Alloy wheel repair?

Have a look in some of the bike mags. There are a couple of firms that do this.

But personally I have straightened dinged rims etc myself with heat (and soap) and leather mallet etc. Cracks are nit so good! But it can be tig welded if they are alloys rather than magnesium.. All depends how bad.

Thanks will have a look in a few bike mags.................wonder why no one offers these sort of repairs for cars though?

Maybe they do, I never buy magazines. The bike mags are sent to my direct from emap because I used to test bikes for PB years ago.

Any decent alloy place should offer a repair service. Usually something like £40-50 a wheel. Sorting out scuffs/dents and re-laquering the wheel. I'm not so sure about cracks though...

Wonder how they deal with dents? Is this something that needs special tools or equipment?

Heat and hammer. And a press if its bad.

Whats the soap for?

Turns black when the metal is about as hot as you can heat it before it suddenly melts. Ally does not glow until AFTER it melts!

Use a leather mallet, or a wooden one and a soft leather pad.

Make sure it's "normal" soap, I used some pink smelly stuff once and the ally just didn't want to anneal. Turned out the soap was going black long before it got up to temp....

Another slightly important bit of advice! Make sure that its not magnesium. I was partying at santa pod one year and we burned a keith black engine block from a top fuel car to keep warm on the fire. It really burned well, kept going for hours! You wouldnt want a fierce white flaming wheel chucking out tons of white smoke and stuff in your garage...

Could a magnesium wheel not have dents removed or cracks repaired then?

yes but just dont overheat it

Oh right, thanks. Does ally (is it an aluminium alloy?) melt as suddenly as solder on an iron then?

What you get upto in your free time is of no interest to me young man.

It actually just suddenly melts before you realise, if anything more suddenly than solder, but at higher temp. Wheels are always alloys of onre kind or another, because pure aluminium is far too soft.

For example add a bit of copper and you get duralinium. Its springy and hard. Wheels are a complex mix of stuff. Some race wheels use mostly magnesium. Hence "mag wheels" ...

Anyway unless its slight and you done this before I would let the experts do it!

Anyway if you do decide to have a go, its not too hard. Dont hit it when hot. Heat it until the area thats bent is hot enough to turn the soap black. (no paint of course!) and let it cool. Now its soft (annealed) and can be belted fairly easily into shape.

You may need to re-aneal it half a dozen times or more because the beating it back part work hardens the metal again.

You cannot bend it back when hard because its too strong and would fracture anyway.

Dont wory about it being "soft" when you have finnished. By the time its repainted and ready to use it will be hardened up again. Temperature changes and time introduce stresses back into the metal that re-hardens it naturally.

My brother had a Fox alloy wheel that bent over a kerb. He hit it back into shape with a mallet and a piece of wood - no heat required!

Chris.

Thanks for the information mate, very interesting!