Ls400 Alloy Wheels

[MJM444]

Hi all

Has anybody any information regarding refurbishing of standard LS400 1998 Alloy wheels and if there are any specialists in the March, Cambridgeshire area as all 4 of mine need attention as the original laquer is defective - Thanks.

[M.IQBAL]

Hi all

Has anybody any information regarding refurbishing of standard LS400 1998 Alloy wheels and if there are any specialists in the March, Cambridgeshire area as all 4 of mine need attention as the original laquer is defective - Thanks.

hi - i have used BJV engineering (www.wheelrefurbishing.co.uk) in that past - maybe a bit far but they do the proper job i.e strip, clean and recoat and then bake - wheels looked as good as new after wards

Do not go for the "mobile" wheel refurbishers

hope this helps

regards

miq

[Nitmoi]

Check my earlier threads and postings. I got mine done in Melton Mowbray. £60 each excellent job and he lent me a set for a week while mine were being done.

Top class job and the guy is really keen.

[M.IQBAL]

Check my earlier threads and postings. I got mine done in Melton Mowbray. £60 each excellent job and he lent me a set for a week while mine were being done.

Top class job and the guy is really keen.

hi nitmoi did you have a special coating?? I paid £25 each for my 16 inch camry wheels about 18 months ago at the place i mentioned above

[Nitmoi]

All I know is that the paint was baked.

It included cleaning all the corrosion off the outer and inner and the inside.

Machining and filling all the scuffs and kerbings.

Refitting the tyres and balancing with glue-on weights

[flotsam]

I had my Lexus LS400 MkIV alloys refurbished on the guarantee by Lexus Guildford. They now need doing again but you can only refurbish so many times.

Does anyone know of a solution to corrosion? I notice the corrosion is worst in the recessess where brake dust might accumulate. Would the 17" alloys that are fitted with the Dynamic Handling Pack be better, as they are a slightly different shape and the dust might accumulate on the inside?

I want to swap the a6" alloys anyhow as there's only about 4mm (not a typo) between the alloys and the brake callipers which means I have to cause a fuss everytime the wheels are balanced to make sure the lead weights aren't scraped off by the calipers.

Are there any other finishes/paint types which are resistant to corrosion?

[Nitmoi]

Mine are still spotless except where I scraped the wall!

The guy suggested wiping a thin coat of vaseline over them to help the brake dust come off clean. He said it was this dust that corroded the originals. He wasnt impressed by Toyota coatings which are still supposedly no good.

[Leo]

I would highly Recommend once the alloys have been refurbed is to buy some stuff called ' RIM WAX '

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WHEEL-POLISH-Rim-Wax...p3286.m14.l1318

[GoldfingerLS]

The solution to alloy wheel corossion is very simple, only use car shampoo to wash your wheels every 2 weeks, nothing else is needed. If you take your car to these hand car washes which have poped up everywhere, the strong TFRs they use to clean your wheels butchers and destroys your clearcoat and paint no matter if you have the best finish alloys in the world. Also dont use chemicals like wonder wheels which is also quite harsh.

Since I had my Mk4 wheels re-furbed, i wash them every 2 weeks only using car shampoo and a sponge/soft brush and thats enough to get all the brake dusk off and have them looking spotless. once a month i use Autoglym wax on them and that helps float the brake dust off. Even fairly liquid is too harsh i think because its designed to cut serious grease, but it may be needed to get off spots of tar and baked on drake dust occasioanlly. If you do use fairy, remeber to wax it again afterwards.

Yes, the lexus alloys are not the best when it comes to corrosion but at the same time if you use TFRs and harsh chemicals you are bound to dull the finish, if not attack the clearcoat even on better quality finished wheels.

As for diamond cut wheels (such as the 5 hole ones on the mk4 LS400), any diamond cut wheel will require extra care compared to a normal finish one so the avoidance of using harsh chemicals and regular cleaning is even more critical.

[trooper00]

Yeah, my wheels are looking pretty shabby too so I guess I'll have to get them refurbished at some point. 60 quid a pop sounds expensive though. Think I'll leave it a bit longer ;-)

[flotsam]

Are there any other finishes/paint types which are resistant to corrosion?

To answer my own question, Alcoa offer aluminium wheels with NO PAINT ON THEM! They claim they don't need it.

" Our revolutionary, patented surface treatment won’t peel, corrode or fade so they always look good."

http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/north_ame...camo/c_home.asp

I also use Autoglym on my wheels but they've still corroded again.