PROCESS & FINISHES
Many motorists believe alloy wheel refurbishment involves simply sanding
down a scuff and spraying some paint out of an aerosol can.
Many motorists believe alloy wheel refurbishment involves simply sanding down a scuff and spraying some paint out of an aerosol can. While that describes a temporary mobile ‘smart repair’, a true, permanent alloy wheel refurbishment is an intensive, multi-stage industrial process. To achieve a finish that matches, or exceeds, the durability of a brand-new OEM wheel, the alloy must be taken back to its bare substrate and rebuilt using chemical etching, thermal degassing, and oven-cured polymers. Here is the exact step-by-step engineering process your wheels undergo at our St Day facility.
Tyres are safely dismounted using touchless tyre machines. Valves, balancing weights, and centre caps are removed and catalogued.
The bare wheel is inspected visually to check for structural buckles, flat spots, or hidden hairline fractures on the inner barrel.
The wheel is submerged in a heated, industrial acid bath for several hours to dissolve all old paint, lacquer, and severe corrosion back to bare aluminium.
The bare alloy is blasted with fine aluminium oxide. This removes stubborn impurities and creates a microscopic 'key' (texture) for the new coatings to grip.
Kerb gouges are machined smooth. Deep impacts or cracks are repaired using certified AC/DC TIG welding and hydraulic straightening presses.
The wheel is baked at 200°C to force trapped air and moisture out of the porous cast aluminium, preventing bubbles from forming in the final finish.
An electrostatically charged dry powder primer is sprayed onto the hot wheel, wrapping around the spokes and baking into a tough foundational layer.
Depending on the finish, either a powder or wet-spray base colour (e.g., silver, anthracite, black) is applied and cured in the oven.
If a diamond cut finish is required, the painted wheel is mounted on a CNC lathe, laser-probed, and the face is micro-machined to reveal bare metal.
A highly durable, high-gloss (or satin/matte) clear powder lacquer is applied over the entire wheel to seal the colour and protect against UV and salt.
The wheel undergoes a final bake at 200°C, causing the powder lacquer to cross-link and crystallise into an incredibly tough polymer shell.
The tyre is refitted with a new valve, inflated to the correct pressure, and the wheel is dynamically balanced using hidden stick-on weights.
The difference in longevity between a workshop refurbishment and a mobile driveway repair is night and day. Mobile operators cannot carry acid dipping tanks, media blasters, or 200°C curing ovens in a van. They simply sand the damaged area and spray wet paint over the top of old lacquer and road grime. Without chemical stripping, corrosion is never truly removed. Without oven curing, the paint never fully hardens. In Cornwall’s damp, salty coastal climate, a mobile repair will typically begin to flake, peel, or suffer from moisture ingress within a few months. Our workshop process is guaranteed to last for years.
A complete powder coating transformation typically takes 2 working days. Diamond cutting may take an additional day due to the precision CNC machining required. We offer secure vehicle storage while the work is completed.
If you are refurbishing standard colours (like gloss black or standard silver), we can usually achieve a near-perfect match. However, due to UV fading on your older wheels, we recommend refurbishing in pairs (both front or both rear) for absolute consistency.
Yes, but it is a highly specialised process. Split rims (two or three-piece wheels) must be completely dismantled, each component refurbished separately, and then meticulously rebuilt and resealed to correct torque specifications.
Yes. Powder coating is electrostatically applied and thermally cured, creating a polymer shell that is significantly thicker and more resistant to stone chips, brake dust, and salt corrosion than traditional wet spray paint.
Don’t settle for temporary driveway touch-ups. Book a full factory-grade refurbishment at our Cornwall engineering facility.
