Well at least you included one Texan, but you still left Mayo Performance off your list.
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My point of the list was just to name a few high end restoration shops, there are dozens out there......but when most folks talk about wheels there are only two names that come up. Given the amount of restorations that are currently happening I think another vendor would be nice.....
Hi Mike, nobody here is bashing Harvey or his excellent work, we all know he is the best. Nothing wrong with another quality wheel refinisher, we need another one. As for contributions to this community again Harvey is very helpful. I don't think AL owns a computer so don't hold your breath waiting for a post here, he is very helpful on the phone if you have the right phone number. Rick's work looks pretty good and seems like he might be the most computer savvy, might even be a little younger too! Harvey and Al are no spring chickens. :D
OK, here are my thoughts for anyone who cares...
First, let me be clear that I do not consider myself an expert on Fuchs wheels. I'm lucky that I have many wheels on hand for comparison purposes, including wheels by Harvey, Al, and low-mileage originals, but I'm not holding myself out as an expert about specific details that might be correct or incorrect. The following is only my opinion.
Following my comments are several photos of the wheels in question. They were taken by me, in my shop with the rolling doors open, in close-to-natural light. The floors of my shop are gray, the walls are white, and the ceilings are blue. The photos have a little excess blue-tone to them. Please take that into account.
As I mentioned, I had 9 wheels refinished: a set of 4 from a 1972 911T, a set of 4 from my '74 Carrera, and a single deep 6 with heart. The center caps in the photos were refinished at the same time. Bottom line? The wheels are very, very nice. The anodizing is consistent and the paint appears well done with excellent lines. I do not know if Rick is spraying the paint or using another method like pooling the paint up to the line and draining the excess. Either way, the results are very good.
We really took our time comparing the wheels side-by-side with the other wheels in our shop and the opinions were close to unanimous. First of all, one thing I learned is that if you really take a magnifying glass to any of my wheels - no matter who refinished them - you can find tiny flaws. None of my wheels - again, no matter who refinished them - are perfect. Of course, I'm sure the wheels weren't perfect from the factory either.
Starting with the anodizing. The consensus opinion was that the wheels by Harvey and Rick had the nicest anodizing. Al's were also very nice - especially from a few feet away - but up close the wheels by Harvey and Rick had a more consistent anodized finish. If you look closely, Al's anodizing appears to be a bit thin in places and, side by side, we found it easy to single out Al's wheels from the others. This isn't meant to be a huge criticism. I have several sets of wheels that Al has done and I've always thought they looked great. It was only today, looking at them side-by-side, that I noticed the difference in anodizing. Advantage: Harvey and Rick.
On to the paint. Again, all of the wheels looked very nice. The paint lines were clean and the color was consistent from wheel to wheel. None of the wheels showed any runs, drips, or flaws. There was some debate that Harvey's paint had just a bit more gloss to it - a little more satin vs a little more flat - but we went back and forth on this in different light and couldn't really seem to agree on this 100%. Either way, it wasn't a deal breaker. Advantage: 3-way tie.
As for the little details... I had asked Rick to deepen the paint line on the single deep 6 w/heart I sent him (to match the deeper line that Al does by request) and he nailed it. He also installed the correct valve stems as per my request. I was surprised to see that Rick had painted the lug holes as I had always been advised that wasn't recommended. I have no idea how true that advice is but I'll probably remove this paint myself before installing the wheels. The only flaw of any type on any of the wheels from Rick was a very tiny flaw on the edge of one of the black-painted center caps where it looks like it may have been touched before it was completely dry. This is a very minor flaw and, even though I know Rick is going to ask me to send it back, it really isn't worth the time and I'm not going to. You could look at the car 1,000 times and never notice it. Advantage on the details: Harvey and Al (if I'm being picky).
Overall, I'm very, very pleased with Rick's work. Today, after looking at all of my wheels closely, and really paying attention to the details, my opinion would be that if Harvey's wheels are a 10, then Rick's are a 9.5 and Al's are a 9. If Rick fixes the tiny details I mentioned, I'd have to call this a dead heat.
So that's my opinion, for what it's worth. Again, anyone in the Hill Country who wants to see them in person is welcome to stop by my shop. I hope some of you find this information helpful.
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Should the rankings factor in wait time and price with respect to the OP?
Thanks for the excellent summary, John. Very helpful.
If anyone has had a set of 4.5x15s done in the original 67S manner, I'd be interested in detailed pics of the lug holes. The mask line around the lug holes appears to be a real challenge to get right.
I dropped quarters into the lug holes before primer and paint and they dropped in perfect. The valve stem is masked since I left the tires on the wheels
http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...pse0c52cfb.jpg
http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/...psdad47785.jpg
Too spendy for me Bob.
I use old alum wheel nuts that I would otherwise toss.
Bob,
There is a product available now to easily mask the tire when painting wheels with them on. It is similar to the cone you'd place on a dog's neck.
It expands and contracts for different sized wheel. Auto body suppliers carry them.-Matt