Ball Polished Rims - Damaged

I bought my 2007 Spider about 6 weeks ago and recently had a TPMS warning light go on. Apparently the dealer had to break my L/F wheel to change a battery. Unfortunately they chewed up the rim edge with a pry bar. I noticed it immediately because I had also upgraded the center caps and was checking them out. Although the dealer claims they didn't change a battery, they immediately offered to repair the rim. Can someone tell me what ball polished means? I assumed it was a raw aluminum alloy that was polished and clear coated, but the damage from the pry bar reveals a bright coating over plain aluminum, almost like plating. I also read that these rims are made from a proprietary alloy that can't be welded by a rim repairer, but presumably the dealer sublet rim guy is privy to the welding technique. I believe the two dings need some metal added to properly fill the damage which is on the edge about a half inch long, 1/8" wide and 1/8" deep.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of repair?

 

"Ball Polished" is what Ferrari calls it. That finish is actually just painted on (onto the standard 430 wheel I'm assuming). If you search "Ball Polished" here, there should be a few threads about it.

 

According to Ferrari's own brochure:

'Ball-polishing is a special surface treatment that increases the material's strength and hardness'.

The major problem is that repair is difficult, when I had a set for my 430 coupe the local dealer said minor damage was very difficult to repair perfectly unlike standard wheels - fortunately I didn't need any repair work.

 

Cheap set of mine in parts

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=6819

 

Greg- No, it is just a special paint. It should be possible to repair.

Ted- Call these folks and ask. They are one of the best wheel shops in the world.

Taz
Terry Phillips

Ye Olde Wheel Shop
6363 Washington Blvd.
Elkridge, MD 21227
410-796-8400
800-526-8260

 

Ye Olde Wheel Shop wasn't sure if they could repair it, agreed to look if I ship it to them. My dealer claims that ball polished rims are repairable and "re-coatable". Looks like someone slipped with a bead bar while working on a TPMS issue. I will find out tomorrow how it turned out. The white spots are just water marks. Before photo:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Listen those $8 dollar an hour guys do not care that they are working on a Ferrari rim, let alone even know what kinda of car the wheel came off of. They want to just get you out of there hair.

Anyhow, I have had to repair my rims with damage simular to that if not worse. I took it the closest powder coating shop which they smoothed out the groves that were in the rim, then powder coated the whole rim not just the damaged area. That means they take off all the paint befor powder coating. This gives you the brand new look while cleaning up the $8 dollar an hour screw up. It does not cost that much either. For me it $65 a rim but I live in central ca.

Watch out for the guy that comes out and sits on his bucket and sands down the spot and then paints the damaged area and then sprays clear coat on it. He will do it right there at the dealer. Yes it is a fix, but you will be able to tell over time that it was a repair job. Oh----and then charges you $120.

 

Well I got the car back from the dealer and the rim has been repaired. It appears that the wheel repairer machined down the damage and recoated the rim. It actually looks better in real life than in the pictures, although it appears to have a small flat spot on the rim edge. So I guess ball polished rims can be machined and recoated, not sure if they can be welded. I thought they would weld the dings and then machine them, but it doesn't appear that way. Maybe welding is not possible. Can't get a real answer from the dealer, he just says they send them out and they return fixed. It also appears that the tire is in the exact same position on the rim, maybe they didn't remove the tire?
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That doesn't look like an acceptable repair to me.

 

+1000.

 

Still visible, worksmanship sucks arse. Take it back.

 

The flat spot is there due to the deep divet in the rim. They took the grinder and went down to the deepest grove which created the flat spot. They could have stretched out or tappered the flat spot out more over the rim so the flat spot was not so revealing. or, They could have left a small divet which would have been easeir to smooth out becuase of not going down so deep into the rim, but you would see a line rather than a flat spot.

It probably was a localized repair, meaning they did not re-powder coat the rim, however, it is noticeable but not that bad. Drive it and have fun.

 

The proper way of repairing the divot is to weld material onto it and then machine it down to the same level as the rest of the rim. Then ball polish the entire wheel or all four to make them all look the same.

 

That is truly the best way, agreed. It would be great if all dealers would take heed to your wisdom.

More than not, the dealer will pay for the guy to come out and repair the damage while he sits on his bucket while the wheel is still on the car. When I picked up my 430 at the dealer(a few years back) I seen the guy on the bucket repairing rims at the dealer.

 

Thats how it gets done where I live. Nobody will accept such repairs even on a VW.

 

Agree. I'd be quite unhappy with that.

 

That is absolutely unacceptable. They caused damage to your wheel and they should now be fixing it in such a manner that no existing damage can still be seen OR replacing the wheel all together.

 

Do you live in Maranello Italy?

 

I was wondering if there are any updates to this? I have a rim that needs repair. I called Ye Olde Wheel Shop in MD, even though I'm in FL, and they weren't certain what a ball polished rim is.

By chance does anyone know of a wheel repair shop in FL that can repair these rims?

 

Ball polishing is when the wheel is immersed in small ball media which are rotated/vibrated against it. See video:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ97eFP4tVs]Alloy Wheel Ball Polishing at Atomic Wheels - YouTube[/ame]

 

Thats pretty cool!

 

Great information. I think there's still the question of how do you repair a slightly damaged rim?

 

Grind out the damage and polish the area using a buff. If the damage is deeper then add weld, grind it back to profile and then polish the area. If you want the finish to be more consistent all over the wheel send it to a place that can ball polish it after the damage is repaired. (See the OP's photos for the difference in sheen between the original and repaired areas on his wheel).

 

Snowman, thanks!