Location: Austin, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Houston, Dallas, Hong Kong, Elgin, etc.. Texas
#@%& shop scratched my HRE Wheels!!!
I wanted to get my new tires installed but did not want to risk getting the car damaged by the tire shop so I removed my HRE wheels and brought them into the local garage.
As I was handing the tires+wheels to the technician, I told him to be very careful as they were very expensive wheels. No more than 5 seconds later, he leaned them against the building and they fell over face down on a step. The damage is chipped clear coat, dents, scratches in 4 areas.
I took them back but before I did, I make them write up a note admitting they were responsible for the damage. The 'boss' won't be back to Monday.
Does anyone have recommendation where I can get them repaired? There are lots of wheel shops around the country, but which one do I trust with an HRE wheel? The center is clear coated brushed aluminum and the rim is polished aluminum only.
It looks like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I do know a very good place up here in the Washington DC region (in Maryland). They do a good job of repairing high end low profile rims and their finishing jobs are pretty spectacular. Surprisingly enough, car dealierships and repair shops use this outfit. They could fix your scuffs pretty easily. My guess is that there are other places that do similar work across the country. As with the one I know about, most of them probably do business through the mail as well.
Location: Austin, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Houston, Dallas, Hong Kong, Elgin, etc.. Texas
I emailed HRE to see if they will fix it.
The issue is these are 3 piece wheels not the typical factory one piece. The barrel is polished aluminum while the center is clear coated brushed finish. I think the right way to refinish is to disassemble, strip the center of the clear coat, machine the damage, reclear, then assemble.
The shop which caused the damage will probably suggest a cheap fix. That is not going to happen.
Location: Sometimes I wonder... why is that frisbee getting bigger? Then it hits me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mez
I emailed HRE to see if they will fix it.
The issue is these are 3 piece wheels not the typical factory one piece. The barrel is polished aluminum while the center is clear coated brushed finish. I think the right way to refinish is to disassemble, strip the center of the clear coat, machine the damage, reclear, then assemble.
The shop which caused the damage will probably suggest a cheap fix. That is not going to happen.
Bah, screw getting them fixed, have them replace it with a new one (Probably cheaper in the long run) then you have a proper "spare" incase something really bad happens.
Get a printed quote from HRE and provide that to the shop. Let HRE repair the wheel, they built it so they should be the best resource to get it refinished, and male the shop pay for all costs.
Location: Austin, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Houston, Dallas, Hong Kong, Elgin, etc.. Texas
Here is the final chapter. See the repaired rim picture below. It came out perfect.
After a lot of whining, crying, etc., I got $95 check from the shop. Their argument was he could get it repaired for that much if I let him do it, which was out of the question.
The quote from HRE was a lot more so I decided to try to fix it. I have a lot of experience with body work and this looked very simple. If I screwed it up, I could always send it back to HRE so there was nothing to be lost. This was only a cosmetic repair. If the rim was bent or broken, I would have sent it in to HRE without a second thought.
First, I had the tire removed then unbolted the center section from the barrel (outer rim). It was a simple matter of removing 40 small bolts. About 5 minutes.
I was quickly able to file off the damage to the barrel. I followed that up with 150 grit sand paper, then 220, then 320. I finished up with 1500 grit wet sandpaper then polished with Mother's polish. The barrel is polished aluminum and not clear coated, so this method is acceptable. Even under close examination, I can't see where it was fixed.
Next, I removed the clear coat with spray on paint stripper ($6) from the center section. Took about 15 minutes. I took a fine flat file to the 4 areas damaged. I followed that up with 150 grit sand paper, then 220, then 320 grit. To get the brushed finish, bolted the center section to the front hub and spun it while holding a fine wire brush against it. The surfaced looked exactly like the original but needed to be clear coated. I dropped it off at Wheel Technologies in Austin at noon Monday and got it back noon on Tuesday. Since they were only putting on the clear coat, it only cost $54 (incl. Tax). While you can buy spray cans of Clear wheel paint at Autozone, it will flake off (I tried this on another car). I thought about spraying it myself, but just the cost of the automotive type paint would have cost a lot more.
When I picked up the center section the following day, it looked perfect. I had to remove a few drips from the back side and the clear coat was tough as nails. I highly recommend Wheel Technologies for any of your rim repairs.
I bolted it back together, checked the run-out with a dial gauge, and had my new Firestone Wide Oval tire mounted & balanced which I wanted to get done in the first place. Total repair cost was $62, so I made $33 on the deal (excluding about 1 hour of my labor and gas to drop off at Wheel Technologies).
Last edited by Mez; 01-19-2008 at 05:50 PM.
Reason: sp
Corvette Store
#@%& shop scratched my HRE Wheels!!!
I do know a very good place up here in the Washington DC region (in Maryland). They do a good job of repairing high end low profile rims and their finishing jobs are pretty spectacular. Surprisingly enough, car dealierships and repair shops use this outfit. They could fix your scuffs pretty easily. My guess is that there are other places that do similar work across the country. As with the one I know about, most of them probably do business through the mail as well. 
I can't stand idiots that lack a sense of common sense. 
Drives me nutz. 
Glad it turned out okay.
