I am no expert but can’t see why not. In theory should be easier to get a good finish as they have not got the high polish finish of diamond cut
DIY diamond cut alloy refurb
- Thread starter Daveotto
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I am no expert but can’t see why not. In theory should be easier to get a good finish as they have not got the high polish finish of diamond cut
The only concern I'm having is whether these alloys are paint finished our not. I'm concerned that polish and laquer alone will give the right sort of finish.
Anyone able to confirm if these alloys are painted or not ?
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Anyone able to confirm if these alloys are painted or not ?
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Have you not got a better picture of your wheels? They look like they're a mix of painted and diamond cut.
I'll put a pic up in a bit....... Footie and
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I thought they were diamond cut still. My last A3 had them and am sure that's what I got told by the BMW chaps who refurbed them. The colour was slightly different as far as I remember but nothing major. I think they did something to all 4 so they matched.
They're painted, and for the diamond cut sections, it's clear coated. I recently refurbished a curb damage on mine, and the shop polished the diamond cut section without clear coating it, it looks obvious. It started to oxidize not long after too, I had to scotch brite to make it more like the diamond cut finish and then clear coat the raw part, it now looks decent for what it is...
The damage...
After professional polished... You can tell the huge differences under flash the raw polished finish vs the original diamond cut clear coated finish...
DIY scotch brited and clear coated... Not perfect, but at least it doesn't stick out under flash raw polished shinny...
The damage...
After professional polished... You can tell the huge differences under flash the raw polished finish vs the original diamond cut clear coated finish...
DIY scotch brited and clear coated... Not perfect, but at least it doesn't stick out under flash raw polished shinny...
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Food for thought....
I'm actually considering Plaatidip. I've seen sooner it's available from the US. www.dipyourcar.com
Just have concerns regarding longevity and durability but as a solution the idea is pretty good I think
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I'm actually considering Plaatidip. I've seen sooner it's available from the US. www.dipyourcar.com
Just have concerns regarding longevity and durability but as a solution the idea is pretty good I think
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Thy look like they've been painted.
Not to my knowledge but you never know I guess as I bought the car second hand
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Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Gave mine a bit of a go on Saturday, it was only a small/light area of damage so I was in 2 minds about bothering. Hoping I didn't make it worse.
It's smoothed out mostly though some of the damage is still there, maybe a bit more time with the sanding would have got rid of it. Could have possibly done a bit better job also at masking off the "good" area of the alloy.
I think its come out OK, after a bit of polishing it obviously is much shinier than the rest of the diamond cut alloy. If the sun catches it then it is a bit noticeable, otherwise at least with my eyes you have to be looking at the alloy going around it to try see where the damage was done. I put some clear coat on that I had from my touch up paint kit, not sure if this made too much difference, though I was only trying to apply a small amount.
I don't think I would want to tackle a big scuff this way (mine was similar size to Dave's in the original post), but for this I think it was alright
It's smoothed out mostly though some of the damage is still there, maybe a bit more time with the sanding would have got rid of it. Could have possibly done a bit better job also at masking off the "good" area of the alloy.
I think its come out OK, after a bit of polishing it obviously is much shinier than the rest of the diamond cut alloy. If the sun catches it then it is a bit noticeable, otherwise at least with my eyes you have to be looking at the alloy going around it to try see where the damage was done. I put some clear coat on that I had from my touch up paint kit, not sure if this made too much difference, though I was only trying to apply a small amount.
I don't think I would want to tackle a big scuff this way (mine was similar size to Dave's in the original post), but for this I think it was alright
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Yup look like my diamond cut ones, but yours have been fully painted now (so there's now paint over the what was the diamond cut face). Should be easier to repair as it's more like a paint job (and you might even be able to use a skim of filler?!). Hardest part will be blending the paint/lacquer into the rest of the wheel.
This is the way I plan to go next - fully paint rather than get diamond cut finish repair. The thicker paint/lacquer layer over the diamond cut finish will also help prevent corrosion and the inevitable 'white worms' on that surface and be easier to repair at home moving forwards. Not quite as shiny and won't catch the light as well as the diamond cut surface but whoever thought diamond cut was a good idea for road car wheels must have been a sales/marketing person not an engineer - seems a finish that's doomed to problems and inappropriate to the application.
Not good pics but oh well so before..
After, I tried to take the pic from a bit of a distance, the closer you get obviously the more noticeable (and shiny!) it looks. There are still a few "spots", but I don't think its too bad... hopefully people see it as an improvement at least!
This one was before I put on any clear coat, with the camera focussing on it, it was quite obvious, though I think it looked better in person
After, I tried to take the pic from a bit of a distance, the closer you get obviously the more noticeable (and shiny!) it looks. There are still a few "spots", but I don't think its too bad... hopefully people see it as an improvement at least!
This one was before I put on any clear coat, with the camera focussing on it, it was quite obvious, though I think it looked better in person
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DaytonaS3
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My favourite thread on this forum. Had an horrendous time with a curb entering a car park. Bad design but my fault for not concentrating. Heard the dreading scrape noise and couldn’t get out of it.
thankfully got it back to something more presentable. I did a bit more work on it to polish it up but forgot to take a photo.
Cheers @Daveotto appreciated.
thankfully got it back to something more presentable. I did a bit more work on it to polish it up but forgot to take a photo.
Cheers @Daveotto appreciated.
Love this thread! Great work so far by a lot of you guys!
@sunshinewelly
I’ve recently done the exact same thing to my A4 alloys (excuse the terribly focused iPhone image, it was dark and wet, hence the curb rash!), which I was pretty bummed out by.
I may try sorting this out myself in a similar way to the guys above, as it’s not enough damage to warrant a complete professional refurb. Saying that, a few of my other wheels have already got early stage ‘white worm’/corrosion and my car is still under warranty, so I may get hold of Audi and see what the deal is there regarding replacements. I’ve actually got water corrosion on the chrome trim around the rear quarter window, buts thats another story...
I’ve seen a lot of YouTube videos repairing this type of damage, and all seem to clear coat the entire wheel after the rub down/repair, not just the diamond cut section - Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the wheels on my (and your) Audi seem to be powder coated and only clear coated on the diamond cut sections.
This is my (and yours, I think!) wheel:
8W0601025EA
The titanium/grey area of the wheel is definitely more dull then the glossy diamond cut section. If this is the case then it would explain why the diamond cut sections tend to corrode rather quickly, not having a complete clear coat all round the edges!
Cheers,
Exx
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i am going to do the repair myself and if necessary will get the wheels repaired when i come to sell the car in a few years time
just wanted to thank the helpful people on this thread. Carried out the work myself using a combo of 400, 800 and 1200 grit paper and it now looks a lot better. I will probably spend a bit more time on it when we have a bit more dry weather but very happy with the result.
This is Fab! Has helped me realise that I can do my own repair on minor damage too. Right now I'll get some ugly messed up alloys repaired..
Thanks for this.
This is Fab! Has helped me realise that I can do my own repair on minor damage too. Right now I'll get some ugly messed up alloys repaired..
Thanks for this.
