# 2005 E46 M-Sport - My Alloy Wheel Refurb Nightmare, But With A Happy Ending!! - Pics



## warmasice (Sep 24, 2006)

So i own an E46 Coupe, mint in everyway expect the alloy wheels. I had the common corrosion that BMW alloys suffer from. It was quite bad, on the spokes and on the inside of the rim's too. The only 'before' picture i have is this one:










So i rang up my local wheel refurbish 'specialist' who has done work for me before, never had a problem with him. The two previous times i have used him, he refurbed the wheels for kerb damage - not a problem. This time my wheels were corroded and he said it wouldnt be a problem to refurb, he told me not to expect a 100% job but it would be good enough. So told him to pop along and refurb the two front wheels at the house. I was a at work and my dad was there to hand over the keys, money etc. (dad has no idea about refurbing wheels so told him once the chap has done his job, to hand over the money)

Take a look at this work!!!!!!...

Caking inside the lug holes:



















The view between the spokes. He must have tried sanding the corrosion down and gave a light dusting of silver:



















Look at the poor finishing on the spokes:




























Fair to say i was really hacked off with the job. The wheels looked worse than before the refurb!

So i decided to go down the powder coat route. I visited 3 main powder coating outlets in the Midlands. I wasnt happy with the shade of silver two of them were offering as it looked more grey, and not silver! They did offer a hyper silver which was too bright and just didnt go!! The last place had the colour match pretty close to the factory colour, said he was hard for him to source the colour. He chemical dips them, sand blasts, powder coats then applies two coats of lacquer.

Here are the end results:





































Cant recommend the guy enough! The wheels are literally like brand new!


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

look great! Had mine (on my Mini thats now gone) refurbed (for kerbing ) by the BMW dealer (Elms in Stanstead), £75 all in and a great job.

Do like your MV alloys.


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## warmasice (Sep 24, 2006)

Dealers outsource, so they will call in a local refurbishment specialist that they regularly work with. But i know what you mean, its a pain when you end up kerbing mint alloys!

They first guy that did my wheels works for dealerships too and look at the mess he made!.. obviously i think this was a one off thing.

But yeh, happy with the end result!


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

much better! very nice


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## andyb (Jun 4, 2006)

Glad you got them sorted...but to be honest I`ve never believed anyone could properly refurb wheels on someones driveway.


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## warmasice (Sep 24, 2006)

I've applied two coats of FK 1000p sealant. Didnt give the wheels anymore gloss at all. Atleast i know they're protected for a few months.


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## MBK (Sep 7, 2009)

Could you please PM me the details for this place and how much it roughly cost you. Also do they repair kerb marks and minor imperfections?

The wheels look amazing and the colour is nearly spot on.

Thanks,

K


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## warmasice (Sep 24, 2006)

MBK said:


> Could you please PM me the details for this place and how much it roughly cost you. Also do they repair kerb marks and minor imperfections?
> 
> The wheels look amazing and the colour is nearly spot on.
> 
> ...


Will PM you now. Yep sorted out any kerb marks, all imperfections are removed.


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## 197F1 (Aug 23, 2008)

Can you PM me as well please along with price you paid.


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## Escort God (Feb 23, 2009)

much better now them wheels :thumb:


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## Shredder (Oct 10, 2009)

With that corrosion they needed stripping and blasting.

If you're pleased with the result, why not post on thread where they were done? (There have been comments on Midlands refurbishers before, so then we will know if it's one that has been previously recommended). :thumb:


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## SNAKEBITE (Feb 22, 2010)

Powder coating hould be more durable than the original paint shouldn't it?

Why are alloys so crap nowadays? The ones on my '97 Mondeo are mint apart from the slight kerbing. The paint holds up very well.


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## warmasice (Sep 24, 2006)

Lap Tab is one that is usually mentioned, but i used Bournes Powder Coaters as i prefered type of silver they had, i wanted the finish to be as close to factory as possible. You can checkout there contact details here:

http://www.bournespowdercoating.co.uk

£35 per wheel.

and yes powder coating is alot more durable. People powder coat their brake calipers. Its alot stronger than you think! Think of it as more of a hard enamel type coating rather than a plastic type of finish.


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## RobF50 (Aug 12, 2008)

Damn, that's really cheap actually !

Wonder if there is anyone in Surrey for that kind of price?


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## warmasice (Sep 24, 2006)

Update: after applying FK 1000p sealant i thought it didnt add much to the finish of the wheels. i put it down to them being newly clear coated and couldnt actually get any more reflective!

today i applied the sealant to the car and i must say its almost like theres a clear plastic wrapping around the car. its silver, so not much depth, but definately more reflective! and the bodywork and wheels are beeding nicely! much better than coly! and i thought that was good!


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