IMO:thumb:. any recommendations of reasonably priced but good quality wormanship for tints and powdercoating? If need be I could travel to edinburgh or glasgow if theres nowhere decent locally.


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## oobster (Jul 12, 2006)

There is a guy, Andrew, who is based in Uphall Station. He's very good. He works from home - his number is 01506 440144. He used to have his own place, Magma, down in Bathgate (on the road into Blackburn).

Don't know about the wheel coating.


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

Linky

have used the above company for tints on two cars now, its in glasgow so maybe too far, but i cant reccomend them highly enough, they also do all the standard hondas from hyndland honda, so cant be that bad :thumb:

do a search in the scotland section for the wheels, there are loads of threads about it on here, will probably be one or two local to you mentioned in it.

HTH

mick


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

Thanks for that. Magma done a lassies corsa at my old work and it was perfect except for having a magma sticker on it, I dont like any stickers at all on my windows but I'll ask if he'll do it without.

Thinking about the wheels, I might give the mrs 2 or 3 months to get used to the car before doing the wheels "just in case"


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## k4ith (Apr 3, 2008)

Try PPE in loanhead by Ikea, I am getting my wheels done there on wednesday, very good set up and guy that owns it talks you thru whats going to happen. they are busy so normally 2 weeks wait to get them done, showed me a BBS set done for a ferrari top job.
magma never again, broke my door card and never told me.thought i wouldnt notice


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## big-daf (Jun 21, 2008)

window tints xtreme auto tints in glasgow its my mates company but he works to the highest of standards 

Tel: 0141 611 2086
Mob: 0771 757 7921
ask for ewan 

wheel refurbs guy i know in EK 

central powder coating
01355 222180 
54 Arrotshole Rd 
East Kilbride 

ask for steven the owner


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

Magmas best price for cash was 265 quid. If theyre all around that price i'll do it myself **** paying that to have a wee bit sticky back plastic stuck on your windows.


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## JenJen (Jun 30, 2010)

PPE at Pentlands Ind Est is a good place, ill be getting my alloys done there very soon. They also do a one day service for not much more :thumb:


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

Anyone used mr tint in glasgow?


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Tint Tech Falkirk

http://www.tinttechuk.com/index.htm


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## k4ith (Apr 3, 2008)

I opted for the one day service from PPE well chuffed


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## terrymcg (Mar 19, 2007)

k4ith said:


> I opted for the one day service from PPE well chuffed


That finish looks great! Where do you stay mate, any chance of seeing them in the flesh??


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

How much do PPE take? I'm trying to decide between there and hotwheelz at newbridge. anyone used them?


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## martyp (Oct 24, 2006)

RM Coatings at Houstoun Ind. Est would be worth a look...

Got mine done in satin black and the finish is sweet!


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## k4ith (Apr 3, 2008)

I paid £235 for a one day turn around, if you bring the wheels with no tyres its £160 plus vat i think.
I used RM coatings before for my R32 brakes but the red they gave me wasn't what i expected. def recommend PPE
If you want just blasting done try Aliblast in Linlithgow, blast and primes and very cheap prices.


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## k4ith (Apr 3, 2008)

terrymcg said:


> That finish looks great! Where do you stay mate, any chance of seeing them in the flesh??


Broxburn:thumb:


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## robga (Apr 23, 2010)

For window tints i used Advanced Window Films in Glasgow. Used them on past 3 cars. Cant fault. Got my 5 Series M Sport done in March. £130


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

is advanced the one on south street?
Gutted i cant use ppe for the wheels but i discovered a crack in one of the rims and ppe's welder is on holiday for 2 weeks, dont wat to risk driving on a cracked wheel til then and cant be without the car that long so off for a look at hotwheelz work. I had planned to do the tints this month and the wheels next but the crack has scuppered those plans.
A friend used RM and the wheels looked great but bubbled up badly after a year, might just have been a one off, but i'm not taking the chance.


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## AlistairS (Jun 1, 2010)

Techgeek said:


> is advanced the one on south street?
> Gutted i cant use ppe for the wheels but i discovered a crack in one of the rims and ppe's welder is on holiday for 2 weeks, dont wat to risk driving on a cracked wheel til then and cant be without the car that long so off for a look at hotwheelz work. I had planned to do the tints this month and the wheels next but the crack has scuppered those plans.
> A friend used RM and the wheels looked great but bubbled up badly after a year, might just have been a one off, but i'm not taking the chance.


I used RM & had the bubbling problem too on my IBiza FR. Went back & Gavin did them again for free:thumb:


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

Techgeek said:


> is advanced the one on south street?
> Gutted i cant use ppe for the wheels but i discovered a crack in one of the rims and ppe's welder is on holiday for 2 weeks, dont wat to risk driving on a cracked wheel til then and cant be without the car that long so off for a look at hotwheelz work. I had planned to do the tints this month and the wheels next but the crack has scuppered those plans.
> A friend used RM and the wheels looked great but bubbled up badly after a year, might just have been a one off, but i'm not taking the chance.


yes mate advanced is the one on south street, thumbs up from me as well for them :thumb:


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

Well an interesting turn of events, took them to hotwheelz at newbridge who had the cracks welded, and hotwheelz farm their powdercoating out to ppe so expected a decent job. I made it clear I was after a good job, not a cheap one.

I was told a 2-3 day turnaround and 6 days and plenty of runabout later I got them back in a hellish state. bits of the visible face of the spokes felt like 80 grit sandpaper, small dings in the wheel were just powdercoated over, still perfectly visible and every wheel had air bubbles and grit in the finish, they were sharp to the touch, run your finger over them feels like the bits of grit in p40 sandpaper and the inner edge had been gouged putting the tyre back on one of the wheels.

Some parts of some of the wheels had a stunning finish on them, and I would have taken them happily if it wasn't for the rough bits which would trap brake dust and the air bubbles which would be the starting point for corrosion. I pointed this out and said no way was I paying £260 for a job of that standard so hotwheelz taken tham back to peter at ppe who said he wasn't going to do them again because I was too fussy and bubbles and grit inclusion are to be expected in refurbed wheels. bear in mind the wheels in good condition beforehand, they were only 3 and a half years old with 3 small scuffs to the rim edge, only just through the original finish and the cracks on the inside of the rim which mv2s on runflats are renowned for, But I dont like scuffed wheels.

I was told they could keep my wheels and I would have to take them to court to get them back and gave all the excuses under the sun even saying "look they are only going to get scuffed again what are you moaning for" but in the end to save the hassle they would **** them with sandpaper and only charge for the welding. 
pictures of the finish they think is acceptable for a £260 refurb:


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## AlistairS (Jun 1, 2010)

Those are shocking at any price. Can you take them to court or if you paid by Credit Card what about getting them to chase it?


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

I didn't pay for the powdercoating, only the welding. Because I didn't pay for the powdercoating he ****ed all the wheels with 180 sandpaper. I thought I'd give ppe the benefit of the doubt and go there in person to see if maybe hotwheelz had done the prep and that is why the finish was so substandard but peter just told me to go away. 

I'm surprised at how bad they were because after seeing the recommendations on here for ppe I spoke to a couple of mates who had work done there and I hadn't realised that when one of my mates got the oz superleggeras from my mk1 astra gte done (he had the wheels done just before I bought the car) because he knew somebody it was them that done them and the finish was perfection.


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## k4ith (Apr 3, 2008)

who fitted the tyres back on the rims?
Why do hot wheels advertise alloy refurb and then send them to ppe? odd.


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

I dont know who fitted the tyres I was too pissed off to ask. Whoever did it needs to get a clue as 2 of the wheels were gouged to the metal by the tyre machine. Chris from hotwheels answer to that was he would use filler and touch up paint.

Hotwheels try to get you to paint the wheels instead of powder coating them, and if they get a powdercoating job they take them into ppe. I didn't know this until today, I was told he had a powdercoater "just around the corner" I wanted powdercoating for durability because I plan on keeping this car a while, wont get much durability if the coating is compromised before it even gets fitted on the car.

I'm going to try powdertec in glasgow, they are who the dealer we bought the car from uses and he was going to let me get them done on his account since the car came with the cracked rim when it was bought but I didn't want to have to travel that far but the amount of extra pissing about this has caused I would have been better just leaving the car there for a couple of days.


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## bunds (Jan 11, 2010)

we do powder coating on the premises @ newlife tyres in Edinburgh and we use PPE for acid dipping and blasting now and again so have a good business relationship with them. i have seen a some great jobs done by them and to be honest these wheels look like they were not prepared very well. did you speak to peter directly as he is a top bloke.

here is a few pics of recent jobs we have done









































they issue you have now is to re coat them ideally they will need to be acid dipped and sanded then re coated.

besides that the tyre fitter should be shot!

best bit of advise i can offer is to give peter a call and see if you can sort it out now that the red mist has settled.

on a side note i could offer our services although we would have to send them to get dipped.

feel free to pm me or give me a call on 0131 669 1464(allan)

not sure if i am really allowed to advertise here just tying to help out.(mods feel free to delete if required)


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## Cleanerbeemer (Jun 26, 2010)

I know its not really much help as I'm in Aberdeen but I am puting my 20s off my X5 and SWMBO 18s from her tt out to a company up here called PPS in Inverurie. Not the cheapest but when I went to see them they pulled out a set of Beemer alloys they'd just done and I was WELL impressed with the finish on them. The tt ones are getting done over the next 2 weeks whle we're away on holiday and mine getting done when we get home. Im 40-45 for the 18s off the tt and 60-65 for my 20s. They do quite a range of colours too. Might be worth speaking to them and see how much it would be to get the wheels couriered up to them.

Details are http://www.ppsglassfibre.co.uk/main.htm

Hope this is of use to you.


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

I got them acid dipped and recoated at rm coatings and I'm very happy with the way they turned out, far fewer defects and an even shade over all the wheel, and most importantly no bare alloy to corrode, and no rough patches to collect brake dust. Got them back in the promised time too and no hassle when I went to collect them. Cant fault the service there, I just hope the ****ing things dont crack again which I'm told is likely with MV2s.


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## AMCross (May 29, 2010)

my brother in law just got a set of vectra alloys done at rm coatings and to be honest they were absolutely [email protected]@@@@

could not believe how any company would send out such badly painted alloys 

bubbled effect paint on each alloy


but then again some other friends have used them and have nothing but great service from them


i think you get what you pay for and if your not happy make sure the company know before you pay out

used a company in glasgow two years ago the name i cannot recall and the paint finsih was superb BUT the colour was totally wrong and ended up selling them on fleebay to get some money back

i need some bmw alloys done soon so watching this thread with great interest


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## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

There must be something about wheel refurbing that leads to unpredictable results, as every place I have looked at someone has had wheels come out in a crap state while others have had them come out perfect. I don't doubt anyone who said they had good results from PPE, but you've seen how mine turned out and despite being asked to fix them they refused as apparently wanting a £260 refurb to have no exposed bare metal is "too picky", But i've also seen bad results first hand from RM although to be fair my mate didn't complain, he just took them so I dont know what their response would be, but I took the chance and it turned out good. 

Powdertec who is who the dealer I bought the car from recommends but is a PITA for me to go to has a generally good rep but there are a few threads on different forums with photos of some crap looking finishes with too many defects. Same with a few others.

If I get any more cracks I'll just buy a set of replica spiders, the replicas might not be that great quality but at least they're cheap to replace.


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