Dougie S 10 Posted October 16, 2012 Sorry this is a bit of an essay but I think it deserves it... Posted in SVAG forum originally but thought it might be of interest in here for any Scottish members. I'm not a big forum poster (as I don't yet have a Corrado) but I thought I'd pass on a good experience I had today at WheelPro Scotland in Baillieston. I've not had many good experiences at wheel refurb places :mad: Having used ESP, Powdertech and Chameleon in the past I thought i'd give them a go for various reasons... ESP did a poor job on a bike frame for me which took them 3 weeks and will never have my custom again, Powdertech have always been quite good but a bit pricey and Chameleon are quite far from me being in the East end (plus I've heard a few not great things recently - though probably just the usual petty moaning). I was quoted about £220 for four 17" wheels done in gunmetal or silver sparkle over the phone, same day service with any necessary repairs, tyres off & on then rebalanced and refitted. The £220 was a special offer they have on at the moment and is still £20 more than Chameleon but having seen that James who works there is on SVAG and heard some good things through the Ford RS forums along with a pretty encouraging website... I thought I would pop in and see what the set-up was like. It's just off the M8 and easy to find. The premises is very nice and up to date,just has a general feeling of being a legit, well run company. The reception had a great selection of sample wheels done in all kinds of finishes and colour combinations which all looked high quality. Hugh (who I presume was the owner) was very welcoming and offered to show me round their workshop which was organised, clean and professional looking. I was asking how business has been and he indicated they have been getting a lot of work from numerous dealers which I presume is a good thing. The equipment looks to be pretty modern and high spec including what seemed to be a specialist wheel lathe and tools for checking out buckles/dents and repairing them properly (no hammers involved). A few car lifts so I'm guessing cars aren't just left on Jacks like elsewhere. Wheels are all acid dipped then heat treated to ensure the alloy is prepared for the base coat (something to do with removing air from pores in the alloy I guess). After this the base powder coat goes on, is cured in the oven at the right temperature to avoid weakening the wheel. If any special finishes are required a paint can be used between the base powder and the final clear powder coats (I think that's how it works). I guess the paint work is extra but it looks like they can do some pretty cool finishes/combinations. Hugh then passed me on to James who was very friendly and helpful, and also a VW enthusiast which is always reassuring... He looked at my wheels, one of which has a big chunk out of it which I presumed would not be repairable (I have a spare wheel to replace this which I would have got coated instead). He was confident it would be repairable without any problems which I was happy to hear. Had a quick chat about colours and he carried a sample wheel out to the car to hold it up and give me an idea of how it would look. Decided on Anthracite and then it got even better.... I had asked for James as when I was searching for any people's experiences of the company one of the results was his post on here saying that he worked there and would probably be able to sort a SVAG discount. Given the price I had already been quoted was including a 30% off special offer I didn't even bother hinting about an SVAG reduction (although I mentioned I had seen his post there) but he took the price down even further... and to top it off, when I asked how much extra it would be to do the spare wheel I have in the back which was meant to replace the damaged one, he said he'd just put it through with the others. JACKPOT! Don't want to say how much the price was as I'm not sure if it's an official discount structure and I wouldn't want people to be going in expecting the same deal thus causing him problems but it's better value than anywhere else. While I was leaving Hugh, the owner was very clear about how highly they value good service. They give a 12 month warranty and he insisted that any problems at all would be sorted without issue. I'm booked in for Friday so will post some before and after pics to let you know how I get on but if today was anything to go by I will probably be very happy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted October 16, 2012 Moved to Suppliers Forum.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
easypops 8 Posted October 16, 2012 Looking forward to the pictures :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dougie S 10 Posted October 16, 2012 Thanks Jim, wasn't sure where to put this... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goldie 2 Posted October 17, 2012 I had a set done at Chameleon and they weren't that good.. It seemed to me that they were just a powder coating firm that had started doing wheels rather than a wheel specialist.. Ill be interested to see the results, always handy to know where refurbs can be done locally.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craigowl 0 Posted October 17, 2012 Nice one, Dougie, thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dougie S 10 Posted October 19, 2012 I actually met the guy (who I think is the owner?) Gary today, he was very helpful and spent a bit of time showing me the workshop equipment that I was asking about like the hydraulic wheel un-buckling jig and the acid bath - great for disposing bodies apparently. The hydraulic wheel un-bluckling jig is quite clever using a reposition-able small hydraulic ram to gently work the buckles and dents out from whatever direction is required. Better than the mash hammer. Turns out there was a buckle on one of my wheels which this had to be used on. He seemed very straightforward and knowledgeable about the business. Well on to the wheels, all went well. Dropped the car off at the end of the day yesterday because I didn't fancy going up at 8.30AM today. James even drove me to the train station so I didn't have to walk on my way home :) Really happy with everything they have done. To save me the hassle of putting on some new tyres I had in the house I asked if they could put them back on instead of one of the original rear tyres and move the remaining decent rear tyre onto the spare. I was also replacing the existing spare wheel because it had been welded in the past and I wanted all 5 to be tip top... I won't go into it but the request for the rearrangement of 6 wheels and 5 tyres was confusing even to me when trying to explain. However Gary didn't make any issue of it and simply said no problem. Got a call at about 3PM to say that car was all ready to be collected so headed over to collect it. The wheels look absolutely spot-on, as good as or better than any powder coat finish I've had done before and the repair they've done to the wheel which was badly gouged is invisible. The wheels look brand new. They even washed the car for me and cleaned off all the tyre soap. Can't reccomend them enough. Ask for James if you go in and please tell them that Dougie with the Fabia VRS recommended them if you do. They'll do anything - not just wheels and can wet spray as well. See the before and after pics below - sorry they are camera phone ones - didn't think to take my good camera. BEFORE AFTER (had just driven home in the rain so they are a little wet and have probably picked up some dirt) I also left them a spare wheel I had that had cracked, been welded, then cracked again so they could do it up and use it in the showroom as it was going to scrap otherwise. In addition I was having my existing spare wheel replaced with another as it had been cracked then welded too - I don't trust welded rims after the first one cracked again. James and Gary decided they would do something special and Skoda themed (chrome base with green and black detail) for me with the welded wheel I was going to keep (it was in a cosmetic state and I hadn't asked or expected them to touch it as they were already doing my new spare for free). Looked awesome but I have no use (missus wouldn't like it as an ornament :( ) for it so just told them to hang onto it for the showroom. They've said they'll strip it and coat it standard if I ever need it back which I though was brilliant. They were also in the middle of masking up the other (totally fubarred cracked wheel I gave them) for a special blue & white job to show off. Few pics of the set up while I was there. All the interesting stuff is hidden round the corner but he was saying the oven and spray room are both 3m so they can take in big things like roll-cages no bother. They'll do pretty much anything, bikes car parts etc, wet spray or powder coat or wet spray under powder coat. James is a panel beater and sprayer to trade so does all the wet spraying on fancy stuff. A very happy customer indeed, I will be back! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goldie 2 Posted October 20, 2012 Look very nice.. Its not that easy to gauge from pictures but I'm assuming from your praise that the recoating is nice and smooth etc etc.. Have you a got some contact details for them that i can make a note of please... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dougie S 10 Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) Indeed, I spent a few minutes running my fingers round the nooks and crannies where you usually find lumpy bits that haven't taken right and couldnt find anything wrong. The surface is nice and even with a great gloss to it. Was also surprised by how good the chrome powder they used on the old wheel looked. Its the kind of finish that would show up imperfections really easily. Number is 0141 773 0444 located on Springhill drive north. 2 minutes off junction 9 on the m8. Ask for James. Edited October 20, 2012 by Dougie S fixing autocorrect Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riley 0 Posted October 20, 2012 Damn...This looks like the kinda place I wish I'd taken my Borbet A's to, rather thank TWS at Manchester who ruined them. :-( They couldn't do them because of the edge between polished dish and black center, the pics of the green/black rims and the pinstripe masking above look like my kinda work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dougie S 10 Posted October 20, 2012 Well for future reference they'll do wheels that are couriered to them and courier them back. The guy was saying they do quite a lot of wheels that get sent down from the Highlands. Damn...This looks like the kinda place I wish I'd taken my Borbet A's to, rather thank TWS at Manchester who ruined them. :-( They couldn't do them because of the edge between polished dish and black center, the pics of the green/black rims and the pinstripe masking above look like my kinda work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riley 0 Posted October 20, 2012 That's good to know cheers:thumbleft: Just started disputing mine with TWS, so I'll see how I get on...Maybe have a look at these guys if possible. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
