Wheel refurb / powder coating
Discussion
Looking to get all 4 wheels powder coated, have narrowed my options down to the following places:
Wheeltex, Portsmouth - http://www.wheeltex.co.uk/
The Alloy Clinic, Farnham - https://thealloyclinic.co.uk/
DW Wheels, Gosport - https://www.dwwheels.com/
MyAlloys, Basingstoke - https://myalloys.co.uk/
All have excellent 5/5 reviews, so can't see me having an issue with any but thought even better if someone on here can provide a recent recommendation.
Can't seem to make contact with DW Wheels through phone or e-mail though, so may just be between the other 3. Has anyone used any of these recently with excellent results?
Somewhere I won't be using, and for others reference if they're ever considering them:
The Wheel Specialist, Fareham - used these before, wheels were very averagely refurbished, lots of orange peel. Lots of other bad experiences from fellow petrol heads
Thanks in advance
Wheeltex, Portsmouth - http://www.wheeltex.co.uk/
The Alloy Clinic, Farnham - https://thealloyclinic.co.uk/
DW Wheels, Gosport - https://www.dwwheels.com/
MyAlloys, Basingstoke - https://myalloys.co.uk/
All have excellent 5/5 reviews, so can't see me having an issue with any but thought even better if someone on here can provide a recent recommendation.
Can't seem to make contact with DW Wheels through phone or e-mail though, so may just be between the other 3. Has anyone used any of these recently with excellent results?
Somewhere I won't be using, and for others reference if they're ever considering them:
The Wheel Specialist, Fareham - used these before, wheels were very averagely refurbished, lots of orange peel. Lots of other bad experiences from fellow petrol heads
Thanks in advance
Edited by JRC1 on Thursday 21st September 15:05
Some interesting further reading re The Wheel Specialist at Fareham, which also contains some better suggestions.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Thanks yeah saw that others have also had bad experiences at The Wheel Specialist.
I did see Alloy Wheel Repair in Southampton but too many poor recent reviews for me to consider them. They've got 4.6/5 with some quite bad recent reviews whereas the places I've shortlisted are all 5/5, was just curious if anyone on PH had used any of them recently.
I did see Alloy Wheel Repair in Southampton but too many poor recent reviews for me to consider them. They've got 4.6/5 with some quite bad recent reviews whereas the places I've shortlisted are all 5/5, was just curious if anyone on PH had used any of them recently.
JRC1 said:
Thanks yeah saw that others have also had bad experiences at The Wheel Specialist.
I did see Alloy Wheel Repair in Southampton but too many poor recent reviews for me to consider them. They've got 4.6/5 with some quite bad recent reviews whereas the places I've shortlisted are all 5/5, was just curious if anyone on PH had used any of them recently.
Thats fair enough. Shame if standards have slipped. I last used them in 2021 for the wheels on my wife’s S2000. They still look fresh and shiny! I did see Alloy Wheel Repair in Southampton but too many poor recent reviews for me to consider them. They've got 4.6/5 with some quite bad recent reviews whereas the places I've shortlisted are all 5/5, was just curious if anyone on PH had used any of them recently.
From your list OP, i've used The Alloy Clinic in Badshot Lea / Farnham a couple of times. First after we came out of lockdown in 2020 for a pretty bad condition set of EXIP alloys for my 205 GTI that came back looking factory and are still on the car and the finish is still holding up very well. Second time was 2022 getting the OE GTI Speedlines refurbed and again finish was excellent (although they're still in the garage as spares as i decided to stick with the EXIP's on the car).
ThunderSpook said:
Who did you go with in the end? I’m looking to get my 911 wheels done and TWS had been recommended.
Still haven't had them done! Sorn'd the car for winter so will be getting them done in a couple of months.I'm just keeping an eye on latest reviews in the meantime. MyAlloys seem good but expensive, they charge extra for keeping your car overnight for example and overall they come out the most pricey, but also look like the biggest setup with alignment facilities onsite etc.
Probably leaning towards The Alloy Clinic which was also recommended by the poster above or Wheeltex - both seem to consistently get 5* reviews. I'm sure I just got unlucky at TWS but I'm not the first person to have a bad experience there if you read threads on here, and there's so many other good places around it doesn't make much sense for me to go back there to be honest.
Will update when they're done.
JRC1 said:
ThunderSpook said:
Who did you go with in the end? I’m looking to get my 911 wheels done and TWS had been recommended.
Still haven't had them done! Sorn'd the car for winter so will be getting them done in a couple of months.I'm just keeping an eye on latest reviews in the meantime. MyAlloys seem good but expensive, they charge extra for keeping your car overnight for example and overall they come out the most pricey, but also look like the biggest setup with alignment facilities onsite etc.
Probably leaning towards The Alloy Clinic which was also recommended by the poster above or Wheeltex - both seem to consistently get 5* reviews. I'm sure I just got unlucky at TWS but I'm not the first person to have a bad experience there if you read threads on here, and there's so many other good places around it doesn't make much sense for me to go back there to be honest.
Will update when they're done.
I popped in to see Wheeltex today seeing as I was in the office and it was just around the corner. Didn’t seem quite as professional a setup as TWS, but it was cheaper and the guy seemed to know what he was talking about.
I got the impression their standard range of paints is not as vast as TWS, but they said they could order specific colours.
I got the impression their standard range of paints is not as vast as TWS, but they said they could order specific colours.
ThunderSpook said:
I popped in to see Wheeltex today seeing as I was in the office and it was just around the corner. Didn’t seem quite as professional a setup as TWS, but it was cheaper and the guy seemed to know what he was talking about.
I got the impression their standard range of paints is not as vast as TWS, but they said they could order specific colours.
Ah interesting - thanks for feeding back. I did e-mail them and they said the same about ordering specific colours etc. But you can't really beat popping by for an enquiry in advance if you're local as you get more of a feel for the place. If you're planning on getting your wheels done soon do feed back with who you ended up going with and the results as it'll likely be another month or two before I get mine done.I got the impression their standard range of paints is not as vast as TWS, but they said they could order specific colours.
ThunderSpook said:
Wheels were done last week. Looks like a good job to me.
They found a slight crack which they welded up before they did it to ensure it was well covered. I've had a close look at all the wheels and I'm very happy.
Brilliant, that's good to know! What was the turnaround time like and did they store your car free of charge whilst doing the work? Reason for asking is MyAlloys seem to charge extra for that.They found a slight crack which they welded up before they did it to ensure it was well covered. I've had a close look at all the wheels and I'm very happy.
I also noticed that their opening hours state 7 days a week so if they are able to get them done over a weekend that could sway me to go for them.
It's something I pondered about, but honestly I didn't ask. It's near the Mercedes garage so to be honest there's more expensive stuff to nick nearby anyway. They have got enough space inside for 1 car I reckon, and maybe another in the place next door which does tinting but I think is the same guy that owns both.
I've been meaning to update this, but have only just got round to it.
Well. I had an absolutely awful experience with Wheeltex. Dropped the car off, seemed ok, but quite a small set up on an industrial estate. Requested that my car could be stored in the unit and was told that wouldn't be a problem. Agreed a turnaround time of 2 days.
A day and a half in, I get a phone call to say the wheels are taking longer than expected, could I come 24 hours later. No problem, as long as they are done right.
A day later I get another phone call to say that they aren't happy with the finish, and can I come a couple of days later instead as they need to do the whole process again... Starting to worry a little bit now - a place with hundreds of 5* reviews - why are they struggling to refurb my wheels? Nothing out of the ordinary, just going for an OEM Audi finish.
Finally get a phone call to say they are ready, so I head down after work. Sadly this was back in March time so it was pretty dark by the time I got there. Had a look over the wheels as best as I could in the lighting that was present. They looked "ok" but I pointed out a few minor imperfections to the owner to which he replied "the age of the wheels mean those are just to be expected". Tired and not wanting to question any more, or wait for another 3 days for them to be done again with an hour of travel each way, I paid and left.
On the drive home, I noticed that I had awful wheel wobble at around 60mph - something I didn't have before I dropped the car off. The next morning in the daylight, I had a proper look at the wheels and was amazed at what I found.
Firstly, no wheel weights had been put back on any of the wheels! Secondly, well, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
This is just a selection, there were marks and imperfections all over each wheel. I called Wheeltex to explain. The wheel weight was put down to "they must have flown off" and the imperfections were still apparently due to the age of the wheels... !
Once I provided all of the pictures though, it was clear this was nothing age related and in fact, just an awful job. I had to semi-pursue using a chargeback with my bank but in the end did get a refund for the refurb element. I was still out of pocket for the journeys there and back, tyre disposal and valve replacement though - so even with the refund, the service and inconvenience left a sour taste.
In the end I went to MyAlloys, which is where I should have gone originally. They confirmed the age related stuff was a load of rubbish, and finished the wheels perfectly. They also confirmed that the wrong lacquer had been used, meaning the colour was completely out and that each wheel had been damaged by Wheeltex when they removed the old valves.
Here's a picture after they were refurbed by MyAlloys.
Did I just get unlucky? Wheeltex's reviews suggest I did. But I was, and still am, astounded that a place this highly rated would try to pull the wool over my eyes with all of the above stuff about the wheels being too old, or wheel weights that magically all fly off at the same time, and so on! Rather than just be transparent and say we're struggling with these wheels, for whatever reason, they bodged the job and still charged for it like they were finished perfectly. Based on my experience I would absolutely avoid them. Conversely, I would highly recommend MyAlloys who were incredibly professional from start to finish.
Well. I had an absolutely awful experience with Wheeltex. Dropped the car off, seemed ok, but quite a small set up on an industrial estate. Requested that my car could be stored in the unit and was told that wouldn't be a problem. Agreed a turnaround time of 2 days.
A day and a half in, I get a phone call to say the wheels are taking longer than expected, could I come 24 hours later. No problem, as long as they are done right.
A day later I get another phone call to say that they aren't happy with the finish, and can I come a couple of days later instead as they need to do the whole process again... Starting to worry a little bit now - a place with hundreds of 5* reviews - why are they struggling to refurb my wheels? Nothing out of the ordinary, just going for an OEM Audi finish.
Finally get a phone call to say they are ready, so I head down after work. Sadly this was back in March time so it was pretty dark by the time I got there. Had a look over the wheels as best as I could in the lighting that was present. They looked "ok" but I pointed out a few minor imperfections to the owner to which he replied "the age of the wheels mean those are just to be expected". Tired and not wanting to question any more, or wait for another 3 days for them to be done again with an hour of travel each way, I paid and left.
On the drive home, I noticed that I had awful wheel wobble at around 60mph - something I didn't have before I dropped the car off. The next morning in the daylight, I had a proper look at the wheels and was amazed at what I found.
Firstly, no wheel weights had been put back on any of the wheels! Secondly, well, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
This is just a selection, there were marks and imperfections all over each wheel. I called Wheeltex to explain. The wheel weight was put down to "they must have flown off" and the imperfections were still apparently due to the age of the wheels... !
Once I provided all of the pictures though, it was clear this was nothing age related and in fact, just an awful job. I had to semi-pursue using a chargeback with my bank but in the end did get a refund for the refurb element. I was still out of pocket for the journeys there and back, tyre disposal and valve replacement though - so even with the refund, the service and inconvenience left a sour taste.
In the end I went to MyAlloys, which is where I should have gone originally. They confirmed the age related stuff was a load of rubbish, and finished the wheels perfectly. They also confirmed that the wrong lacquer had been used, meaning the colour was completely out and that each wheel had been damaged by Wheeltex when they removed the old valves.
Here's a picture after they were refurbed by MyAlloys.
Did I just get unlucky? Wheeltex's reviews suggest I did. But I was, and still am, astounded that a place this highly rated would try to pull the wool over my eyes with all of the above stuff about the wheels being too old, or wheel weights that magically all fly off at the same time, and so on! Rather than just be transparent and say we're struggling with these wheels, for whatever reason, they bodged the job and still charged for it like they were finished perfectly. Based on my experience I would absolutely avoid them. Conversely, I would highly recommend MyAlloys who were incredibly professional from start to finish.
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