Kerbed alloys are one of the biggest annoyances for any driver – they’re an eyesore and a pain to fix, and who has the time to hand over their car for a week to fix them?
We get so many calls every week about kerbed alloys, and most of the time the customer asks the same question: are they fixable?
Here are the two main things people tend to their about alloy wheel refurbishment:
- Once you’ve kerbed your alloys, most of the time they’re unfixable
- When they are fixable, you’ll be without your car for ages during repair
Well first off: most kerbed alloys are completely fixable.
Of course, we need to have a look at them to be sure, but there are very few times when a set of alloys is so damaged we can’t rescue them.
Kerb damage looks bad, but usually is just a little scuff that we can fix during the refurbishment process. This process involves buffing the metal to provide a clean finish. We’d then powder coat on top of the fixed metal, giving you a completely clean
You can read more about our refurbishment process to fully understand this.
When is fixing kerbed alloys difficult?
Kerbed alloys can be difficult to fix for a few reasons that we’ll go through below.
It’s hard to lose enough metal to make the alloy irreparable by kerbing. However, if you were in an accident or sustained significant damage to the wheel, the wheels can lose enough metal
This is quite difficult to do, but it’s always worth dropping us a message with a picture, or bringing the wheel to our workshop!
We might also struggle to repair diamond-cut wheels back to the original finish.
When wheels are diamond-cut, there needs to be a flat angle on the front face of the wheel. These range from simple patterns just on the outward end of the wheel, to quite complex angled ones.
If there’s a significant amount of damage to this flat facing, we may struggle to put a clean diamond-cut finish on the wheel. In this case, we can refurbish the wheel to a different colour.
Diamond-cut wheels also will not come out right if the wheel isn’t entirely straight. Read on for more information about buckled wheels.
What other repairs might my kerbed alloys need?
It’s a common misconception that when we refurbish alloys, we add any new alloy or filler to the wheel. This is not a part of the standard refurbishment process, where we simply use a combination of acid and sandblasting to remove the damage to the wheel.
This probably came from the need for welding in the case of other wheel damage.
Cracked Alloys
It’s possible to get cracks in your alloy – and these do need welding with additional metal.
There are a number of causes for cracked alloys.
The main reason is a loss of tyre pressure. Without the tyre protecting the wheel, the metal is likely to be unstable and damaged easily. It can also mean potential further damage, which can be disastrous – so make sure you’re staying on top of your tyre pressure!
Other causes include – you guessed it – kerbing your wheels (particularly if you hit the kerb hard!), potholes, old wheels and corrosion.
Alloy wheel refurbishment will remove corrosion from your wheel, but you may need additional welding if we find cracks. If a customer doesn’t let us know they have cracks, we assume they don’t know. Before we go ahead with any additional repairs, we’ll always give you a heads up – so there’s no worry about additional, unforeseen costs.
Wheel Straightening
When we go through the refurbishment process, it can be pretty obvious that a wheel has buckled and requires straightening. Again, this is something we would give you a call to inform you about before we undertake any repairs.
Aside from welding, your wheels could need straightening.
Buckled wheels are usually caused by kerbing them with force, hitting potholes or speed bumps too fast or other unseen undulations in the road.
With buckled wheels, unless it’s very minor, it’s unlikely that you wouldn’t know. Buckled wheels will make the car unsteady when driving.
Once again, we can fix this during your refurbishment process. MPC does not include straightening or welding costs in any quotes unless specified by the customer.
Does MPC provide all these services?
Currently, we offer all these services at Manchester Powder Coating. While we only deal with the refurbishment process in-house, we are expanding our business very soon! Within the next few weeks, we will be offering the entire diamond cut process, welding and straightening services in-house. Currently, we outsource portions of these processes as we don’t have the facilities.
By the end of November, we’ll be fully set up to offer more spaces for diamond-cut wheels. This also means a shorter turnaround. Ideally, welding and straightening services for wheels will be available at MPC by Christmas!
We can’t wait to get started!
So what’s next for my kerbed wheels?
If you’re reading this, you probably want to know if we can fix your wheels. Hopefully, this article has given you a better idea of the general criteria for fixing wheels, and you’ll know if MPC can help you.
Still, we know that it’s not always that straightforward. If you’re in any doubt (or if you want to book in) give us a call on 0161 641 3117, email us at info@manchesterpowdercoating.co.uk, or you can message us on any of our social media. We’re always happy to have a look in person or to look at pictures of your wheels!
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