| Author | Message | ||
| Peter (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 180 Registered: 5-2002 |
Aye, requesting refund is easier said than done. In Hong Kong, you can't just return something for a refund just because you don't like it. Even if you can return it, you usually can get an exchange not a refund. There is no point in talking about a refund here, because the refurb job was done in June and the problems were not apparent until 2 weeks ago when the rear tires were replaced. So, I am not going to bother wasting my time and energy trying to get my money back, because I know of no shops in Hong Kong that has a money back guarantee. | ||
| Bruno (Originalsinner)
Member Username: Originalsinner Post Number: 466 Registered: 5-2002 |
I'm with Barry. Get your money and go elsewhere.!!! | ||
| Barry Wolinsky (308gtb)
Junior Member Username: 308gtb Post Number: 239 Registered: 2-2002 |
Peter, You should just ask them for a refund and take your car to someone who knows what they're doing. Seems to me if you let them redo your wheels, you'll be going that route in just a few weeks. Barry | ||
| Peter (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 179 Registered: 5-2002 |
Dave, the car is still in their shop. They are supposed to remove the tires then redo the rims. Not sure if they are going to powder coat and bake them. I am having my tire-fitting shop fit the tires back on at their expense. Will have the tire fitting shop tell me the conditions of the rims when they see them. Fingers crossed. | ||
| Dave Penhale (Dapper)
Junior Member Username: Dapper Post Number: 187 Registered: 4-2002 |
Peter, have you got them back yet re-refinished? What kind of job did they do to correct the mess? | ||
| Peter (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 178 Registered: 5-2002 |
Yeah, Chris, I got ripped off big time. That seems to be the consensus here. They are redoing the rims with the tires off this time. Probably wouldn't be any different than the first time. But at least, I am not paying any extra money and won't be making the same mistake with them next time around. | ||
| Chris A. (Asianbond)
New member Username: Asianbond Post Number: 49 Registered: 5-2002 |
Peter, after looking at your pics I can bet my 348 that all they did was do a light sanding (maybe) and spray painted your rims. Only when paint is applied to an unprepared surface would it chip off like that. A real wheel refurish job would have included mending the scratched on the edge which looks like it wasn't done in first pic. | ||
| Matthew J. Morgan (Kermit)
New member Username: Kermit Post Number: 39 Registered: 8-2001 |
Having seen the pics, IMO it is painted. But it could be the worst powder job ever seen. It looks to be primer below the scratches, I suspect paint. Possibly Krylon (rattle can). As to powdercoating, I work closely with one and yes the surface must be CLEAN. Blasting is my preference . In powdercoating, castings should be put in the oven bare to "gas them out" as it is called in that industry. This cooks out all materials left in the pores. Or at least all that cause bubbles. And Bubba , that metal fatigue line is pure fertilizer. That would cause cracks, which are a bunch worse than bubbles. As to Tire off the rim..... powder is cooked @ 450 degrees typically and I do not see the tires doing well there | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Advanced Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 3075 Registered: 2-2001 |
Hi Doc, I was just trying to figure out if there was rust then there must be as mistake of the wheels being orig. and not aluminum. Just curious, Thanks for your reply. Regards, | ||
| Dr. I. M. Ibrahim (Coachi)
Junior Member Username: Coachi Post Number: 87 Registered: 5-2002 |
magoo. sorry i did not see your post until today. Concerning rust, I did not mean the iron rust, just corrosion that occurs on aluminum wheels. The reason I am a Doc is because of a Ph. D. I earned in chemistry many years ago. Aluminum corrodes but not as iron does.. and does form some aluminum oxide or some derivative thereof. In any case, the "rust" statement came from the wheel refurbisher, not from me. Thanks for pointing that out...no iron rust on aluminum wheels. | ||
| Ming Cheng (Onlinesys)
New member Username: Onlinesys Post Number: 46 Registered: 5-2002 |
Peter, Please tell me the name of this company so that I could avoid getting anything from these guys! Ming | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 151 Registered: 5-2002 |
Another update: Took the car down to the shop for them to redo the job this morning. The shop owner wasn't in, but the chief mechanic. Obviously, he didn't know what the story was. Anyway, the chief mechanic argued with me about the rims and how they did a good job blah, blah, blah. Went off on all kinds of tangents, telling me the 355's (which was in the shop) wheels are refurbed monthly. Who in their right mind would refurb wheels every month? They either have too much money or such bad drivers, they scrape the wheels everytime they drive. He then go on saying that the air bubbles are due to metal fatigue and age. METAL FATIGUE!! What a load of BS! As I requested all 4 wheels to be done again, the guy looked at the 2 front wheels and said, "Oh look, they are perfect, no need to refurb." I said, "Of course, because you refurbed after fitting the new tires and I am a careful driver, but you should have done the refurb with tires off in the first place and you haven't." Anyway, I got completely pissed off and left. Called up the owner later this morning and told him how pissed off I was with the chief mechanic's attitude. I said, "Is it because I drive a cheapo Mondial (relative to the 550, 355, and Diablo in the shop) that I am getting this sh*t attitude from your guy?!?" He was apologetic and reasonable throughout the whole affair, but this morning's enounter just tripled the damage that has alredy been done. After I get my Mondial back, they will never see it again, and they sure as hell won't see our 512TR. | ||
| Dave Penhale (Dapper)
Junior Member Username: Dapper Post Number: 171 Registered: 4-2002 |
Ugh, what an awful job! I can see why you were so pxxxed off. | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 133 Registered: 5-2002 |
Here are some before photos of the rim: Peeling off...  2 bubbles appearing...  Chipping...  | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 127 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks, Magoo, I will re-emphasize my need for perfection when I take the Mondial in for the job. Will not tolerate any more screwing around with my car. Oh, and about the scratching, he meant scratching the rims, not the tires. I will also shoot some before and after photos to share with everyone. Will keep you all posted. | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Advanced Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 3044 Registered: 2-2001 |
Peter, I am very glad it worked out for you, but that guy did it the cheap way hoping you wouldn't be changing your tires anyway soon. Be sure he does it correctly this time. Tires off. However no matter how he did it the powder coat shouldn't have air bubbles under it and peeling. I hope it is better this time. P.S. About scratching the tires is bullshit. It was easier for him to do it with the tire on and it didn't work. WATCH THIS GUY! Magoo | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 125 Registered: 5-2002 |
Update: Called the shop owner up and gave him hard time about the rims. As it turns out, the reason the shop didn't remove the tires prior to treatment is because they were afraid to scratch them on reinstallation. Could have told me earlier and I would have given the job to someone else who is more competent. But in anycase, he has agreed to redo the job with the tires off this time and pay my tire shop to install the tires. So, no need to dish out 1 penny for the job. That's more like it! Thanks to you guys and my mechanic, I now know what a proper rim refurb should be. | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Advanced Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 3036 Registered: 2-2001 |
Doc, If the wheels on your car are orig, they are aluminum. Where was the rust? | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 124 Registered: 5-2002 |
Sounds like tire-off-the-rim before refurb is the professional way to do the job. I am gonna get my big boot out now... | ||
| Dr. I. M. Ibrahim (Coachi)
Junior Member Username: Coachi Post Number: 85 Registered: 5-2002 |
A couple of months ago, I had all five wheels on my 308 refurbished. They took the old tires off, sandblasted, scraped and did whatever to get rid of all old paint and rust, then they primed the wheels and repainted them, and baked them. The wheel shop said there was quite a bit of "rust" under the paint. My wheels look gorgeous now. They installed new tires and balanced them. I wish I had done that a long time ago. Cost? 125 per wheel. | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 119 Registered: 5-2002 |
If I remember correctly the air bubbles were not there when I picked up the car about 2 months ago. So, any idea how the air bubbles came about? | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Advanced Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 3022 Registered: 2-2001 |
I don't think you can blame the tire changer if there are air bubbles under the finish. | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 117 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks for the comments guys. I am afraid US referrals won't do me any good as I am in Hong Kong. I really don't know how they removed the old surface or the state of the rims before the new coating was put on. The rims were done during a major service. My other mechanic also pointed out the wrinkling underneath the new coating and told me the other guys did a crap job. I mean if if the tire-changing operation was done carefully, which I believe it was, the new coating should stay on. I am very pissed off! | ||
| Bruno (Originalsinner)
Member Username: Originalsinner Post Number: 442 Registered: 5-2002 |
They must be blasted,powder coated,baked,scuffed.painted and clear and baked or they wont be right. I got guy for 125.00 per wheel.They are a national company if you are interested. | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Advanced Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 3020 Registered: 2-2001 |
Peter, How was the old finish removed from the wheels. Was a stripper used or was it bead blasted. If it was stripper that was used then the residue from the chemical is probably still in the porus aluminum. Also if this is the case they probably didn't use a neutralizer after they stripped the wheel. | ||
| Paul (Pcelenta)
Junior Member Username: Pcelenta Post Number: 71 Registered: 7-2002 |
that sounds like powder coating...actually...sounds like someone who doesn't know how to do powder coating...the rims really need to be super clean..free of dirt and oil...just touching with your hands can "F" them up...they are going to have to strip them again...otherwise your going to have the same problems. | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 112 Registered: 5-2002 |
I think it is powder coating because the rims were baked in a room. They were suppose to do a complete refurb, not touch-ups. I think I have been taken for a ride big time. Aaaaargh!!! | ||
| Paul (Pcelenta)
Junior Member Username: Pcelenta Post Number: 69 Registered: 7-2002 |
peter, what were the wheels refinished with? powder coating? Sounds like improper surface prep...Tires should always be removed for a top-notch job....you can touch up a little chip with the tire on...but for a correct job it has to come off....Do you need the proper wheel decals for your mondial TR rim? If so let me know. | ||
| Peter K. (Bubba)
Junior Member Username: Bubba Post Number: 110 Registered: 5-2002 |
I recently spent over US$500 to refurbish all 4 rim on the Mondial. The rear TRXs finally arrived from Coker Tires today, so I ran down to get the tires changed. Guess what?!? The tire shop found 1 of the rear rims was improperly refurbished and the coating was peeling off as they fitted the new tire. They also found 1 of the front rim was not done properly either. They said because the coating was too thick and looks as if it had been applied with the old tire still fitted to the rim. Before today, I also found some air bubbles developing underneath the coating of some of the rims. I am going to give the rim refurbishing shop some serious sh-t on Monday about all these. But before I do so, I just would like to have your opinions on the following: Is tire-off-the-rim the proper way to refurbish rims? What do air bubbles underneath new rim coating indicate? Thanks! |