How are alloy wheels refurbished step by step? (UK guide)

The short answer

A standard painted alloy refurbishment in the UK follows a fixed sequence: the wheel is inspected, the tyre is removed or broken from the bead, the old finish is stripped (chemically or by media blasting), then any kerb damage and corrosion are repaired with filler and sanding. The bare wheel is primed, given a base colour (wet paint or powder coat), then sealed with a clear lacquer and cured. Finally the tyre is refitted and the wheel is balanced before going back on the car. A diamond-cut finish adds a CNC lathe-cutting stage before the final lacquer. The whole job typically spans one to several working days depending on the finish and how many wheels are done together.

Refurbishing an alloy wheel properly is a multi-stage process, not a single spray job. Skipping or rushing a stage is the most common cause of finishes that peel or corrode early. Here is the standard order of work for a UK refurbishment.

Standard refurbishment stages

First stepInspection for cracks and runout
TyreRemoved or broken from the bead
Old finishStripped chemically or media-blasted
Finish layersPrimer, colour, lacquer
Final stepTyre refit and wheel balancing

Inspection, tyre removal and stripping

Before any cosmetic work, a reputable refurbisher should inspect the wheel. This means checking for structural cracks (often around the spokes or the inner barrel), checking the rim for buckling or runout, and assessing how deep the kerb damage and corrosion go. A wheel with a structural crack is a different job from a cosmetic refresh, and an honest assessment at this stage matters for safety.

Next, the tyre is dealt with. For a full strip-and-recoat the tyre is usually removed from the wheel, or at minimum broken away from the bead area so the rim edge can be worked on. The valve is often replaced at this point as a matter of course.

The old finish is then stripped back to bare metal. This is done in one of two main ways:

Chemical stripping — the wheel is submerged or coated so the old paint and lacquer lift off.
Media or shot blasting — an abrasive is fired at the surface to remove the old coating and surface corrosion.

Many workshops use a thermal/chemical strip followed by blasting to get a genuinely clean surface, because new finishes only adhere well to properly prepared bare metal.

Repair, priming and colour

With the wheel stripped, the damage is repaired. Kerb scuffs and gouges are filled with a metal-grade filler, then sanded back flush so the rim profile is restored. Pitting from corrosion is treated and filled. The whole face and rim are then smoothed so the finish has an even base to sit on. Quality of this preparation is what separates a refurbishment that lasts from one that looks fine for a few months and then shows the old damage ghosting through.

A primer coat is applied to the clean, repaired metal. Primer promotes adhesion and provides a corrosion-resistant base. After the primer cures, the colour coat goes on. This is where the two main methods diverge:

Wet (liquid) paint — sprayed in a booth, allowing a very wide range of colours and metallic finishes.
Powder coating — a dry powder is applied electrostatically and then cured in an oven, producing a tough, even film.

Both are legitimate. Powder coating is prized for durability and chip resistance; wet paint allows more colour and finish flexibility.

Stage	What happens	Why it matters
Inspect	Check for cracks, buckling, corrosion depth	Identifies safety issues and job scope
Strip	Chemical strip and/or media blast to bare metal	New finish only bonds to clean metal
Repair	Fill and sand kerb damage and pitting	Restores rim profile and even surface
Prime	Adhesion and corrosion-resistant base coat	Stops early peel and corrosion
Colour	Wet paint or powder coat	The visible finish
Lacquer	Clear protective top coat, then cured	Seals and protects the colour
Balance	Refit tyre, re-balance wheel	Smooth, safe running at speed

Typical painted refurbishment sequence for guidance. Sources: industry refurbishment guides; tyre and wheel trade practice.

Lacquer, curing and final balancing

Over the colour coat, a clear lacquer is applied. The lacquer is the layer that actually faces the weather, road salt and brake dust, so it does the protective work and gives the finish its gloss or satin appearance. After lacquering, the wheel is cured — powder-coated and many lacquered finishes are baked in an oven to harden the film fully. Curing is why a refurbished wheel is not simply ready the moment it looks dry: the coating needs to reach full hardness.

Once the finish has cured, the tyre is refitted and a new valve fitted if not already done. The wheel and tyre assembly is then balanced on a machine, which adds small counterweights so the wheel runs true at speed without vibration. The wheels are then refitted to the car and the nuts torqued to the manufacturer's setting.

The preparation, not the paint, makes the job last: most early peel and corrosion failures trace back to a wheel that was not stripped to genuinely clean metal, or where corrosion was painted over rather than removed. A finish is only ever as good as the surface underneath it.

The diamond-cut variation, and how to spot a quality job

The sequence above describes a standard painted or powder-coated refurbishment. A diamond-cut finish follows the same early stages — inspect, strip, repair — but then adds a precision machining step before the final lacquer. After the recesses of the wheel face are painted in their colour, the wheel is mounted on a CNC lathe and a fine layer of metal is cut from the raised areas of the face. This produces the bright, two-tone machined look that distinguishes a diamond-cut wheel from a plain painted one. Because that machined surface is exposed bare aluminium, the final lacquer is doing essential protective work, not just adding gloss — if it is poorly applied or not cured properly, moisture reaches the metal and it corrodes, showing as the cloudy, milky look diamond-cut wheels are known to develop. Diamond cutting can also only be repeated a limited number of times, because each re-cut removes more metal, whereas a painted or powder-coated finish builds up on the wheel rather than cutting into it.

Whichever finish is used, two refurbished wheels can look identical on collection day, yet differ greatly months later. The difference comes almost entirely from how carefully the early, unglamorous stages were done. Signs of a quality job include:

The wheel was stripped to bare metal rather than scuffed and over-coated — a finish sprayed over old lacquer or corrosion will lift or bubble.
Corrosion was removed, not buried. White-worm corrosion painted over instead of stripped back continues underneath and reappears at the rim edge.
The rim lip is finished all the way to the edge — only possible with the tyre off — rather than stopping short where a tyre masked the area.
Each coat was allowed to cure before the next, and the final lacquer or powder fully cured, rather than the job being rushed to a same-day deadline.
The wheel was re-balanced after the tyre was refitted, so it runs smoothly at speed.

None of this is visible in the finished gloss, which is exactly why preparation quality is the single biggest factor in whether a refurbishment lasts years or starts failing within a season.

Frequently asked questions

Can the whole refurbishment be done with the tyre still on?

For a quality full refurbishment the tyre is normally removed or at least broken from the bead, so the rim edge can be stripped and finished properly. Some quick cosmetic repairs are done with the tyre masked and on the wheel, but this limits how thoroughly the rim lip can be treated.

What is the difference between powder coating and wet paint in this process?

Powder coating applies a dry powder electrostatically and cures it in an oven, giving a tough, even film. Wet (liquid) paint is sprayed in a booth and allows a wider range of colours and metallic effects. Both are valid; powder coat is favoured for durability, wet paint for colour flexibility.

Does every refurbishment include wheel balancing?

Any refurbishment where the tyre is removed and refitted should finish with the wheel being re-balanced, because removing and refitting the tyre changes the balance. Balancing adds small weights so the wheel runs smoothly without vibration at speed.

Sources & further reading

Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific wheels. They are guidance, not a quotation.