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Thread: Wheel refinishing

  1. #21
    Senior Member M_deJong's Avatar
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    Jan 2011
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    DFW TX
    Posts
    681
    Well at least you included one Texan, but you still left Mayo Performance off your list.

    Quote Originally Posted by Soterik View Post
    Well, he did say "etc"...
    But since people are counting (and not in any particular order):

    Emory
    Willhoit
    Richard Humphrey/ Tony Smetona
    Scrogham
    Cantwell
    Automobile Associates of Canton
    Bernie Buschen
    European Collectibles
    Eurowerks (Smalley)
    German Mastertech
    Michaelian Restorations
    German Motor Service (VA)
    Gunnar Racing
    Karl Hens
    John Esposito
    Phil Bagley
    Peter Sorensen
    Racecraft (Forland)
    Series 900
    Steve Vartanian
    TRE
    Vintage Excellence (Mark Allen)

    ETC!

    (and I only use Harvey....)
    Mike de Jong | '71 911T/E 2.4 Tangerine | '74 911S 3.2 Ice Green

  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Soterik View Post
    Well, he did say "etc"...
    But since people are counting (and not in any particular order):

    Emory
    Willhoit
    Richard Humphrey/ Tony Smetona
    Scrogham
    Cantwell
    Automobile Associates of Canton
    Bernie Buschen
    European Collectibles
    Eurowerks (Smalley)
    German Mastertech
    Michaelian Restorations
    German Motor Service (VA)
    Gunnar Racing
    Karl Hens
    John Esposito
    Phil Bagley
    Peter Sorensen
    Racecraft (Forland)
    Series 900
    Steve Vartanian
    TRE
    Vintage Excellence (Mark Allen)

    ETC!

    (and I only use Harvey....)
    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.....
    JEFF BRINTON
    ESR #1572
    1968 911N
    1974 914 2.0L
    2023 Macan
    SOLD - 1967 911N / 1968 911L / 1967 911N / 1969 912 / 1991 964 C2 / 2013 991.1 / 2008 987 Cayman

  3. #23
    Senior Member
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    5,433
    Quote Originally Posted by 210bhp View Post
    The biggest difference here is the invaluable, experienced, detailed and very very informative information Harvey (finds the time to) share with all of this community. He does this freely and consistently and without his input I doubt any of us would know half of what we know about Fuchs wheels.
    I want to say that I do not know Al or Rick but that because they say nothing on here (to the best of my knowledge) and I look forward to them sharing their knowledge on the Fuchs wheel with us in the same way Harvey does.

    I found Harvey's response on this thread perfectly acceptable.

    Regards
    Mike
    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.
    Mike Fitton # 2071
    2018 911S Carrera White
    2012 991 Platinum Silver ( Gone)
    1971 911T Targa Bahia Red (Gone to France)
    1995 911 Carrera Polar Silver (Gone)

    No Affiliation with City of Chicago!

  4. #24
    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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  5. #25
    Senior Member jloucks388's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Walnut Creek, CA
    Posts
    293
    Should the rankings factor in wait time and price with respect to the OP?
    -Jim

    '72 911T
    '02 B5 S4 (RS4 Clone)
    '12 997.2 Turbo Manual
    '19 B9 RS5 (Daily)

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by LiveFromNY View Post
    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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    Thank you posting this....it answers my OP.
    JEFF BRINTON
    ESR #1572
    1968 911N
    1974 914 2.0L
    2023 Macan
    SOLD - 1967 911N / 1968 911L / 1967 911N / 1969 912 / 1991 964 C2 / 2013 991.1 / 2008 987 Cayman

  7. #27
    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.

  8. #28
    Senior Member Bob Harriman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    Victorville CA
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    776
    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



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  9. #29
    Banned
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    Too spendy for me Bob.

    I use old alum wheel nuts that I would otherwise toss.

  10. #30
    Mbr 3268 Fixer's Avatar
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    Philadelphia area
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    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
    Matthew J. Mariani BSID, Member 32689
    Haverford Pennsylvania

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