*89x2*
Well-known member
This morning, I loaded up and headed for Ye Ole Wheel Shop in Maryland as discussed in an earlier thread for an estimate on (Callaway Dymag) wheel refinishing.
The trip itself was quite an event as I headed up towards Elkridge Maryland; the highway was shut down, not a good start to this escapade. As I watched the clock tick, it was nearing 12:45 p.m. and the place closed at 1:00 p.m. At about 1:10, I made my exit and headed towards the address I had grabbed off the Internet – this is where the drive went from bad, to worse. As I drove up and down Washington Blvd., looking for the address in the 7200 block of RT 1, no wheel shop could be found. Eventually, I stopped at an auto repair place and asked for directions, the shop had moved a few miles down the road. Off we went, the clock now showing 1:25 p.m.
A couple of minutes later, we found the place, right beside the Laundromat as described by the auto repair guy… At the solid front door, with the hours clearly posted, I found it locked with no answer. Having just endured I 95 traffic and getting lost, I wasn’t giving up hope, a tug on the side door revealed it to be unlocked however, an alarm went off inside the shop! It was an announcement type of alarm and the folks inside came to see who just popped inside the shop.
I chatted with the guys about the trip up and asked if they had a few minutes to look over my wheels I had brought with. Once they saw the wheels, the one guy mentioned they were expecting me – as I had called earlier in the week about their services. We went over the pricing and it seems that wheel refinishing is $95.00 for Dymag wheel refinishing and INCLUDES the center cap at that price, something I had not previously known.
The pricing can go higher, damage such as chips; chunks, cracks, etc. are all possible reasons. As we looked over my wheels we decided that two would be refinished at this time, the two in the worst shape. One had been previously repaired (crack) while the other had a leak in the rim and had epoxy, sealing the surface.
This brought us to an in depth discussion of magnesium wheels and why they can go “bad”. It seems bare magnesium wants to always try and return to its original natural state – as natural as Dymags look on a Callaway, I do not think that was what he meant.
He went on to say the magnesium wheels must be finished (painted) inside and out or they will decay slowly. The wheels I had were “blasted” by another repair shop and left in that state when given back to the customer, something that is VERY bad for the wheel in the long term. As they peeled back some paint, it showed to be nice and shiny, he said it would not stay like that for long – maybe a week at best. The Ye Ole Wheel Shop said a process called “glass beading” is the proper way to handle these delicate wheels and then to finish them inside & out. That was what we decided to do with those two wheels, after they are welded at their noted points of earlier mis-repair.
Stay tuned; as this is an exciting prospect for all magnesium wheel owners, especially Dymag owners as spares are rather elusive. This may take up to a month however; I will provide updates as often as I get them. Standard refinishing takes far less time and the “turnaround time” is much quicker as a result.
enjoy
The trip itself was quite an event as I headed up towards Elkridge Maryland; the highway was shut down, not a good start to this escapade. As I watched the clock tick, it was nearing 12:45 p.m. and the place closed at 1:00 p.m. At about 1:10, I made my exit and headed towards the address I had grabbed off the Internet – this is where the drive went from bad, to worse. As I drove up and down Washington Blvd., looking for the address in the 7200 block of RT 1, no wheel shop could be found. Eventually, I stopped at an auto repair place and asked for directions, the shop had moved a few miles down the road. Off we went, the clock now showing 1:25 p.m.
A couple of minutes later, we found the place, right beside the Laundromat as described by the auto repair guy… At the solid front door, with the hours clearly posted, I found it locked with no answer. Having just endured I 95 traffic and getting lost, I wasn’t giving up hope, a tug on the side door revealed it to be unlocked however, an alarm went off inside the shop! It was an announcement type of alarm and the folks inside came to see who just popped inside the shop.
I chatted with the guys about the trip up and asked if they had a few minutes to look over my wheels I had brought with. Once they saw the wheels, the one guy mentioned they were expecting me – as I had called earlier in the week about their services. We went over the pricing and it seems that wheel refinishing is $95.00 for Dymag wheel refinishing and INCLUDES the center cap at that price, something I had not previously known.
The pricing can go higher, damage such as chips; chunks, cracks, etc. are all possible reasons. As we looked over my wheels we decided that two would be refinished at this time, the two in the worst shape. One had been previously repaired (crack) while the other had a leak in the rim and had epoxy, sealing the surface.
This brought us to an in depth discussion of magnesium wheels and why they can go “bad”. It seems bare magnesium wants to always try and return to its original natural state – as natural as Dymags look on a Callaway, I do not think that was what he meant.
He went on to say the magnesium wheels must be finished (painted) inside and out or they will decay slowly. The wheels I had were “blasted” by another repair shop and left in that state when given back to the customer, something that is VERY bad for the wheel in the long term. As they peeled back some paint, it showed to be nice and shiny, he said it would not stay like that for long – maybe a week at best. The Ye Ole Wheel Shop said a process called “glass beading” is the proper way to handle these delicate wheels and then to finish them inside & out. That was what we decided to do with those two wheels, after they are welded at their noted points of earlier mis-repair.
Stay tuned; as this is an exciting prospect for all magnesium wheel owners, especially Dymag owners as spares are rather elusive. This may take up to a month however; I will provide updates as often as I get them. Standard refinishing takes far less time and the “turnaround time” is much quicker as a result.
enjoy
) 
