M Raodster Wheel Repair

I saw an add on Toadfly for a set of '00 M roadster wheels (with some tire left) so I picked them up. That's the good news. The bad news was one of the fronts was scratched (but not gouged) on the rim and on the spokes and while washing them, some jack@ss (that would be me) let one roll away and fall shiny side down on the gravel in the alley making nice pits in the finish So that's 2 wheels screwed - add to that the curb rash I put on one of the '01s wheels at Bimmerfest 2002 of all places, and I've got 3 wheels with gotchas

Not to worry. Onsite Wheel Reconditioning to the rescue. I had them come over the day we did the HACK Tech Session 3.5. The guy's name is Son Tran and he does work for Symbolic Motors (exotic car boutique), BMW of Beverly Hills, works on Ferraris, Lambos, Maserattis, etc. Coming to your place is a great convenience, sometimes he can do the work while the wheel is still on the car and his pricing is great as well. I've called quite a few places to ask about M Roadster wheel repair and I got a lot of "we can't match the paint". No problem for Son.

Here is some of the scratches on the '00 front wheel I bought. Unfortunately, the pic does not show all the scratches that were on the spokes (but the next pic will show where he polished)

Son uses a high speed rotatry tool to slightly redistribute the metal to fill in curb rashes and then polishing out the scratches. You'll most likely want to get the tire re-balanced after this. Here is the '00 front wheel after the polishing step (now you can see how much area had scratches):

The thing a lot of wheel shops tell me is that they can't match the paint. Luckily Son did a lot of custom painting before he got into wheel repair. Through experience, he has figured out how to match (at least REAL damn close) the paint (or at least the color) on the M Roadster wheels. He does it by air brush.

He also matched the paint on my '01 wheels (the '01-02s have a different finish than the '98-00s).

Let's see how it turned out:

I'm happy with the results and ph_rider has had Son do about 3 or 4 wheels as well (he had 2 of them done while at my house).

Regular BMW gray painted wheels are even easier for him. I don't want to quote prices because he prices them (reasonably)on a case by case basis, but when he quoted SONET a price for his wheel we went (in a good way).

Pictures courtesy of Bob Benline.

How much? Does he get gouges out?

Originally posted by johnlew
How much? Does he get gouges out?

I hesitate to say how much because the damage can vary quite a bit, but he was cheaper than those $109 wheel exchange places. It did help that he was able to work on 5 wheels at one stop so he gave us a little quantity discount.

I will say this. If you have no shop in your area that can do M Roadster wheels, it wouldn't be that cost prohibitive to ship them to Son to fix. especially if you have no other option.

He can repair some pretty nasty curb rash and gouges. He just has to start from far away from the rash to bring material over and have it turn out nice.

Originally posted by scottn2retro
Son uses a high speed rotatry tool to slightly redistribute the metal to fill in curb rashes and then polishing out the scratches. You'll most likely want to get the tire re-balanced after this. Here is the '00 front wheel after the polishing step:

Where he polished, is that still primer paint showing or is he down to the aluminum?

Originally posted by Ron Stygar

Where he polished, is that still primer paint showing or is he down to the aluminum?

Depends on the damage, but in curb rash cases, he's polishing aluminum. Because I wasn't watching him full time I'm not sure if he has put some primer there over the spots. On my '01 wheels there was black showing in some spots (maybe black base coat/primer).

A service rep at Beverly Hills BMW (Laurie Down) originally recommended Son Tran to me. I had done a 5-6" long scrape / curb rash that I couldn't stand to look at. I'd also done a minor scape on another wheel.

Son quoted repairs per wheel below the price of the wheel replacement services (under $100 per wheel) before seeing the damage. He arrived at my home, and fixed the damage. We were so happy with his work, on the spot, we had him do 2 plain Volvo wheels -- which he did a lot cheaper than M Roadster wheels.

Scott figured that he'd be a great participant in the last SoCal Tech session -- and he did 3 wheels for Scott and 2 minor new scapes for me (those tight public garage curves and curbs #@$! ).

If you are anywhere in SoCal (maybe even San Diego), Son will travel to you.

Be sure to tell him that Scott and I sent you..... we'd like a deal next time we need wheel repairs.

ey guys.. whats this guys number? I have a few curb rashes I need fixed on my Benz... thanks

(714) 742-6855

That one pic looks like my wheels...I wish I had a person to do that kind of work on my M wheels here in Seattle.....

Originally posted by scottn2retro
I saw an add on Toadfly for a set of '00 M roadster wheels (with some tire left) so I picked them up. That's the good news. The bads was one of the fronts was scratched (but not gouged) on the rim and on the spokes and while washing some jack@ss (that would be me) let one roll away and fall shiny side down on the gravel in the alley making nice pits in the finish So that's 2 wheels screwed - add to that the curb rash I put on one of the '01s wheels at Bimmerfest 2002 of all places, and I've got 3 wheels with gotchas

Sounds like you should use cheap steel wheels. :-) Just kidding...

How did he handle the ///M sticker? Did you put new ones on or mask the old ones?

If you did new ones, do you have part numbers?

Thanks!

///greg

Originally posted by gmarch
Sounds like you should use cheap steel wheels. :-) Just kidding...
How did he handle the ///M sticker? Did you put new ones on or mask the old ones?
If you did new ones, do you have part numbers?
Thanks!
///greg

I know, I was cursing myself for a good 5 to 10 minutes on the one I let roll away

There was no damage to my ///M signs, so he just masked them off. I know this sounds crazy, but for you guys out of the area, if you really have no alternatives at all in your area, his prices might make shipping the wheel to him something to consider.

It's been a few weeks since the wheels were painted.

Naturally I could feel the difference in the surface between the old clear coat and where the new paint had been applied. I used some Meguair's Deep Crystal (marketing ) Polish, which yes I know is from the cheap commercial line (maroon bottles), but in this case I was looking for a very MILD polish - which this stuff is so that Joe Schmoe (or me) doesn't take his clear coat off with it. I worked with the paint polish a while (and with that stuff, it took a while) and finally got it nice and smooth. Put some wax on top and now, not only can you not see the difference between the old paint and the new, I can't feel the difference.

Scott... so I let my friend drive my roadster.. and we were at Carls Junior going through the drive thru and this SOB curbs my rim Im pretty pissed off... do you think your guy and repair my rim.. it has curb rash on the very tip of the rim next to where the tire meets it.. the curb rash is roughly about a foot long... do you think its fixable.. and how much do you think it will cost... im going to make my friend pay for it.. I guess thats what I get for letting other people drive my car.. Im never ever ever again letting anyone touch my baby

Sound like a typical-but-long curb rash. I'd guess that Son Tran will have no problem doing it.

He'll give you an estimate for doing it before he starts -- and he'll come to your home or place of business in SoCal.

One more thing... the rim that got curb'd is the right rear rim.. I have seen in the pics and it looks like son's fixing the rim w/ the rim off the car.. does the rim have to be dismounted or can he do it with it on?

DINANISR3 - This coming Sat. the 23rd, Son will be at the next HACK session. (See the DIY Forum) You may want to come by and take advantage of the "quantity discount" break he gives us when we have a bunch of wheels done at one location. HACK can get you directions to his place.

Sometimes, especially if the damage in on the edge of the rim, Son can do the work on the car. He did my '01 rim on the car. That curb rash was also at the area on the rim yours is. The pics you see are of the spare rims which aren't on the car yet.

Hmmm, I wonder if he'll come out to D.C.

I mean, his truck say Wheels Repaired at Any Location. Actually, I'm just jealous. It'll cost me $90 a rim here, so I'm just going to get some street wheels, and keep the Stars for AutoXing.

Actually $90 for M Roadster wheels is not bad (mine was only a little under that). That's why I bought the spare set of wheels, to beat up on - I'm going to put the originals away for a while.

Son's got a new phone number:

(714) 742 - 6855

edit: I got rid of the pic in one of the earlier posts that showed the old number on his door panel.

ey scott.. do u know when the next hack session or gathering will be when Son will be there? i have one rim that needs repair and my friend just got a 5er that needs all 4 repaired.. so i have 5 wheels that need to be done.. thanks just let me know.. thanks

Originally posted by scottn2retro
Son's got a new phone number:

(714) 742 - 6855

Thanks for the update.