I have used most of the chaps above, as have friends, and others have used others.
Here is my review of the local(ish) guys
City Powder Coaters £20+ a wheel
They are cheap, and are frankly amazing value. £80 for 4 wheels, but also around £30-40 a wheel if the tyres are on the wheels, and if you drive the car in for them to change the wheels on. Sounds great.
They are good, but
-They are only really any good good for basic colours ; read on.
-After trying almost all of their silvers, only the brightest silver is one worth going for. It may look bright on the wall, but they'll be fine on the car. They others have a greyness to them, which in all honesty, isn't a nice 'greyness'. Their other silver is just very very plain in the flesh, especially compared to other folks out there.
Maybe they don't clean their guns out, hence why the silvers have a 'greyness' to them. I.e paint contamination.
Their Anthracites are frankly plop. They are near black, and really aren't as nice as other folks
-They can't do all of the finishes other folks can. Shadow Chrome they won't do, and a Hyper Silver (Basically a Shadow Chrome with a silver undercoat) they can't do either.
-If your wheels are bent and you don't know (i.e not just looking at them, but actually putting them on a machine and seeing if they run out of true (or checking them on the car in the same way), you will not know until the refurb is done.
-They won't get rid of all defects, albeit I'm referring to very scabby wheels here. They'll still be an improvement.
That said, if the sparkle silver is what you want (i.e an OEM/bright silver) despite how it looks on the wall, they are amazing value for money. It sounds like I'm being critical, but I'm aware some will think there's no point in considering other folks.
I myself won't stop going to them, as, if I need a set of wheels to be leak free etc. they are a cheap and effective way to spruce a wheel up
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For me, it's also £40 in fuel there and back due to distance and my cars, so I may as well pay to get them done in one day anyway, purely to save on time and hassle.
Here are a few cars done by them:
Sister's Saab in the second brightest silver they do. No, they are not dirty. That's how they look:
Mondeo wheels done in the 'normal' silver. In pics they look fine, but they look 'meh' on a car in reality ; These were also done 6 years ago, when the 'greyness' wasn't as big an issue as it is with the last sets I've had done:
Clio 172 Wheels in Anthracite : These almost looked black on the car. I was warned by a local chap it would be but hey, we learn: Browne's in Digbeth and Lankies (read on) can both do much nicer Anthracites, and are not much more cash.
Friend's BMW 540i : The brightest Silver. The wheels aren't defect free but they do look stunning on the car. What a transformation for £80 a set:
Lankies in Redditch. - £35+ a wheel
They don't charge much more than City (around £35 a wheel for almost any finish you want, including Shadow Chrome), but they are superior in their finishes and choice of colours. They can be a little on the orange peel side, but they do come out very well.
Here's my M3 wheels. Admittedly, these are a special thing he does, and these were not the usual £35 a wheel refurb, due to the masking and 2 phases of powedercoating required; I wanted an OEM(esque) finish but with longevity. But compared to how they were, they look stunning
WheelsUK in Exhall, Coventry: - £300 a set inclusive of fitting on the car, and tyre swaps (£75 a wheel)
They are very good. They are one of the few places who take the powdercoating off the wheel faces, bolt faces, and bores before you get them back. They are also one of the few places who check the wheels for trueness and cracking before starting.
They are not cheap @ £300 for a set of wheels, but that does include fitting, any finish you want, and something which is better than OEM.
I would go there, but I do cheap out. Mates of mine have been there and the wheels have looked stunning.
Chap in Hertford (TBC) : £200 ishThis chap is somewhere between the WheelsUK finish, and Lankies. He however does check that the wheels are straight. Sounds like nothing, but bent wheels IME almost never balance out right, and involve folks playing the game of 'where will they vibrate the least' Alot of straightening places will want north of £50 a wheel to straighten them out too. My M3 wheel has previously been straightened, and only one guy near me has the equipment, and unfortunately, he knows it.
He's just done my Mondeo wheels, and two of them were buckled. That's something I'd not have found out if I went to City Powdercoaters, which I almost did. I did get a cheaper 'mates rates' deal too, as my friend takes him many wheels in bulk (as in 20 wheels at once). But I can reach out and see who the chap is. He gives a "The Wheel Specialist" finish and treatment of the wheels, but for more sensible money.
These may look similar to the Mondeo wheels above, but they look and pop alot more in the flesh. They also have transformed the look of the car almost singlehandedly.
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