subject: The Process of Alloy Wheel Refurbishment [print this page] The Process of Alloy Wheel Refurbishment The Process of Alloy Wheel Refurbishment
Refurbishment is the technique of making things look new, fresh and clean again. Similarly Alloy wheel refurbishment is the technique of making the wheels look new again. When wheels are in a very bad condition and needs to be replaced than refurbishment is an easy and a most inexpensive way to prevent them from reducing the looks of the car.
Every wheel requires a different combination of techniques and processes due to the varying types of damage and wheel finishes available. In most cases, a combination of some or all of the following processes is used to bring the wheels back to life. In cosmetic repairs, vehicle down time is critical and the level of damage is minimal, the much preferred technique is to carry out a complete alloy wheel refurbishment. Firstly the Chemical Stripping & Shot Blasting is done. Tyres are removed from the wheels. Then we chemically strip and gently shot blast the wheels to remove the old paint and lacquer. This also removes any corrosion and pitting on the surface. Now the damage surfaces are ready to be repaired. We now have a completely clean wheel and can identify the extent of the damage to the surface. The wheel is now repaired using a number of processes. Small dents, kerb damage and scuffs are repaired. After the repair process primer and paint is applied. A coat of powder primer is now applied over the whole wheel. This is done using the latest primer gun technology, and ensures a robust, ultra smooth base coat. Once applied, the wheels are gently heated, to ensure the powder primer can cure, and form a strong resilient coating. Despite the speed with which an alloy wheel needs to be painted, a great deal of care must be taken because the wheels are complex three dimensional shapes. This makes it very difficult to get an even coat of paint over all the surfaces. The greatest danger is that the paint will go on too thickly and run or sag. After primer and paint application lacquer and Ultra violet curing is done. A final coat of powder lacquer is applied to the whole wheel, to ensure it is fully protected from the elements. This is a particularly robust coating, and makes for easy cleaning, once back in daily use. This coat is then put under infrared heat to ensure a full cure, and crystal clear finish. Then the painting process is repeated with clear coat lacquer.
