Wheel Repair Tips

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Autotopia offers these tips to make wheel cleaning easier:

If your tires and wheels have a heavy coating of brake dust or road grime, spray them down with your wheel cleaner. Allow the cleaner to soak for 30 seconds (minimum) to 3 minutes (maximum). For fine wheels, we recommend Sonus Rim Bright and P21S wheel cleaners. Both cleaners are safe, but have enough power to cut through heavy grime when used with a soft brush.

Clean ‘em when they’re dry

Most wheel cleaners work best on a dry wheel. Spray the cleaner on the wheel and work evenly into all areas of the wheel with a soft cloth, soft sponge or wash mitt. Try to smooth out any drips or runs so there is an even coating of cleaner over the entire wheel. Allow the wheel cleaner some time to work (3-5 minutes) and gently scrub the wheel with your cloth/sponge/mitt. Some areas of a dirty wheel may require gentle brushing with a soft brush to dislodge the dirt. If areas need additional cleaning, respray with wheel cleaner and gently brush. I repeat the warning, the keywords here "soft" and "gently". The finish on many wheels is acrylic enamel or a high temperature lacquer that is relatively soft and may scratch. Once the dirt/brake dust is loosened, rinse thoroughly with water and dry.

Auto Dealers, paint those hub caps!

We specialize in beautifying amazing wheels, yes. But there are hundreds of trade-in’s on your lot with those plastic wheel covers and hub caps. Chances are they’ve taken a beating and could use a touch up. Take a tip from us – many dealers all over the area do it – pop those hubcaps off, we’ll pick ‘em up and paint them good as new. We do hundreds at a time. A great savings to you in more ways than one!

Alloy Wheel Repair: How much damage is there, really?

Alloy wheels can make a big difference in your ride. You get improved handling and a hot, beautiful look. Because of this, car lovers have been upgrading to larger rims for years, replacing basic steel, factory wheels and hubcaps to set a car apart from others and to provide a smoother ride. Not to mention, add a little bling.

To capitalize on this growing trend, car makers have begun to change their styling to appeal to the desire for larger and flashier wheels, equipping even everyday vehicles like SUVs, compact cars, vans and motorcycles with larger, shinier alloy wheels.

While they do look great, alloy wheels present a problem. Wheels from European manufacturers like Volvo, as well as 2- and 3-piece wheels, like BBS, tend to be soft and are more easily damaged. When they are damaged — bent or curbed scratched, among other potential issues — do you need to completely replace them?

Replacing your wheels — through a dealer or local performance wheel shop — can cost hundreds of dollars and take days, depending on the severity of the damage. New dubs can cost a ton after they mark them up!

Repair vs. Replace

Because replacing a factory wheel can range from $350 to $2,000 per wheel, those who didn't want to invest in wheel replacement from a dealer began asking about having them "bent" back out, buffed out and shined — and the wheel rim repair industry was born.

When a wheel can be repaired by a professional technician without jeopardizing the lives of the passengers relying on the wheel to do its job, then alloy wheel repair is an excellent choice for economy and cosmetic restoration. You'll need the best. At Mobile Wheel Refinishers, we believe we are. We can save you hundreds, thousands of dollars. So if your teenager still hasn't mastered parallel parking or you simply have been careless, don't fret and don't buy new. Repair with the best.

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April 2008

Get Our Gear

Wheel Refinishers is proud to offer more than just a great business to its partners. You can now show your pride for your Wheel Refinisher business with our many items from our online store. Our store is full of apparel and merchandise. Choose from many T-shirt and and sweatshirt options. Our hats make great gifts for you employees. Many other gifts are available by request. Check out the store today!

February 2008

Aluminum can be repaired, too.

The typical American use-it-up-then-toss-it-out mentality makes us overlook a lot of things that can indeed be repaired rather than replaced. In fact, most people probably don’t know that aluminum wheels fall into the repairable category. Whether you want your wheel rebuilt because a new one is really expensive or you simply have a soft spot for a wheel that’s no longer available is irrelevant.

We can renew aluminum that is damaged or just plain worn out. To the street crowd, wearing out a set of wheels may sound odd, but four-wheelers do it all the time. (Aluminum — and even steel for that matter — is softer than rocks.) On the other hand, you’re far more likely to hit a curb when driving on the street. Don’t toss it, let us fix it.

January 2008

Wheel Refinishers announces award-winning wheel technology.

SmartWeight Balancer

SmartWeight Balancer Using SmartWeight^®technology we can provide a tire assembly “road test” while mounted on the unit. This wheel balancing technology locates and eliminates virtually every cause of wheel vibration relating to the tire and rim. We’ll eliminate tire-related pull problems by balancing lateral forces on the front axle and SmartWeight^® Balancing Technology.

Wheel Refinishers new balancer solves vibration and tire pull problems balancers and aligners can��t fix. SmartWeight Balancer Going far beyond the traditional functions of a wheel balancer. We measure radial and lateral tire forces and provides instructions for solving ride and handling problems that other balancers and wheel aligners cannot fix.

TC3500 Tire Changer

TC3500 Tire Changer New Features Help Service Large Wheels that Others Can’t!

Wheel Refinishers new changer’s exclusive features operate in unison to easily and safely change the world’s toughest new performance tires and wheels. It is the professional’s “standard,” specified and field-proven by car and tire manufacturers, service shops and racing teams.

Top 20 Tools Award from Motor Magazine

TC3500 Features

Polymer mount/demount head is a wearing component designed to protect tire and rim.

The floating 3-point Articulating Mounting Arm makes it happen.

Unlike conventional rim clamp mounting arms, there is no swing arm obstruction when servicing extremely wide wheels and tires. By removing the potential of steel-head-contact damage it rides closer than steel-head designs and reduces stress to beads on low-profile tires. No wheel is too big, no profile too low!

December 2007

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS!

We at Mobile Wheel Refinishers are very thankful for having the opportunity to service our customers. Our ambition is to serve every customer beyond their needs. Thank you for allowing us to service your needs, and we look forward to our continued relationship in 2008. HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your family. May all of your dents, bends and scratches become like new!

Sincerely,
Dave and The Mobile Wheel Team

October 2007

New Wheel Chrome Machine

We're now proud to offer the newest technology in chroming. Achieve a better finish and longer lasting finish with less rejects, using less chemical less power, developing less waste and recyclable water purified. This unit is user friendly and environmentally safe.

The process finishes and closes pores giving a far superior plating finish. Hard industrial chrome is a porous coating which contains microscopic fissures due to the way in which chrome is applied to the base metal. We combat the corrosive wear of chrome by applying a thin layer, less than 0.001" up to 0.002" thick, of Nickel before applying the chrome. This layer will provide the corrosion resistance needed to allow the chrome to realize its full wear resistant life.

We can achieve a wide range of surface finishes to meet customer needs.

August 2007

Wheel Refinishers Now Offering Custom Wheel Design & Manufacturing

Annapolis, MD (August 23, 2007) - Wheel Refinishers, Inc. (WR), a regional refinisher of both OEM and custom automotive wheels, has announced that it has expanded its suite of services to include designing and manufacturing of custom wheels for car, truck and motorcycle applications.

Effective immediately, Wheel Refinishers welcomes any customers who are looking to develop their own unique style of wheel for their automobile. Their wheel manufacturing professionals will sit with a customer to determine the inspiration for the design and through computer-aided-design technology and state-of-the-art machining technology, they will bring wheel vision to reality. They will even integrate paint and powder coat into custom rim designs.

"It's exciting to me that we're able to bring this service to customers in our areas" said Dave Chandler, founder and president of Wheel Refinishers. "I'm not aware of any other company in our geographic areas that offer this technology. These services are usually outsourced to larger markets such as LA and New York, but now they're right here in Maryland, DC, Virginia, North Carolina and even Michigan."

Given the wide range of variances in design complexity for custom wheels, the costs for this service may vary. To get a free estimate or to learn more about their custom wheel design & manufacturing, visit "Custom Wheels", or call 888.602.WHEEL.

July 2007

Wheel Refinishers Hosts Grand Opening Celebration at Burton, Michigan Location

Burton, MI (July 27, 2007) - Wheel Refinishers, Inc., a refinisher of both OEM and custom automotive wheels, recently hosted a grand opening celebration in Burton, Michigan, just Northwest of Detroit.

The grand opening celebration was attended by nearly 100 car, truck and motorcycle enthusiasts and featured an impromptu show of nearly 50 performance vehicles. The centerpiece of the event was a performance by local rock-hop group, Tangle. Wheel Refinishers offered on-site demonstrations of their services, and had a raffle drawing for a complimentary four-wheel refinishing, with the proceeds going to a local Michigan charity.

Wheel Refinishers has already begun work at the Michigan location. To date, employees at the location report that customers are coming from all over Genessee county, as well as areas of Lapeer County, Shiawassee County, Oakland County, Livingston County, Tuscola County, Saginaw County and Wayne County, including Detroit.

About Wheel Refinishers Wheel Refinishers, Inc. is a full-service wheel repair and refinishing facility that offers rim repair, rim refinishing, powder coating, chroming, wheel painting, polishing, custom wheels, mobile mount & balance and wheel and tire sales. Headquartered in Annapolis, with locations in La Plata and Rockville, Maryland, Michigan, and coming soon to North Carolina, Wheel Refinishers has 43 employees and has exclusive relationships with over 70 automotive dealerships for OEM wheel repair work.

June 2007

Wheel Refinishers Opens New Location in Major U.S. Market

Annapolis, Md. (June 25, 2007) - Wheel Refinishers, Inc., a Mid-Atlantic refinisher of both OEM and custom automotive wheels, has announced that it has opened its fourth location in Michigan.

Wheel Refinishers, Inc has opened a location in central Michigan, just Northwest of Detroit. This full-service location will have the capacity to handle nearly twice as much work as the original Annapolis, Maryland location. This will allow Wheel Refinishers to reach out to some areas of Ohio and Indiana, where car lovers abound.

Wheel Refinishers will begin work immediately at the Michigan location. To view the full list of services available at each location, click on "Wheel Services" on the www.wheelrefinishers.com Web site.

About Wheel Refinishers Wheel Refinishers, Inc is a full-service wheel repair and refinishing facility that offers rim repair, rim refinishing, powder coating, chroming, wheel painting, polishing, custom wheels, mobile mount & balance and wheel and tire sales. Headquartered in Annapolis, with locations in La Plata and Rockville, Maryland, Michigan, and coming soon in Virginia and Delaware, Wheel Refinishers has 41 employees and has exclusive relationships with over 70 automotive dealerships for OEM wheel repair work.

April 2007

Wheel Refinishers Opens New Rockville Location

Annapolis, Md. (April 15, 2007) - Wheel Refinishers, Inc. (WR), a Mid-Atlantic refinisher of both OEM and custom automotive wheels, has announced that it has opened its third area location in Rockville, Maryland.

In order to better serve the Montgomery County and Washington D.C. markets, Dave Chandler, founder and president of Wheel Refinishers has established a full-service location at 609 Lofstrand Lane. ”We had no choice but to open our location in Rockville. The demand for our wheel refinishing services coming from DC and Montgomery County was more than our Annapolis location could keep up with.“ he said. ”It was a good problem to have, and I’m excited about better serving our customers in these areas.“

Wheel Refinishers will begin work effectively immediately at the Rockville location. To view the full list of services available there, click on ”Wheel Services“ on the Web site.

About Wheel Refinishers Wheel Refinishers, Inc is a full-service wheel repair and refinishing facility that offers rim repair, rim refinishing, powder coating, chroming, wheel painting, polishing, custom wheels, mobile mount & balance and wheel and tire sales. Headquartered in Annapolis, with locations in La Plata, Maryland and coming soon in Virginia, Delaware, and Michigan, Wheel Refinishers has 31 employees and has exclusive relationships with over 52 automotive dealerships for OEM wheel repair work.

March 2007

Wheel Refinishers Launches Motorcycle Finishes Division

Annapolis, Md. (March 15, 2007) - Wheel Refinishers, Inc. (WR), a regional refinisher of both OEM and custom automotive wheels, has announced that it has launched a new division that repairs and refinishes motorcycle wheels and other motorcycle parts and equipment.

Due to customer demand and strong referrals, Dave Chandler, founder and president of Wheel Refinishers made the necessary investments in equipment, infrastructure and personnel to bring the division to life. "It was a natural progression for us" he said, "because many of our customers also owned bikes that have wheels that are subject to the same abuse as any other automotive wheel."

Wheel Refinishers will begin accepting work orders immediately for motorcycle wheel repairs as well as custom paint and finishing for motorcycle tins and frames. To see a full list of motorcycle services, click here.

TopWheel Refinishers announces award-winning wheel technology.