I took one of the R84s to get repaired...it had minor chips/scrapes and once repaired, would look "brand new".

Wheel has been repaired twice...dropping it off again tomorrow or Monday for another attempt to get it fixed properly.

First attempt ended with an off-color match and very rough surfaces.

Second attempt ended with a better color match but still some very rough surfaces...but THIS also happened:



What would cause the crinkling? It happened in two different areas of the wheel.

What product should I request be used to ensure that the end result is smooth, shiny, and smooth as glass?

When I went to pickup the wheel, I commented on how "sparkly" the finish was...when you put the wheels next to each other, you could easily tell the difference between the 3 unrepaired wheels and the 1 repaired wheel. A layer of "sheen reducer" was applied and the wheel matched the other 3, except for the "textured appearance".

The crinkling only occurred in two places and wasn't present prior to the sheen reducer being applied. The crinkling didn't appear for perhaps 2 hrs.

I'm truly hoping that the "3rd time is a charm" and the wheel will end up looking perfect and have a finish that's as smooth as glass to the touch. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to clean brake dust from a rough, textured surface!

 

clearcoat done in a hurry? basecoat was probably not completely dry?
could've been some kind of oil under there and was the result after
many heat cycles from the brakes?

 

The crinkling has the look of two incompatible materials reacting together (fresh paint and sheen reducer). May also be the substrate wasn't cleaned well enough before painting, as if there was a oil of some kind under the paint.

Good luck.

 

Looks like two incompatible paint layers to me. An old school example would be applying lacquer over enamel - the lacquer solvent would be too "hot" to play nice with the enamel. COuld also be an issue of not waiting long enough between coats or not using an intermediate primer?

 

What the other 3 said. I've done it myself when in a hurry and not prepping well.

 

The flaw is about the size of a finger print!

Oil residue from a finger then painted but didn't adhere evenly.

Paint all those rims- make them sparkly!

 

After reading the replies so far, I'm thinking that he didn't prep the wheel properly and/or was in a hurry.

Wheel was first brought to him for repair on 7/5 and he told me it would be ready in an hour, so I ran some local errands. He called me on the cell to let me know it was ready, so I went back to pick it up. He immediately said the following:

1. Don't worry about the dark color; it's always like that until it has time to dry.

2. Don't wash or wax it for 48 hrs. to let everything dry & cure.

I pointed out that there was a very noticeable texture in many areas (but not everywhere!) and he replied that as the finish cures, the layer under the texture will harden and the texture will "brush away" when washed in 48 hrs. (Um, ok. I've never had a wheel repaired and he's the local expert that all the dealerships & clubs use, so who was I to question him?)

Fast forward to the evening of 7/7...it's been 48 hours and I take a very soapy, very wet, very NEW sheepskin washmitt to the wheel to give it a good cleaning. NONE of the texture "washes away" and the mitt frequently snags. I call him up & he says to drop it off and he'll start over by stripping it down completely, baking it at the shop, etc.

I dropped it off at 3pm on 7/8 and he told me that it would be ready by Tuesday, 7/10. I call him on 7/11 and his wife tells me that the wheel didn't even get TO the shop until that morning.

So, I wait until 7/13 (Friday) to call for an update and he tells me that it looks perfect--that it was baked & cured--and will be ready for pickup anytime after 9am on Saturday. Ok...perfect! I have to go to to one of the company stores that's in the area AND stop at the dealership, so I'll be at his house around 10am-ish...not a problem he says.

Saturday morning I'm getting ready to leave and I get a call at 9:09 from him telling me that he forgot to bring the wheel home with him from the shop the night before, so he was leaving to go pick it up. He asked me how long I'd be in his area and I said at least until 10:45 and he tells me he'll be back by then but to call first just to be sure.

I call at 10:30 and his wife tells me that she heard him "specifically tell me that the wheel wouldn't be ready until 3:30-4:00 and he was at the shop and wouldn't be back for quite awhile." I told her that he didn't tell me anything about 3:30-4:00...could she tell me where the shop was located so I could pickup the rim since I had a tire installation scheduled for 1pm. "He won't be back for awhile...I'll have him call you." <click>

I head back home and just as I exit the highway, he calls me to tell me he's back and the rim is ready. I told him where I was and that I was going to grab something to go from Burger King and immediately head back in his direction.

I get there and start to walk to the front door when the neighbor across the street tells me that the left approx. 15 minutes earlier.

So I call and leave a voicemail expressing my thoughts about miscommunication, time & gas, etc. etc.

Just as I'm pulling away, he gets back, so I parked again.

He apologizes for having to run a quick errand, and brings out the wheel.

I ask if it's ready to be washed, waxed & taken to the tire place so I can have my tires mounted & installed. "Sure! No problem!" Then I mention that the color looks great...except it's really, REALLY sparkly and I can see some texture...so he says he'll apply a quick coat of "sheen reducer" to fix the issue. He put the wheel on a box, turned on his air compressor, and hit the wheel with the "sheen reducer". He put the wheel in the box and put it in the back of my MINI. (I didn't see him use a tack-cloth or anything, and the two crinkled spots are the size of a thumbprint.)

You now have the "rest of the story" that picks up with the info from the first post in this thread.

The areas that needed repair look perfect--except for the sparkly/texture issue.

<<Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly this time around.>>

 

I'm concerned that there will still be a texture issue especially since the 2nd repair had been "baked & cured", yet the texture remained. It's almost as if a clearcoat hadn't been applied.

I just want to make sure that the entire wheel...front & back...are smooth as glass like the other OEM wheels. The thought of trying to remove brake dust from the textured area makes me shudder.

 

uber-it's time you check out tirerack and get some new wheels. use those
for winter.

 

Thereyago. A winter set.

Or buy a winter set and spend all winter painting those R84s yurself. Bright glossy black would be nice IMO. But then, my opinion prolly doesn't count.

 

Ok...let's say I consider that idea...what products would I use? I want to keep the wheels the original color.

I do NOT have access to an air compressor...or the skills to shoot my own paint.

 

why bother painting it if it's your winter wheels?

 

...because I like pretty shoes on my MINI, regardless of the weather.

Not to mention that it really doesn't snow much here in Tidewater/Hampton Roads, VA.

 

oh... yah, i can relate.

 

So....

Any advice on what type of primer, paint, clearcoat, etc? Stuff that can be picked up at Autozone, PepBoys, Advance, etc.

 

You almost have it figured out already. I described my ameteur method here in post #11: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=tobfree

All you need is patience.

 

I noticed that you compounded & polished....I honestly don't think the repair guy did that at all...the surface was so textured!

He's going to pickup the wheel from Merchants sometime today...I dropped off another wheel in mint condition from the set so that he can see what I'm talking about in regard to being "smooth as glass".

I'm going to go search for a list of colors available in the Dupli-color paint...I wonder if I can find something to match Hyper Blue!

 

dupli-color only has limited colors for wheel paint.

the trick to painting these is to have a nice rich coat each time.
otherwise it leaves behind a flaky/crusty/dusty/crappy rough surface
which you'll need to sand off using 2000grit...which is a pita.

 

That's a VERY ACCURATE way to describe the texture of the wheel in question!

 

^^ yep... i talk from experience.... good and bad. just trial and error.

 

I still think it was a incompatibility problem. The orange peel look from painting is rounder (like a, um, let's see, oh, the peel on an orange) which I compounded out. Your wheel has the look of paint on oil. I really liked the thought that it could be the residue from a fingerprint. Especially on a 95 degree day in a hot shop like the days we've had this summer.

BTW, it would be easier to polish the peel of an orange smooth than it was paint on my wheels.