I know this could easily turn into a 'how long is a piece of string?' question, but what is the typical cost of getting a set of 4 alloy wheels refurbished?

In my case it is a set of lattice spokes, typical age-related corrosion and previous repaint to strip off, no bad grazes or kerbing. In all probability it would be a straight silver recoat, although a diamond cut outer rim with gunmetal centre/spokes might be a nice alternative!

I intend getting quotes from a few local companies, but it would be good to get some feedback from anybody on here who has any experience of this.

220 GSi turbo wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:06 pm I know this could easily turn into a 'how long is a piece of string?' question, but what is the typical cost of getting a set of 4 alloy wheels refurbished?

In my case it is a set of lattice spokes, typical age-related corrosion and previous repaint to strip off, no bad grazes or kerbing. In all probability it would be a straight silver recoat, although a diamond cut outer rim with gunmetal centre/spokes might be a nice alternative!

I intend getting quotes from a few local companies, but it would be good to get some feedback from anybody on here who has any experience of this.

I had "The works" done on a set of 5 lattice / cross-spokes (the 14" ones found on the GSi / GTi). With 5 new tyres and 4 sets of centre caps colour-matched, it cost me £666.

Take off the price of the tyres with free fitting and internal balance weights at about £56 each, and £4 for the centre caps each, I reckon I paid £344 for 5 alloys - so about £69 each.

That was for everything. One had a face gouge that needed filling. Ovality checks and corrections. Powder coating, Silver sparkle paint and lacquered. The caps were silver painted and lacquered the same.

I saw prices just a few years ago where a basic respray and lacquer of 4 wheels could be had for about £100 - £120. Maybe your wheels have to be pretty perfect if the first place to get this price.

For me, being able to get colour-matched centre caps was the deal-clincher. Not everywhere offers this service.

All the work was done at Wheels UK over in Coventry (Deedmore Road).


It may be something you could do yourself. Metal filler if needed. Sand down, prime with an acid etch primer followed by a high-build/filler primer (e.g. SprayMax 2K filler primer) and then Silver Sparkle paint and a 2K lacquer (e.g. SprayMax 2K Klarlack). That SprayMax 2K filler primer is great stuff and would cover surface corrosion marks/pitting easily. You'll probably need to do 3 coats and then let it dry for 24 hours before sanding/keying for the top coat. That probably means you may need 2 cans rather than just 1.

ProXL do a range of cans for alloy-wheel refurb. E.g. the acid-etch primer for aluminium wheels and one can out of a range of several silvers called "Silver Sparkle" which is a very close match to Rover's own brighter MNH finish that they call "Sparkle Silver".

I had my alloys blasted and powder coated on my SEi a couple of years ago. Cost was £250 if I remember rightly. They are not “sparkle” silver but more of a silvery grey. I’m very pleased with them.

They fitted the tyres I supplied (Uniroyal Rainsport 5s) and balanced the wheels as part of the cost.

Cost me £330 for 4 in Swindon. One was buckled otherwise would've been £300

I spent about £250 on mine about 3 years ago.
They did a deal and did the spare as well.
They used a grey/silver with a bit of a metallic touch , although very subtle, as they said this disguised any imperfections that might exists from the areas where the surface had been damaged and they didn't know if they would clean up. The end result was really good and it is almost impossible to see any of the previous surface damage.

I used a £10 rattle can wheel spray to do the centres, and they are a pretty good match, as they would have charged me something like £20 a piece to wet spray them

Thanks chaps

Quotes so far have ranged from £50 to £90 a wheel for a straight strip and powder coat, to £150 a wheel for combined diamond cut and powder coat.

Jon, Wheels UK is actually not too far from my office, so I will probably drop in there with the wheels and ask for a quote.

220 GSi turbo wrote: ↑Sat Apr 29, 2023 9:19 pm Thanks chaps

Quotes so far have ranged from £50 to £90 a wheel for a straight strip and powder coat, to £150 a wheel for combined diamond cut and powder coat.

Jon, Wheels UK is actually not too far from my office, so I will probably drop in there with the wheels and ask for a quote.

There's at least one Rover nut in the company, so if you go in your 25 you may get them popping out to look at it.

Beware the very large dog. Not really, it's quite docile.

If you choose their standard "Silver Sparkle" and want matching centre caps, it may be worth de-badging them yourself first. The badges won't come out on their own - I know this from sorting out some lattice wheel trims for my SLi. My approach was to drill a shallow hole in the centre of the badge (and yes, you end up marking the plastic underneath but it will be covered by a new badge). Then I used a small screwdriver to prise the remains of the badge off the wheel trim. This method prevents burring of the wheel trim / centre cap plastic around the edges of the badge - if you do try levering the badges off from the edges you'll make a horrible mess of the plastic and the badges just won't come off. There are new alloy badges available on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203036969500

I got mine done for £50ea - a full strip etc was £85ea

Complete strip and sparkle powder coat at Wheel Specialist Swansea for £60/wheel.