Alloy Wheel refurbishment options

[AndrewA]

Hi all,

I'm after some opinions here, please.

I've acquired some damage to the alloy wheels on my CUPRA as we all do eventually. I've had the car just over a year, but it seems that just before I purchased it, the dealer had the diamond-cut alloys redone, and it may not have been the first time. The result? They've been worn down too much to be cut on a lathe again.

Called in at a bodyshop recently to get an opinion - I had been hoping for a simpler repair job, but after looking at the wheels (2 with notable damage and others with the usual minor stone chips etc) the advice was to basically get all four wheels done, chemically dipped, reprimed and repainted in a single colour - losing the 'diamond cut' style. This way, they would be more resistant to future scuffs and easier to patch up in future. Obviously I can choose the colour as well. Downside? I'm not sure how good these wheels will look in a single colour.

The other two wheels on the car are fine for now - not perfect, but I'm ok with them in their current state.

Are there better or practicable alternative options? I've been quoted £480 for the above work for the 4 wheels.

How easy is it to source genuine wheels which match the same design? How costly are they?

Or, alternatively, what's it like changing to four completely different non-OEM aftermarket wheels. Cost of fitting?

If I go ahead with the works, what are people's thoughts on choosing a final colour? The wheels are obviously predominantly black at present with silver highlights, but I'm wondering if dark grey, to match the wing mirrors and accents in the front bumper, would work better?

 

[Lucas90]

I've got the same alloys and had a similar issue a few years ago, I took the opportunity to upgrade to some aftermarket alloys which I fancied doing at some point anyway.

A full set of Racingline r360 wheels was about the same as 1 genuine alloy:

SEAT Leon Cupra e-Hybrid 2020-2022 19" Alloy Wheel

SEAT Direct Parts | 19" Alloy Wheels | 5FA601025F1OV| 5FA601025F 1OV| Genuine SEAT Parts & Accessories Delivered Straight To Your Door

seatdirectparts.co.uk

You'll be able to get replicas for cheaper or used alloys on ebay but personally I would go with paint all 1 colour. I would say either a dark silver or grey would look good on your car

Black may look lost on a dark colour car like yours. This is what they look like fully 1 colour which I think is quite nice and any future scuffs can be touched in easily.

 

[SRGTD]

@AndrewA - If you decide to stick with your original alloys and get them refurbished in a single colour, I’d personally go for one of the following colours (I’d go for a gloss powder coat finish); smoked chrome / shadow chrome, dark silver, or a mid anthracite. IMHO each of those colours hide dirt pretty well - much better than say a gloss black finish. So that you can see what shadow chrome looks like, check out the picture in alloys in post no. #15 at the link below;

OEM 19" wheels in a different colour

Hi, I'm getting the cupra wheels refurbed and contemplating getting rid of the diamond cut and going for a single colour. Has anyone powder coated the wheels and have you got any pics? Can't decide if the wheels will suit bronze or anthracite! Cheers Stuart

www.seatcupra.net

To get a high quality professional refurb, then I’d say that price wise, you’re probably looking at prices starting from around £100 - £120 per wheel plus VAT. Most professional alloy wheel refurb companies will have colour samples of the colours they offer to help you select your preferred colour.

Personally speaking, I would always favour a single colour powder coated finish with good durability over a diamond cut finish which has poor durability and as you’re aware, there’s a limit to the number of times diamond cut alloys can be refurbished in a diamond cut finish (usually a maximum of twice). My current car has diamond cut alloys but if there had been the option of a set of single colour powder coated alloys when I bought the car, that’s what I would have gone for, even if it was an extra cost option as I really dislike alloys with a diamond cut finish.

If you did decide to go for non-OEM aftermarket alloys, be aware it’s considered to be a modification for insurance purposes, so you’d need to inform your insurance company who may charge you an additional premium.

Whatever you decide to do, please post up some pictures of your car with its newly refurbished or new wheels fitted.

 

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.
If you decided to go with some aftermarket wheels and have any issues with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[Cupra306Form]

Alloy wheel world are a decent price, almost as cheap to replace a diamond cut as to get one refurbed.

Alloy Wheel World

Wheels, Tyres, Nuts and Bolts etc, we have them to supply to our customers at the best of our abilities, while providing a comfortable experience to upgrade your vehicle to the next level. Choose from a variety of alloys with unique designs and for any vehicles such as Audi, BMW, Ford, Hyundai.

alloywheelworld.com

A formentor wheel - copper or std 18" is £155

 

[AndrewA]

I'm still mulling this one over. Another local alloy wheel company has looked at the wheels and says they can still repair the damage and do more diamond cutting on them. Didn't seem too bothered by the fact that there was no much 'raised' metal left. They have good reviews on Google, so I am considering getting them cut again.

That's for the following reasons:

* Cost
* Retain OEM wheels
* Simplicity

However, I am conscious that longevity might not be the case with this approach. Since I've only had the car a year, and plan to keep it for at least 5, it's not like I'm getting this done to assist in a sale as many people do. @Lucas90 The wheels you posted do look good in black, so that's reassuring to see. Thank you for sharing the image of the same type of wheel. Did you subsequently choose to change the wheels because you weren't convinced with the paint job you had done?

 

[adamski333]

As and when this happens to me I will buy some aftermarket ones to use during summer etc and keep the originals for winter.

I have previously had alloys powder coated also, which came out really nice.

 

[SRGTD]

As and when this happens to me I will buy some aftermarket ones to use during summer etc and keep the originals for winter.

I have previously had alloys powder coated also, which came out really nice.

I would do the opposite if your original alloys are diamond cut; run the original diamond cut alloys on the car during the summer months and I’d get a set of powder coated aftermarket alloys for winter use.

Powder coated alloys have good durability against winter road conditions whereas diamond cut alloys generally do not. Diamond cut alloys on a car that’s used as a daily driver during the winter months on roads covered in salt, grit and snow / slush isn’t a great combination if you want to preserve the diamond cut finish and avoid them succumbing to white worm corrosion.

 

[adamski333]

I would do the opposite if your original alloys are diamond cut; run the original diamond cut alloys on the car during the summer months and I’d get a set of powder coated aftermarket alloys for winter use.

Powder coated alloys have good durability against winter road conditions whereas diamond cut alloys generally do not. Diamond cut alloys on a car that’s used as a daily driver during the winter months on roads covered in salt, grit and snow / slush isn’t a great combination if you want to preserve the diamond cut finish and avoid them succumbing to white worm corrosion.

I meant when my diamond cut wheels are fubard I would use them as winter wheels as they will already be knackered.

I'd then get another set of wheels for the summer and not care about the original diamond cut wheels, or just powder cut the diamond ones like I have done before

 

[Rob66]

How about getting all 4 done bi-tone (bright silver and satin black) Apart from the reflection of the diamond cut finish will look great i have seen it done before.

 

[SRGTD]

I meant when my diamond cut wheels are fubard I would use them as winter wheels as they will already be knackered.

I'd then get another set of wheels for the summer and not care about the original diamond cut wheels, or just powder cut the diamond ones like I have done before

Ah, I didn’t realise your diamond cut alloys were past their best.

How about getting all 4 done bi-tone (bright silver and satin black) Apart from the reflection of the diamond cut finish will look great i have seen it done before.

Yes, I’ve seen alloys refurbished in bi-tone to replicate a diamond cut finish; they looked good with the added benefit that they don’t have the usual downsides of diamond cut alloys. From what I remember reading on other forums, not all wheel refurbishers will do a bi-tone powder coat finish; I imagine it’s quite labour intensive as there’d be quite a bit of precision masking up to do after the first colour has been applied before applying the second (silver) colour to the parts that would normally be diamond cut. More labour intensive would also mean more expensive than single tone powder coating.

 

[tracktoy]

I bought a set of powder coated stock weels from a member on here many years ago and they looked good and did not suffer like the diamond cut ones.

With regards to the bi-tone powder coat, Couple years ago I had my second set of wheels powder coated and asked for this, all of the places I approached said no and also said it would be expensive as its not a guaranteed straightforward process and there are lots of failures so they have to start all over again. I have also seen it done but where i live nobody wanted to do it (although they had in the past).