recommendation for wheel refinishing

rsporsche

rsporsche

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guys,

i would appreciate any recommendations on who to use for wheel refinishing (14" fps). what you paid per wheel for painting would be appreciated.

cheers + thanks
scott
 
There is a place next to my work that does this. I can take an FPS in and get a quote. I want to say that it's around $150 per wheel. That includes straightening. There is another shop by my house that is closer to $100 but the work isn't as nice.

The seattle shop is "complete wheel repair". I've used them before for a high frequency TIG weld on a cracked aluminum wheel. Don't forget that you can buy 7x14 FPS alpina-like wheels new for around $350/wheel. You are looking at $235 a wheel if you restore mine.
 
Scott:

I have used Wheel Wizard in Atlanta for several wheels, including my Alpinas, and have been happy with their work. Not the cheapest.

Don
 
thanks Don, i forget about them ... they are close to my house ... but they are expensive. i will give them a call.

Steve, DIY is an option i guess. what kind of paint?
 
Markos said:
There is a place next to my work that does this. I can take an FPS in and get a quote. I want to say that it's around $150 per wheel. That includes straightening. There is another shop by my house that is closer to $100 but the work isn't as nice.

The seattle shop is "complete wheel repair". I've used them before for a high frequency TIG weld on a cracked aluminum wheel. Don't forget that you can buy 7x14 FPS alpina-like wheels new for around $350/wheel. You are looking at $235 a wheel if you restore mine.
Click to expand...
Mark, i don't see the FPS wheels on realoem or the other on-line dealers. if i am not mistaken, weren't the fps wheels only 6" width? i do see the alpinas on realoem and getbmwparts ...
Part Number 36111117425 Part Name OBS-ALPINA WHEEL MSRP $599.81 Core $0.00 Save $119.96 Online Price $479.85
 
SEM satin black (or Rustoleum satin), Wurth Silver and Clear. Fill dings with JB Quick Weld, dry, file and/or block sand flush (I use a 1.5" x .5" wood block), self-etch prime and paint on a lazy susan preferably out of dusty environment. I paint the centers first, let dry a couple days, mask, then do the silver and clear.

About 2 wheels per can (more if doing insides) but get another for future touch ups:

http://www.autogeek.net/wurth-silver-paint.html

2 cans ought to do it for 4 wheels:

http://www.autogeek.net/wulasp.html





rsporsche said:
thanks Don, i forget about them ... they are close to my house ... but they are expensive. i will give them a call.

Steve, DIY is an option i guess. what kind of paint?
Click to expand...
 
rsporsche said:
Mark, i don't see the FPS wheels on realoem or the other on-line dealers. if i am not mistaken, weren't the fps wheels only 6" width? i do see the alpinas on realoem and getbmwparts ...
Part Number 36111117425 Part Name OBS-ALPINA WHEEL MSRP $599.81 Core $0.00 Save $119.96 Online Price $479.85
Click to expand...

Yeah we are talking about the same wheel (36111117425). They are made by FPS and have no Alpina stamp on them. They also have the extra five casting holes between the lugs. You can see a pic
of them on W&N. They are $394 on realoem. With a discount, CCA or through a vendor connection, you should be able to find them for under that $394 figure, but perhaps more than $350. I'm not sure why these shops are charging close
to $500. They look great though, much better than the 6" IMO. See below:


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=7013-USA-07-1974-E9-BMW-30CS&diagId=36_0366
 
Markos said:
Yeah we are talking about the same wheel (36111117425). They are made by FPS and have no Alpina stamp on them. They also have the extra five casting holes between the lugs. You can see a pic
of them on W&N. They are $394 on realoem. With a discount, CCA or through a vendor connection, you should be able to find them for under that $394 figure, but perhaps more than $350. I'm not sure why these shops are charging close
to $500. They look great though, much better than the 6" IMO. See below:


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=7013-USA-07-1974-E9-BMW-30CS&diagId=36_0366
Click to expand...

Realoem prices bear no resemblance to actual prices! (how many times have we posted this...) It's only to be used as an online catalog. Check online BMW dealers such as http://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/ or www.getbmwparts.com. From there you can see not only their discounted prices but the actual, real, current MSRP for a part so when your dealer tries to charge you 20% over MSRP you can tell him you know... I get 10% under true MSRP from my local dealer so unless buying several $100's of lighter parts he is the better deal since no shipping is charged, which is a very meaningful 'discount' for parts coming out of Germany. I just ordered a complete factory exhaust system from BMW for my 1800. Came from Germany to me in less than a week: NO shipping charge!! Is that a deal or what?! It's a big a$$ part to ship for free...
 
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Thanks Luis,

I was pulling $350 a wheel from a wheel respected member of this board. That was last summer and he could have been out of date to start. I didn't know that about realoem though. I've never seen that pricing discussion before. There was a thread a few months back asking if anyone actually buys from realoem. I suppose I need to spend more time on here. Yay! :D
 
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parts/shipping

I totally agree with Luis...bought a front windscreen for the 2002 from our (then, now gone as of 2011ish) dealer; free shipping, but also you can inspect and refuse if necessary...Wish we still had the convenience of a dealer nearby...
 
Markos said:
There is a place next to my work that does this. I can take an FPS in and get a quote. I want to say that it's around $150 per wheel. That includes straightening. There is another shop by my house that is closer to $100 but the work isn't as nice. The seattle shop is "complete wheel repair". I've used them before for a high frequency TIG weld on a cracked aluminum wheel.
Click to expand...
Update: I checked with both places above. Complete Wheel repair only repairs wheels, they won't restore a wheel. The shop by my house charges $125 a wheel. They only powder coat and recommended that one doesn't try to paint over the powdercoat. I also called Seattle Powder coat. They charge $350 to blast and coat the wheels in the color of your choice. They also sand down any curb rash, but do not fill in any voids. They said that you can paint the black ring over the powdercoat if you rough up the surface with a scotchbrite pad. As far as the satin paint goes, I also used SEM satin in the past.
 
I personally still prefer paint over powder coating. Packs tougher as a film but doesn't have great adhesion and once any part of it is compromised it'll trap moisture underneath. For non-polished wheels a good 2-part self etching primer is a better undercoat, on which you can put any top coat. Even with polished rims, I think I'd rather go with a conventional sprayed automotive clear coat that can be touched up and redone easily. And a pod clear looks better than clear powder coat IMHO. Best part is you can do the whole job at home for $120 in materials.
John
 
bfeng said:
I personally still prefer paint over powder coating. Packs tougher as a film but doesn't have great adhesion and once any part of it is compromised it'll trap moisture underneath. For non-polished wheels a good 2-part self etching primer is a better undercoat, on which you can put any top coat. Even with polished rims, I think I'd rather go with a conventional sprayed automotive clear coat that can be touched up and redone easily. And a pod clear looks better than clear powder coat IMHO. Best part is you can do the whole job at home for $120 in materials.
John
Click to expand...

John,

I also prefer paint. Plus, a lot of center caps are plastic which you can't powder coat.
 
rsporsche said:
guys,

i would appreciate any recommendations on who to use for wheel refinishing (14" fps). what you paid per wheel for painting would be appreciated.

cheers + thanks
scott
Click to expand...


Scott the guy who painted my car , currently working on Gary's car refinish's wheels, did a set of H and B centers for me, and does a lot of work for BBS holler at me if you want his contact info

BD
 
bdigel said:
Scott the guy who painted my car , currently working on Gary's car refinish's wheels, did a set of H and B centers for me, and does a lot of work for BBS holler at me if you want his contact info

BD
Click to expand...
thanks Brendan, Gary has already told me this when i was at his house on friday afternoon.

cheers
scott
 
DIY In Phoenx, our labor cost is reasonable. I didn’t touch my centers as they were in really good shape.The rims polished at $45 per, and the bolts and nuts chromed,IIRC, for .75 each. My wheels are syle 5s.Wheel polisher croaked though, maybe too much dust in his lungs as I never saw him with a mask on.

On this side of the river, many guys are using Nogoro Silver color to paint the centers

A fellow named Dave at Aardvark Racing in So. Cal puts out a beautiful set of restored wheels. You might give him a shout. I don’t know if he takes in business or is just a seller of his own parts.

If you do your own wheels, 19#-20# foot pounds per bolt is the correct torque. BBS will not give this info out, maybe due to liability, but I verified it with a shop in town and when I tore my wheels down, I used a beam torque wrench, and those were the same numbers.
 
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