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Refurbishing 19" Rays Forged LMGT4 G35 (NISMO)


DeeJayDready

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Does anyone have any experience refurbing a set of the 19" Rays Forged LMGT4 G35 wheels (i.e. the stock NISMO ones).

 

As you can see they're not awful, but they are presumably 10 years old now and only going to get worse.

 

The reason I ask is that when speaking to Nissan they said that the difficulty with these wheels is that they are obviously part painted (spokes) but the rims, center caps, and the surrounding area (where the bolts go in) has a 'diamond cut' finish.

 

I have also sourced what look to be the exact replacement decals required (which would unfortunately be stripped off as part of any refurb): http://www.ebay.co.u...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

I obviously want these to remain as stock as possible and not end up looking like a slightly botched copy, which presumably having them just fully powder coated would do...

 

Any tips?

 

IMG_4917_zpsubrzfeda.jpg

Edited by DeeJayDready
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There is no problem with referring them, you just have to find somewhere that can diamond cut and there are plenty about. They'll paint or more likely powder coat the wheel after stripping and repairing it, then diamond cut the rim and centre, then lacquer over everything. I don't think the centre cap can be diamond cut, so you'll have to find another method to repair that.

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As KyleR said they can be done apart from the centre caps, when it came to mine I just polished the centre caps myself as they can't be diamond cut. I also fitted some flush valves which I think looks good.

 

Here's one of mine after the refurb.

 

6617915a21abd9fe2997582b2180a7af_zpsqu3nsv7z.jpg

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Now we're talking! They look like an excellent job, I must say.

Do you know if the spokes were painted or powder coated?

If you don't mine me asking, what was the approx cost for the 4 wheels?

I presume you had to source decals like these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281844620881?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I'll have to make sure to specify that they diamond cut the rim and centre before lacquering then.

The guy I spoke to did identify the centre caps as an issue and said I may need to source replacements as they couldn't diamond cut them. As you can see from the picture, mine aren't in great shape. When you say that you polished them, what do you mean. I presume they didn't look as bad as mine at that point?

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The whole wheel was stripped, powder coated, centre and rims diamond cut then completely lacquered. From memory it cost about £380 with fitting and balancing of new tyres which I'd supplied.

 

Here's where I had them done.

 

http://www.jpalloys.co.uk/

 

I bought my decals off a member, who had bought the genuine ones from the states I believe.

 

With the centre caps I'd say mine were about the same if not worse than yours. I sanded them down with various grades of sand paper to remove the lacquer and the pitting in the alloy. Then with a polishing wheel in a battery drill and metal polish and a lot of elbow grease polished them up. Took me almost a whole day mind to get them to a standard I was happy with.

I looked into getting new, but the type for these LMGT4's with the metal clips (not the rubber ring ) are no longer available new so this was the only option.

Edited by SHEZZA
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Nuluk are probably the best in the country for diamond cutting, but you'll pay for it. There are a few others who will be a bit cheaper and provide a good service. I'm going to try Caravans in Lurgan when I get mine done. They've a very good rep with referring wheels but only just started the diamond cutting.

 

If you can get them done for under £500 I'd snap their hand off.

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KyleR - I'll certainly try Nuluk for a quote at least. The only people I've spoken to so far has been 'Alloy Wheels Repair NI' who do do diamond cutting, but say that they wouldn't do it on ones as badly corroded as mine (I didn't think they were that bad!), as they would just start to corrode again within 8 months... Have you found this to be an issue Shezza? Unfortunately they just want to powder coat the lot, which is not what I'm after as I want them to look like they're meant to.

 

Canavans Autocentre put a full stainless Cobra exhaust on my old '91 VW Scirocco GTII many years ago. The quality of their work is good and they have a great rep. Maybe I'll get a quote from them also...

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KyleR - I'll certainly try Nuluk for a quote at least. The only people I've spoken to so far has been 'Alloy Wheels Repair NI' who do do diamond cutting, but say that they wouldn't do it on ones as badly corroded as mine (I didn't think they were that bad!), as they would just start to corrode again within 8 months... Have you found this to be an issue Shezza? Unfortunately they just want to powder coat the lot, which is not what I'm after as I want them to look like they're meant to.

 

Canavans Autocentre put a full stainless Cobra exhaust on my old '91 VW Scirocco GTII many years ago. The quality of their work is good and they have a great rep. Maybe I'll get a quote from them also...

 

I'm surprised they won't do them to be honest. No one will offer a warranty/guarantee on diamond cutting because they WILL corrode again. NuLuk will be the most experienced with it, so if they say no, then they must be extremely bad.

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Looks a bit pitted too, but that shouldn't be an issue as it'll all be cut away. :shrug:

 

Fingers crossed.

 

Oh, I meant to say that when I was over speaking to Nissan about getting a spare key done, the guy in the front office recommended A27 Engineering as being very good (Charles Hurst Nissan's go-to people over there couldn't do them because they didn't do the diamond cutting).

So between A27 Engineering, Nuluk & Canavans hopefully I'll be able to get something sorted come springtime.

 

I'll update for the benefit of others on here in a few months with what was quoted & done.

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Looks a bit pitted too, but that shouldn't be an issue as it'll all be cut away. :shrug:

 

Fingers crossed.

 

Oh, I meant to say that when I was over speaking to Nissan about getting a spare key done, the guy in the front office recommended A27 Engineering as being very good (Charles Hurst Nissan's go-to people over there couldn't do them because they didn't do the diamond cutting).

So between A27 Engineering, Nuluk & Canavans hopefully I'll be able to get something sorted come springtime.

 

I'll update for the benefit of others on here in a few months with what was quoted & done.

 

I haven't heard anything bad about A27, but I think they only paint, not powder coat, so it's up to you if you have a preference between the 2.

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I haven't heard anything bad about A27, but I think they only paint, not powder coat, so it's up to you if you have a preference between the 2.

 

I don't really know the difference / pros & cons of either to be honest...

Edited by DeeJayDready
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 17/02/2019 at 23:11, DeeJayDready said:

Anyone got any thoughts on the pros & cons before I get something done.

Not much really, paint you can mix any colour in the world, I don't think thats possible with powder. Paint may be a better finish depending on the guy doing it, but powder I think is more durable and possibly easier to get an even finish, even if it isn't as good as an expert painter.

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On 27/02/2019 at 10:51, KyleR said:

Not much really, paint you can mix any colour in the world, I don't think that's possible with powder. Paint may be a better finish depending on the guy doing it, but powder I think is more durable and possibly easier to get an even finish, even if it isn't as good as an expert painter.

Thanks. I suppose I'll hear out the various places I'm getting quotes from as well to get their take too (biased though they may be..). I do like the sound of 'more durable' though, I must say.

 

Any thoughts from others are also welcome...

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I had my LMGT4s powdercoated in gunmetal grey just over 2 years ago, the car is silver and I wanted some contrast. 

 

The finish is great and they look just as good now as the day I had them done. 

20170609_171835.jpg

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Like Jack94 I opted for a single colour powder-coat finish instead of getting them re-diamond cut on my 18s:

(this was when i collected the car from the refurb before re-applying the decals)

 

ICAoSi.jpg

 

RuRIPx.jpg

 

You can see the centre caps are still the original finish for comparison.

Edited by Sargara
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  • 3 weeks later...

Those look to be an excellent job must say! I just assumed I'd diamond cut again as I want them to look 'stock', but it seems like the difference might be relatively minor. I'll certainly keep that as an option.

I intend to get a quote from Nu-Luk Wheels and at least one other place next month. I'll see what options they offer me and at what prices...

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  • 1 month later...

So I finally treated the Zed to the alloy refurb!

I spoke to Nu Luk & Canavans and got quotes from both over the phone. Nu Luk do a paint + power-coat for £360, or £486 with diamond cut . Canavans was £320 - £360 for power-coat or £560 with diamond cut. To their credit both discouraged the diamond cut option as they just start corroding again straight away, and unless I want to undertake the meticulous weekly job of maintaining them (I do not...), then I'd be better off steering clear.

Both places where great to deal with, and for anyone in N.Ireland I'd happily recommend both (as I've had work done at Canavans before), but this time I went with Nu Luk, as much down to the fact that they're closer to Belfast as anything to be honest.
Have to say, I'm very pleased with the results. They did a great job on getting the metal back to its best (only the few faintest hints of tiny dimples here and there, but you have to really look for them). And they applied the decals as well. I don't regret my decision not to diamond cut in the slightest. The fact that not diamond cutting them took care of the centre caps as well was a great bonus too. :D

 

IMG_1068.jpeg

Edited by DeeJayDready
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  • 3 months later...

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