Scratched my wheels :(

[JayCee88]

I am so ashamed of myself for being so careless but managed to scratch my pristine 18” wheel. 
 

Can’t take a picture at the moment as I am away but the wheel looks like the picture below. The scratch is about 6 inches long around the outside rim.
 

Is the wheel considered diamond cut? 
Can I refurbish the wheel via mobile method or does the alloy have to come off and go into the shop? How expensive would it be to repair?

 

 

[Swanthecat]

Yes this is indeed a diamond cut alley. If the scratch is not something you can live with then there are specialist firms who can refurbish this but it is more involved and costly than standard powder coated alloys as this will involve a milling operation to essentially mill the surface to restore the diamond cut face. I have seen prices of around £80 to £100 per wheel depending on size. Withou refurbishment you can expect to see the scratch develop white filaments/tendrils spreading under the lacquer as surface corrosion takes place and actually even without scratching some diamond cut alloy finishes are prone to this eventually. You might want to look on e bay as sometimes you can find single wheels with the same pattern available but the costs can vary.

[Derek.w]

I can see 2 chips on the rim if you can live with both lots of damage then just give the wheel a coat of polish like (Maxcoat) wheel guard to stop the elements getting under the its nice alloy finish.

[JayCee88]

Thanks both for the replies. I did some research on diamond cut restoration and it can be quite expensive, plus for my case might not be restorable.

I just got back and inspected the damage and it is pretty deep 😞 I will have to live with it as I cannot afford a repair at the moment. 
Used alloys on eBay are £250+
I will apply some protectant as advised. 
 

edit: took out small chunk of tyre as per picture. This looks like it’s meant to be protecting the rim so I guess it’s ok not needing new tyres?

 

[JayCee88]

15 hours ago, Derek.w said:

I can see 2 chips on the rim if you can live with both lots of damage then just give the wheel a coat of polish like (Maxcoat) wheel guard to stop the elements getting under the its nice alloy finish.

Cheers. That’s not my rim, it’s an advert for used rim on eBay.
 

I have just got back back managed to inspect and take a picture. 

[JayCee88]

15 hours ago, Swanthecat said:

Yes this is indeed a diamond cut alley. If the scratch is not something you can live with then there are specialist firms who can refurbish this but it is more involved and costly than standard powder coated alloys as this will involve a milling operation to essentially mill the surface to restore the diamond cut face. I have seen prices of around £80 to £100 per wheel depending on size. Withou refurbishment you can expect to see the scratch develop white filaments/tendrils spreading under the lacquer as surface corrosion takes place and actually even without scratching some diamond cut alloy finishes are prone to this eventually. You might want to look on e bay as sometimes you can find single wheels with the same pattern available but the costs can vary.

Thanks. I will try to clean up the scratch and apply some protectant. Not in a position financially at the moment to purchase new alloys but will keep eye out on eBay.

 I’ve seen a few around but they are £250+ each. 
 

[tfc]

You can buy some rim protectors to fit around the outer edge called Rim blades.

[JayCee88]

30 minutes ago, tfc said:

You can buy some rim protectors to fit around the outer edge called Rim blades.

That’s the plan. I might clean it up with some wet and dry and metal polish and apply clear lacquer to protect. 
 

I have been recommended a mobile repair person by trusted local mechanic mate so will get some quotes. However definitely getting some rim protectors. 

[TonyHSD]

Trek Corolla has a different pattern alloys to all other trim levels. 
This eBay one it’s not the same . 
You better leave it as is because these crazy low profile wheels and tyres sizes bring only issues and not a single benefit. , likely to follow more damage. Many used Corolla with 18” wheels has their wheels refurbished but diamond cut is ultra expensive and most of them are now just one colour, grey., still looks good but it is a sign of previous wheel damage. 
If me I will change  to better size 17 or 16 instead of spend money on refurbishment as those are horrible, it’s not about if but when this will happen again.  All of us often or rarely touch the kerb when parking or do manoeuvres and with these rims the results are obvious, definitely not a suitable combo for Corolla. 

[JayCee88]

44 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Trek Corolla has a different pattern alloys to all other trim levels. 
This eBay one it’s not the same . 
You better leave it as is because these crazy low profile wheels and tyres sizes bring only issues and not a single benefit. , likely to follow more damage. Many used Corolla with 18” wheels has their wheels refurbished but diamond cut is ultra expensive and most of them are now just one colour, grey., still looks good but it is a sign of previous wheel damage. 
If me I will change  to better size 17 or 16 instead of spend money on refurbishment as those are horrible, it’s not about if but when this will happen again.  All of us often or rarely touch the kerb when parking or do manoeuvres and with these rims the results are obvious, definitely not a suitable combo for Corolla. 

Thanks for the feedback. 
My concern about leaving it as it is is that it will rust and affect the integrity of the rim. I don’t want a cracked rim as a result of this. I am more concerned about the integrity of the rim rather than cosmetic. 
 

I will see what the mobile repair guy says.  Am surprised that diamond cut alloys can be repaired mobile. 
 

 

[Derek.w]

8 hours ago, JayCee88 said:

Thanks both for the replies. I did some research on diamond cut restoration and it can be quite expensive, plus for my case might not be restorable.

I just got back and inspected the damage and it is pretty deep 😞 I will have to live with it as I cannot afford a repair at the moment. 
Used alloys on eBay are £250+
I will apply some protectant as advised. 
 

edit: took out small chunk of tyre as per picture. This looks like it’s meant to be protecting the rim so I guess it’s ok not needing new tyres?

 

Give it a light rub with some very fine emery paper 2000 grit  just in the dammaged area keep off the black area with it.

Then seal it with some wax guard.

[Swanthecat]

4 hours ago, JayCee88 said:

Thanks for the feedback. 
My concern about leaving it as it is is that it will rust and affect the integrity of the rim. I don’t want a cracked rim as a result of this. I am more concerned about the integrity of the rim rather than cosmetic. 
 

I will see what the mobile repair guy says.  Am surprised that diamond cut alloys can be repaired mobile. 
 

 

I don’t think the corrosion would seriously affect the integrity of the rim. It’s more a cosmetic issue as the creeping white corrosion is merely under the lacquer surface 

[McGeoch]

5 hours ago, JayCee88 said:

I will see what the mobile repair guy says.  Am surprised that diamond cut alloys can be repaired mobile. 
 

 

I’d be surprised if a mobile repair guy can repair a diamond cut alloy - Diamond cut alloys need to go on a lathe so not something I’d expect a mobile repair guy to carry around.

You really need to take it to a repairer that specialises in diamond cut alloys. You’ll be looking at £100-£200 for a proper “like new” repair and they’ll need to take the tyre off the alloy to repair it.

[Shared]

JD Wheels offer a mobile diamond cutting service with CNC lathes mounted in vans but I dread to think of the cost, I also think they only operate in the greater Liverpool area, I think there are others who do mobile CNC work though these days.

[Roker]

Generally aluminium is surfaced anodised to prevent weather deteriation,  if the anodising is removed then the typical rot occurs which is a raised white powdery substance 

[Guest]

You're probably better letting this get worse before getting the whole thing refurbed. I'd take my chances with that sort of minimal damage over a few year period rather than letting someone strip the whole thing down and possibly rush the repairing process and having the whole thing go bubbly/flakey before its time.  

Maybe stick away £20 a month for two years or so then in a couple of years, once they're potentially more battered up, the money will be waiting for you to have the entire thing done.  Means any further damage can be done guilt free as well? 

[McGeoch]

8 hours ago, Shared said:

JD Wheels offer a mobile diamond cutting service with CNC lathes mounted in vans but I dread to think of the cost, I also think they only operate in the greater Liverpool area, I think there are others who do mobile CNC work though these days.

In my experience, although a lot of companies offer diamond cut alloy repairs, there are very few companies that do a really good job.

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, SB1500 said:

You're probably better letting this get worse before getting the whole thing refurbed. I'd take my chances with that sort of minimal damage over a few year period rather than letting someone strip the whole thing down and possibly rush the repairing process and having the whole thing go bubbly/flakey before its time.  

Maybe stick away £20 a month for two years or so then in a couple of years, once they're potentially more battered up, the money will be waiting for you to have the entire thing done.  Means any further damage can be done guilt free as well? 

That was my point too. 
You see, icon owners on 16” wheels almost never have these problems , their tyres are twice as cheap and have huge choices.

Toyota can offer 20”+ if they want but just if they can give an option to customers to choose their wheel sizes when ordering new cars will be great.
They only ever did it on Prius you can buy top spec with 15” instead of regular 17”.  It is so funny to see here and anywhere else how owners believe that these big wheels and low profile tyres make the car handle much better where even Toyota official publicly announced that their choice for huge wheels with low profile tyres is purely based on look and not performance or efficiency. 

[McGeoch]

59 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

It is so funny to see here and anywhere else how owners believe that these big wheels and low profile tyres make the car handle much better where even Toyota official publicly announced that their choice for huge wheels with low profile tyres is purely based on look and not performance or efficiency. 

Exactly!

Diamond cut alloys do look good but they are totally impractical. Even a small stone chip will let water under the lacquer of the alloy and it’ll turn white.

I have 17” diamond cut alloys on mine which were standard on it. I’ll look after them as best as I can because I know they’re expensive to replace or repair.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

You see, icon owners on 16” wheels almost never have these problems , their tyres are twice as cheap and have huge choices.

I learnt this the hard way with my DS3 in 2020/2021.  Around £130 a wheel for the 17" alloys due to the weird size / not common tyre application for the size / class of car.  That was for Micheling Cross Climate 2's / Pilot Sport 4's which I always opted for. Going budget didn't bring it down too much either.   Whereas a couple of friends with DS3s (and my mums 208 at the time) could get the same brands / models for £80 or so.  All because of the stupid relatively niche size of rim. 

I always had doubts about alloys 'handling better' in real terms.  Seem much more fragile, certainly harder to clean. I miss my Fiat Panda. First one.. when I chipped or broke a wheel trim could just replace it. But the plainer design was much easier to clean and cheaper to replace every few years. With that car too, a budget tyre was under £40, but a decent brand was around £45-60 - although some of the fun tyre models like Pilot Sport, forget about it. Not that it mattered in that car though. Steel wheels too, no issue of ruining them and if you do, cheap and easy to replace as well. 

The DS3 had every feature under the sun including nice diamond cut alloys, but PSA are plagued with corrosion even within the warranty period even on unscuffed or unchipped wheels.. they replaced all four of mine out of warranty at 4 years old, but promised me that the same would happen again. 

I miss how good they looked, but then I also don't waste any time worrying or losing sleep on my standard Avensis alloys. If I bought a car new I'd opt for standard alloys going forward. Some things are too stylish for their own good, I'm happy to say I once had the cool looking wheels! 

[Shared]

1 hour ago, SB1500 said:

I learnt this the hard way with my DS3 in 2020/2021.  Around £130 a wheel for the 17" alloys due to the weird size / not common tyre application for the size / class of car.  That was for Micheling Cross Climate 2's / Pilot Sport 4's which I always opted for. Going budget didn't bring it down too much either.   Whereas a couple of friends with DS3s (and my mums 208 at the time) could get the same brands / models for £80 or so.  All because of the stupid relatively niche size of rim. 

I always had doubts about alloys 'handling better' in real terms.  Seem much more fragile, certainly harder to clean. I miss my Fiat Panda. First one.. when I chipped or broke a wheel trim could just replace it. But the plainer design was much easier to clean and cheaper to replace every few years. With that car too, a budget tyre was under £40, but a decent brand was around £45-60 - although some of the fun tyre models like Pilot Sport, forget about it. Not that it mattered in that car though. Steel wheels too, no issue of ruining them and if you do, cheap and easy to replace as well. 

The DS3 had every feature under the sun including nice diamond cut alloys, but PSA are plagued with corrosion even within the warranty period even on unscuffed or unchipped wheels.. they replaced all four of mine out of warranty at 4 years old, but promised me that the same would happen again. 

I miss how good they looked, but then I also don't waste any time worrying or losing sleep on my standard Avensis alloys. If I bought a car new I'd opt for standard alloys going forward. Some things are too stylish for their own good, I'm happy to say I once had the cool looking wheels! 

The hardest wheels I ever had to clean were these 18" Style 42's on my E39 528i ..As soon as I fitted them I realised that while they looked absolutely stunning they turned a very comfortable mile muncher into something quite a bit more crashy,  Then I heard a phrase quite a few BMW owners repeated, 19's for pain, 17's for sane, although I loved the look of the split rims they transformed the car negatively too much, I went to 17" style 66's and regained some comfort.

Incidentally, whilst I had those split rims I tried most of the "specialised" wheel wax's, none of them worked as well not had the longevity of the wax I've used on just about every car I've ever owned, Collinite 476s, two caots of that will last 12 months providing you dont wash at a jetwash/handcarwash etc that uses tfr to remove grime.

 

My current Avensis has standard 16" alloys, in a pretty poor state atm, but even if I change them I'll be sticking to 16" rims & relatively fat tyres, I'm preferring substance over style these days, our roads dont suit 19" rims and above sadly, although I was never a fan of the rubber band round an oildrum look anyway.

[Cyker]

I must admit, I'm so glad I stuck the 15" steels on mine - It's removed so much anxiety from hitting potholes or kerbing the wheels!

The improved mpg is a nice bonus too