Wheel Repair

[peteradie]

Hi All,
I have a 718 Boxster with 20-inch Carrera Sport Wheels.

I'm finding that despite my best efforts, the wheels are beginning to accumulate the odd stone chips and what I call very surface "gravel rash." At some point I think I will need to get the wheels repaired or refurbished to bring them back to showroom condition.

Is it just me that suffers this kind of wear and tear on the wheels? I park miles away from kerbs to avoid kerb scuffing, so it is frustrating to have these kind of blemishes.
I do often drive B roads that can have patches of loose gravel that have been dragged over from junctions with side roads, or from the verge.

What and where would you recommend to get the wheels restored to their former glory? I wondered whether Mitchell Inglis in Glasgow would be a good bet? I believe they are an approved Porsche repairer.

Is it a bad idea to accept the wheels will need reconditioned periodically and get them done once every 12- 18 months, as necessary?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

 

[kitchens]

Peter
Think the style of the wheel does not help ,I have the same style on my 981 they look like the silver Spyder wheels on my 987 but mine are gloss black with a fine silver band which if damaged requires to be diamond cut .Would not us MI .I would take the car to a good detailer to see if they can improve the finish and touch up chips then get them ceramic coated will give a stronger finish to the wheels .
Brian

 

[peteradie]

Peter
Think the style of the wheel does not help ,I have the same style on my 981 they look like the silver Spyder wheels on my 987 but mine are gloss black with a fine silver band which if damaged requires to be diamond cut .Would not us MI .I would take the car to a good detailer to see if they can improve the finish and touch up chips then get them ceramic coated will give a stronger finish to the wheels .
Brian

Thanks Brian.
Your reply makes sense. Yes, the style and the 20 inch size certainly means life is closer to the edge! Can you recommend any good detailers for this kind of work? I live in Edinburgh but I'd be happy to take the car to wherever the recommendation is.
Thanks,
Peter

 

[geedee]

I have had one set of wheels re-sprayed by a specialist wheel restoration business in Glasgow, though there are a few in Central Scotland, which I suspect would be easily found with a bit of Googling. Chances are that it may end up paying more for the same quality of work, by giving the task to a non wheel specialist who will probably then just contract the work out...?

Good luck with the task at hand.

 

[kitchens]

Peter
Think the style of the wheel does not help ,I have the same style on my 981 they look like the silver Spyder wheels on my 987 but mine are gloss black with a fine silver band which if damaged requires to be diamond cut .Would not us MI .I would take the car to a good detailer to see if they can improve the finish and touch up chips then get them ceramic coated will give a stronger finish to the wheels .
Brian

Thanks Brian.
Your reply makes sense. Yes, the style and the 20 inch size certainly means life is closer to the edge! Can you recommend any good detailers for this kind of work? I live in Edinburgh but I'd be happy to take the car to wherever the recommendation is.
Thanks,
Peter

You could try AutoBath in Wallyford 07508 690128 Ronnie Thomas did a complete detail on my sons 997 GTS was like a new car .also The Detailer Stirling 07762 711180 Clive Ford have seen his work also a perfectionist both know each other and have respect for each others work ,pop over and let then see what you want and they will advise ...please mention my name as good to let them know how you found them cant beat word of mouth . also a company in Falkirk get a great reputation is Skidz by a lot of owners use them for wheel refurb and tyres ,no experience myself as I live in the west .

 

[peteradie]

Thanks geedee. Sound advice.

 

[peteradie]

Thanks for the recommendations, Brian. That's exactly the information I was looking for.
As geedee pointed out there are people listed when you Google this, but I'd like to go with a recommendation from someone who's had experience of using them.
Joys of motoring, eh??

 

[geedee]

Apologies if I came across as teaching my granny to suck eggs... (-: I am suspicious that he Glasgow company I used to freshen up my wheels perhaps gave them a quick rub down/blast to key the surface of the old finish and laid a new coat on top, as opposed to blasting back to base metal, etch priming prior to laying down the new baked on finish.. Don`t know for sure but the paint seems thick around the wheel nut holes... Hmm..? But I could be wrong.

All that typed you are undoubtedly wise to seek a recommendation.. (-:

 

[peteradie]

Apologies if I came across as teaching my granny to suck eggs... (-: I am suspicious that he Glasgow company I used to freshen up my wheels perhaps gave them a quick rub down/blast to key the surface of the old finish and laid a new coat on top, as opposed to blasting back to base metal, etch priming prior to laying down the new baked on finish.. Don`t know for sure but the paint seems thick around the wheel nut holes... Hmm..? But I could be wrong.

All that typed you are undoubtedly wise to seek a recommendation.. (-:

Geedee, that's annoying that you've spent money and are left with a vague feeling that the job wasn't done correctly.
That is what I'm concerned about that might happen to me.

 

[geedee]

The lacquer finish on my old car`s wheels was breaking away and crud was working it`s way underneath spoiling the overall look of my car, they look a great deal better now.
I can not remember what I paid but was happy enough to have my wheels tidied up locally. I do appreciate that some folk are close to OCD about their cars, that ain`t me, having enjoyed touring some rough back roads in Southern Europe. However I do have a pal who is perhaps marginally OCD inclined, and some years back he took his wheels to somewhere in Stirling, which may tie in with that which Brian typed..

 

[peteradie]

Touring on the continent was partly why I bought the car in the first place. I've been as far as Florence in a previous car.
Hopefully, we will get touring again in the not too distant future.

 

[geedee]

Apologies for the thread drift.
Touring was a great adventure for us in our non-Porsche old open topped sports car, though on at least one occasion I was wishing I was in a Porsche with air-con while stuck in traffic in Naples melting. On that same trip we managed to enjoy an early morning Amalfi coast drive, just as the mist was being burned off by the sun, which kinda made up for the Naples experience.
We have been fortunate to drive down to the South of Spain and through the length of France, taking in both the 24hrs and the Classic... Lots of happy memories and pictures.. (-:

Hope the pox is under control soon and that everyone can return to enjoying touring in their Porsches again.

 

[peteradie]

Your trips sound fab. The Amalfi coast is a place I hope to visit in the future. Stunning area.

 

[geedee]

Again apologies for the thread drift... happy for the mods to bin my rambling if it creates issues. Old men and their stories... Sigh!

Touring was a tad adventurous for us in that we planned nothing other than one night ahead with only a mobile phone to assist with bookings and a map.. no such thing as sat nav for us in our old car... Thus we often were pleasantly lost stumbling upon interesting, and occasionally not so interesting places..(-: Of course neither of having language skills just added to the feeling of adventure... We used the tourist offices in whichever town we stayed at to get help to pick the following nights accommodation, we were fortunate in that it seems Tourist offices ever had an English speaking member of staff.
One amusing story was on leaving Naples on the road to Sorrento, and as the road turned a corner high up exposing a view over the bay at The Piano di Sorrento, we pulled into the large lay-by/viewpoint there and my good lady phoned her sister in law in Paisley to ask her to acquire the phone number of the tourist office in Sorrento, which she did, and when my good lady phoned the tourist office, she requested details of a suitable hotel with a pool, balcony with a view out over the bay and of course secure parking... No problemo came the reply... And when would madam like to book...? The poor chap was quite astounded when the reply was TONIGHT... (-: He hung up, phoned the hotel and called us back to confirm the booking, tourist offices do a great job.. Hotel was perfect, we stayed on for a few nights to drive the Amalfi and visit Pompeii... All worked out well in the end... Other than being rudely awakened when Vesuvius erupted..!!! Seems they have a late at night firework display for the tourists that would waken the dead. I suspect they use that to check all the plumbing systems in the local hotels are fully operational..!

Sorry, I could not work any wheels into that tale of times long gone.. (-:

 

[peteradie]

I like your style. We tend to book stops in advance. We like our touring adventure, but my better half wants to know well in advance where she'll be staying!