Fixing Alloys
A friend of mine who recently rolled a Prelude SH (months ago!) should have it out of the shop this week. We stopped by to see it. As an aside, Autometric of Royal Oak, MI, does a rather amazing job. His Prelude SH was probably the least expensive car there, as the place was filled with highline vehicles like 911 Turbos and SLKs and M roadsters being taken apart and reassembled.
ANYWAY the question - the car was in a rollover and two of the stock alloys were slightly damaged. A third had a scratch that he says he thinks happened at the same time; the shop is replacing that too. They're giving him the "damaged" ones. Of these, one has a tiny scratch (it's fine) and two from the side on which the car rolled have bent lips although the shape seems to have remained the same. There might be other damage (we won't see them for a few days) but it seemed to be relatively minor.
He asked for them back thinking that he might be able to get them fixed, buy a 4th, and have a good set of winter tire/rims out of the deal.
Questions would be,
- has anyone had alloy rims fixed/refinished before?
- where?
- results?
- is it worth trying or should he just junk the bent rims?
ANYWAY the question - the car was in a rollover and two of the stock alloys were slightly damaged. A third had a scratch that he says he thinks happened at the same time; the shop is replacing that too. They're giving him the "damaged" ones. Of these, one has a tiny scratch (it's fine) and two from the side on which the car rolled have bent lips although the shape seems to have remained the same. There might be other damage (we won't see them for a few days) but it seemed to be relatively minor.
He asked for them back thinking that he might be able to get them fixed, buy a 4th, and have a good set of winter tire/rims out of the deal.
Questions would be,
- has anyone had alloy rims fixed/refinished before?
- where?
- results?
- is it worth trying or should he just junk the bent rims?
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Comments
The saving grace is that in the back of Car and Driver and Road and Track magazines, as well as several enthusiast magazines, several companies offer aluminum wheel repair and refinishing services.
The offset is that to repair the average dinged-up wheel is $100-150 per wheel. With that in mind, you an easily replace the wheels with nice aftermarket wheels for under $400 per set. Consider replacing the wheels with aftermarket and using the new Honda wheels for snow tires, or check with salvage yards for OEM replacement.
I did drown my sorrows excessively (with help from my friend Brian, a MSgt at Randolph, and my brother-in-law) through the use of six cases of Coors Light.
Did brisket, Weimar sausage and jerky, and of course, Sonic Drive-In and Fuddruckers.
TB
Now hungry for brisket.