January Club Night
Despite the cold (by Dorset standards) weather, there was an excellent turn-out of thirty-six members for our first meeting of the new-year, many of whom were no doubt drawn by the enticing prospect of a presentation from the owner of local wheel refurbishment specialist ‘Silver Wheels’ and they weren’t disappointed.
Silver Wheels
With a background in the OEM wheel-finishing industry, Marcus Beck made the decision to use his knowledge of paint and manufacturing processes to set up a wheel repair and refinishing business. He now supplies the trade and public alike with a refurbishment process that replicates the original finish as closely as possible or alternatively, can be finished in any colour or finish the customer desires. To illustrate what can be achieved, he brought some examples of his company’s work, which included a wheel which had been very badly curbed and had had one half refurbished, while leaving the other half in its damaged state. The repair was all but imperceptible, despite the wheel being a complex casting with very little room to re-work the rim due to the proximity of raised spokes. When asked how this was achieved, the reply was ‘by hand – it’s the only way we can replicate the correct profile. I have an ex-Sunseeker employee working for me who has an incredible eye for a ‘line’ and is very skilled with hand-tools’.
They have the skills and equipment to deal with most issues, from a simple colour change to corrosion repairs, crack detection and repair, trueing and split-rim refurbishment. All wheels are chemically stripped and inspected for damage which is made good before the surface is shot-blasted to create a key for the application of a powder-coat primer followed by a spray colour-coat and finally an acrylic powder-coat lacquer. After oven baking, the job is complete. Leave your car with Silver Wheels in Ferndown then return eight hours later and it will look as good as new (at least the wheels will…). They also refurbish and repaint brake calipers. Check their website for further details.
Having created a great deal of interest, there was an open Q & A session with lots of relevant questions from our members who were clearly very impressed and many of whom seemed keen to avail themselves of his service.
Recent R26 Events
After the presentation it was time to get down to R26 business and Tref opened with the announcement that Nick Hyde had decided to stand-down from the committee. Despite Nick’s absence, Tref felt it appropriate that his contribution to the Dorset region over the past ten years should be marked with a round of applause – and quite right too!
Member(s) of the Year
We then heard that Karl and Kevin had visited Tim and Lisa at Marque 21 to present them with the ‘Member of the Year’ trophy and they told our boys that they were truly overwhelmed when they heard that they’d won it. We all say it was well deserved!