Diamond Cut Wheels
Discussion
Long time lurker 1st time poster here, so here goes....
Now the weather is better(hopefully) and the salt has gone im going to get my wheels refurbed after inheriting some surface damage from the previous owner. My question is.....Porsche Cayman S with Carrera Sport wheels, are these wheels diamond cut on the rim?
I'm aware they are painted in the middle but need to know if the rim is diamond cut. The lacquer has gone 'cloudy' in a couple of locations and 3 of the wheels have strange 'chips' in the rim surface. The wheels havent been kerbed but do have surface damage near the rim.
Any info is appreciated
Baz
Now the weather is better(hopefully) and the salt has gone im going to get my wheels refurbed after inheriting some surface damage from the previous owner. My question is.....Porsche Cayman S with Carrera Sport wheels, are these wheels diamond cut on the rim?
I'm aware they are painted in the middle but need to know if the rim is diamond cut. The lacquer has gone 'cloudy' in a couple of locations and 3 of the wheels have strange 'chips' in the rim surface. The wheels havent been kerbed but do have surface damage near the rim.
Any info is appreciated
Baz
Madmark911 they are indeed those wheels.
The 'Clouds' and 'chips' are on the flat surface of the rim edge that you can see in the picture. The actual edge of the rim where you'd expect kerbing to occur has no damage.
With this in mind maybe i can get away with having the wheels 'refinished' rather than turned because of the imperfection not being on th rim edge. i.e. the is no damage as such, its just the finish/lacquer has become tarnished
The 'Clouds' and 'chips' are on the flat surface of the rim edge that you can see in the picture. The actual edge of the rim where you'd expect kerbing to occur has no damage.
With this in mind maybe i can get away with having the wheels 'refinished' rather than turned because of the imperfection not being on th rim edge. i.e. the is no damage as such, its just the finish/lacquer has become tarnished
Ok - lets clear something up here.
"Diamond cut" is a fancy sales or marketing term for "turned" or "machined".
That is to say, the surface of the wheel has been machines, using a lathe or a boring machine, to produce a machined machined finish. A lathe is most common.
There are no diamonds invloved here.
The "diamond" aspect of the term, refers to a cutting tip of the tool. Alloy wheels are as soft as butter and a standard high speed steel (HSS) tip is all that is required when machining them.
If you want the suface re-machined, this will need to be done by a professional outfit, such as Lepsons.
Wicked Wheels et al, cannot do this in their van.
"Diamond cut" is a fancy sales or marketing term for "turned" or "machined".
That is to say, the surface of the wheel has been machines, using a lathe or a boring machine, to produce a machined machined finish. A lathe is most common.
There are no diamonds invloved here.
The "diamond" aspect of the term, refers to a cutting tip of the tool. Alloy wheels are as soft as butter and a standard high speed steel (HSS) tip is all that is required when machining them.
If you want the suface re-machined, this will need to be done by a professional outfit, such as Lepsons.
Wicked Wheels et al, cannot do this in their van.
I second Chris at Exel Wheels, he did a great job with my GT3 Split Rims, he not only removes the wheels and gives you replacements whilst the job is being done at Lepsons (Probably the best place to have them done), he will also act as quality control and be able thoroughly check them before returning with your new refurbed wheels. He can also source centre caps and bolts, as well as well priced tyres if you need them as well. Top bloke!
Baz The b
d said:
d said: Madmark911 they are indeed those wheels.
The 'Clouds' and 'chips' are on the flat surface of the rim edge that you can see in the picture. The actual edge of the rim where you'd expect kerbing to occur has no damage.
With this in mind maybe i can get away with having the wheels 'refinished' rather than turned because of the imperfection not being on th rim edge. i.e. the is no damage as such, its just the finish/lacquer has become tarnished
The 'Clouds' and 'chips' are on the flat surface of the rim edge that you can see in the picture. The actual edge of the rim where you'd expect kerbing to occur has no damage.
With this in mind maybe i can get away with having the wheels 'refinished' rather than turned because of the imperfection not being on th rim edge. i.e. the is no damage as such, its just the finish/lacquer has become tarnished
Right - same as my (small) issues. However I understand that it's quite difficult to do the wheels without doing the diamond cut edge as well. The best refurbishers seem to acid dip first, some sandblast, then paint, then diamond cut the rim and lacquer over the top (keeping the wheel hub faces clean and unpainted alloy). Personally I'm waiting until they get much worse and then I'm going to get the full works done on them.MM.
All2Chewy said:
I second Chris at Exel Wheels, he did a great job with my GT3 Split Rims, he not only removes the wheels and gives you replacements whilst the job is being done at Lepsons (Probably the best place to have them done), he will also act as quality control and be able thoroughly check them before returning with your new refurbed wheels. He can also source centre caps and bolts, as well as well priced tyres if you need them as well. Top bloke!
Thirded - Chris sorted the hollowspokes on my 993 turbo. There is a guy who genuinely cares about providing an excellent service.
I know it's not on any fixed price servicing menu I've ever seen, I must be going to the wrong places!EVOeng said:
I would avoid diamond cutting - the wheels can often go flakey quite quickly; I much prefer ball polished as the finish is much closer to chrome.
It will make the rim of the wheel much nicer!
It will make the rim of the wheel much nicer!
A machined or diamond cut finish gives little or no adhesion to most laquers used for wheel refinishing. Hence the slightest impact from a stone damages the laquer and breaches the protective layer, this allows moisture ingress between the laquer and the machined finish of the wheel, this quickly leads to the machined finish oxidising and the laquer initially going milky, then flaking off.
Diamond finish is fine if you live in warm, dry climates, pretty useless in the UK though.
If you want a brightly finished rim that will be durable, paint it with one of the modern bright/mirrow finishes http://www.aerocoat.net/powdercoatfinishes2009.htm or anodize it.
Edited by Slippydiff on Saturday 24th March 08:10
Nobby Diesel said:
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is ball polishing?
I will try and post an image tomorrow as it will be easier to show the difference between ball polished and diamond cut wheels.For now though, here is a small extract from the BBS website.
"Ball Polishing:
Ball polishing is more than just a surface finish as it considerably strengthens the wheel's surface. During this process, the light alloy wheels are placed in a large, vibrating rotation cylinder. Inside the cylinder the wheels are polished with millions of tiny stainless steel ball bearings. This not only strengthens and hardens the wheels, it also leaves them with an unbeatable shine."
http://www.bbsalloywheels.co.uk/manufacturing/bbs-...
Hope this helps.
Martian O said:
Slippydiff said:
....Diamond finish is fine if you live in warm, dry climates, pretty useless in the UK though....
My 997.1 Turbo wheels are diamond cut, five years old and still like new. It hasn't been used for the past two Winters though and I do have PCCBs so no brake dust. 
The RUF wheels used on the 964/5 are also susceptible to the same issue.
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