Straightening an alloy wheel

Being realistic, it probably can't be straightened either safely or accurately. It might be possible to straighten it enough to be the spare for emergency use only. Unless it is very exotic you should be able to source a good second-hand one.

mrcheerful

I have seen bent alloy rims straightened with a large hide hammer. But I guess it depends on just how bent the rim is!

There is a place in Prestwick that straightens alloys, depending on the severity. I had one straightened, it looked like a buckled spoke bicycle wheel it was that bad. This of course may be of no use to you if you live in deepest, darkest Cornwall.

Wish I had known that. My Laguna hit a pot hole and severely dented the alloy. I made a claim against the council for a new wheel, tyre, alignment etc. It took 6 months for them to settle the claim but meanwhile I was going about without a spare! If I'd known I could have the alloy repaired I would done that as a stop gap.

Do you know how much they charge?

I ended up binning mine in the local council tip.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but how did you go about making your claim against the Council? Do you think I'd have any chance of claiming against the damage a speed hump did to my car?

Try asking at your local tyre fitting place. My guess would be that you'd be lucky to get change out of £50, but with good ally wheels costing £100 upwards, it could be worthwhile. AFAIK there are several Co's scattered around the country that refurbish ally wheels. Repair kerbing damage, dent's, remachine, paint and laquer etc. As I say though, whether it's worth it, depends upom how much a new, or good s/h wheel will cost. Mike.

I just phoned the council and asked for a claim form. With a pot hole I at least had some evidence "it may" have caused the damage. With a speed hump I'd imagine you would have to prove it caused the damage. i.e. engineers report or something similar.

Steven.

Alloy wheel.

Pity that, since aluminium is around one thousand pounds per ton in scrap value !! Mind you I expect the blokes at the tip were pleased.

mrcheerful

I was charged ten quid after being told £15 plus VAT. :o)

Thanks for the info. Worth a shot I guess.

What company was that with as I'm not that far from Prestwick. It may be handy for future reference. Cheers.

Can you relaquer them yourself? Apparently, alloys start to leak air at the rims after a while because of corrosion (more so than steel wheels) and sanding down the rims without relaquering them won't do the trick.

It's Carrick Engineering in Skye Road near the airport.

I know leakage can occur with ally wheels if the area where the tyre beading sits gets corroded, but I don't think it's that common, as the tyre itself normally seals that area from water ingress. If it does leak, I don't think you need to laquer them. I would suggest you rub down and wire brush, and just paint the seal area with Hammerite. You could paint the entire inside of the rim to be on the safe side, as it's not unknown for older ally wheels to become porous. Mike.