Ph: 0406 553 808
Email: [email protected]
F9/7 Heatherdale Rd Ringwood 3135

Wheel Repair and Painting

When we repair a painted wheel one of the main focuses for a good finish is the colour, it is important to be able to colour match the wheel repair by eye. After the wheel repair is complete we use this colour to paint the wheel section for a great finish. If needed we can Change the Wheel Colour for our customers to something custom and we call this a wheel respray.

Painted Wheel Repair also means that your wheel will be 95% to brand new when the repair is completed.
There is a 2 year warranty on all our painted wheel repair.

Shadow Chrome Wheel Repair

Shadow Chrome is a specialty colour which is very difficult to match and paint. We can repair and repaint 95% of shadow chrome wheels to a near perfect matching finish by using our Wheel Repair Colour Matching System .

Machined Wheel Repair

When repairing machined wheels which have fine CNC lines and a gloss coat on them, we fix the machined part using sanding and polishing technique.
After the damage is repaired we buff and polish your wheels to a high shine.
This machined wheel repair method requires no painting but the repaired area will be slightly noticeable compared to the rest of the wheels.

Example Image

The below image will show the difference in shine after a sanded polished repair on a machined wheel.

Buckled Wheel Repair

When we perform a buckled wheel repair one of the main focuses for a good finish is the straightening of the wheel, it is important to be able to repair a buckled wheel using micrometer tooling to ensure its roundness.
After the buckled wheel repair is complete we use some touch up paint to do a very basic touch up to the paint in the area where the buckled wheel repair was done.

Cracked Wheel Repair

We repair cracked wheels only if it is safe to do so. Cracked wheels often leak air but can be fixed. Cracked wheel repair involves welding in new alloy material to seal the crack. Call us regarding your cracked wheel

2 Year Warranty

We use only the highest quality 2 pack paints and products to ensure that your wheel repair is stronger than or equal to a factory finished wheel.
We back all our wheel painting and wheel repairs with a 2 year warranty unless specified otherwise during quoting

Alloy Wheel / Rim Repair Methods

Alloy wheel repair requires understanding of surfaces, metals, materials and their properties.
There are some types of wheel damage which we cannot repair such as cracked wheels or wheels with missing sections.

Car Wheels in need of repair can come in many types of finishes and constructs.
Some of these include - chrome plated wheels, painted wheels , pure alloy wheels, powdercoated wheels, machined wheels, two piece wheels, 4x4 steel wheels and some are a combinations of these eg.( shadow chrome wheels, 2 tone wheels etc ).

Each of these wheel repairs has a different repair process and labour time.
We will advise you on what is the best method of wheel repair for your situation.

2 Pack vs Powdercoat

At Wheel Buddy - we offer 2 pack painting only for all our repair and respray of wheels.
A lot of people ask , what is the difference between 2 pack and powder coating wheels, how strong is it or which is better? Here is a description of both methods :

Powder Coating

Powder Coating is a process where you take a wheel and heat it up to such a temperature that any powder sprayed around or near it will fuse to the wheel.
Afterwards you need to wait for the object to cool down.
It is very long lasting and usually this method of color application is used in industrial processes.
eg. a lot of shopping center fittings and building industry materials are powder coated using this method.

Pros : High Durability and long wearing, chip resistant. Usually a little bit cheaper than 2 pack

Cons : Cannot achieve high gloss , selection of Colors is limited.

2 Pack Painting

2 pack spray painting is a process where a wheel is sanded with machines or by hand to create tiny grooves.
These grooves allow for the paint to sit inside them grab onto them and stick to the object.
A painter or a machine sprays the paint over the wheel to the desired finish level.
2 pack paint is very durable, unlike common house paint or spray can paint, 2 pack paint is made of 2 parts,
1. the paint itself and 2. the hardener .
When the 2 parts are combined the product has to be used immediately as it will begin to harden from the chemical reaction. This makes 2 pack paint perfect for repairing and refinishing of alloy wheels

Pros : High durability and Long wearing , chip resistant , Large Color Selection , Can do High gloss , Satin , can do metallic and pearl finishes.
It is the industry standard for automotive paint.

Cons : More labour intensive and more complicated to prepare an object correctly. Slightly more expensive than powder coating

In summary both methods are durable and strong when done correctly, it comes down to budget and logistics for most people.
We prefer the 2 pack paint for wheels because of the large selection of finishes and applications and for its mirror gloss properties.

Body Filler in Wheels

filling deep gouges and damage on wheels

Sometimes we come across damage on wheels which goes too deep to be sanded and smoothed.
The only options in this case are to either weld in new alloy material to the wheel or to apply standard automotive body filler to the wheel damage.

We prefer to work with filler in this case because it is more affordable for the customer and because it offers a lot of repair method shaping flexibility.

If you have lots of deep gouges in your wheel we can fill them in with a special metal filling compound and then shape that compound to bring the level of the damage up high enough to get a smooth uniform finish with no hint of a hole or gouge.
This technique does take more time and it is limited to being done only on painted wheels but the results can make even the worst wheels look like new.
For machined face wheels the only option is to weld in new alloy material and then machine them.

Shaping body filler is pretty easy it can be shaped with most abraisives, sand paper , files etc,
Because shaping and filling does take conciderable time , the cost of a filled wheel repair is generally a little bit more

For more info on this topic try youtube which has lots of demonstartions and strength tests.

Our Process

1. Clean Wheels

The first step of rim repair is to clean the damaged wheels to expose all areas in need of attention. In most cases we remove the wheels from the vehicle for better access.

2. Hard Sanding

The next step in alloy wheel repair is to machine sand the areas of damage. This removes surface blemishes and smoothes down hard gutter rash, scratches or gouges fromt he wheels

3. Filling Deep Damage

This step is optional and if the gutter rash is deep or the alloy wheel is badly chipped, we apply a putty filler compound to fill the damaged groove. The sanding process needs to be repeated after this process

4. Fine Sanding / Prep

Fine Sanding and Treatment The next step in alloy wheel repair is to smooth sand the repair area. The goal here is to create the smoothest and cleanest possible surface before any paint application

5. Paint Application

The wheels are nearly refurbished , we need to Colour Match of the wheels, We then spray a ground coat, colour coats and final gloss coating to finish off the wheel repair.

6. Baking / Infrared Curing

If necessary we can use our heated spray booth to bake the wheel or use infrared light to heat the painted wheel for a faster drying time.

Wheel Repair Videos

Wheel Repair Info