Monza Diamond refurb - Is it worth it?

[Nodz]

....Only a year!!? That's NOT good!

IIRC mine cost me £400 for the 4. They're powdercoated.

I had mine done this time last year at A1. But as the car was loaded onto the transporter this afternoon I noticed white worm around the centre badge and wheel bolts, It was quite bad around one of the rear wheels. Whether its because I haven't been washing them as often due to not having time over the past few months I'm not sure but its only appeared over the past 2 weeks tops.

Need to arrange to get them sorted when I get the car back a I can't live with them like it and the sooner they get looked at the better. Might even arrange to leave the car up that way and let one of the pro's off here detail it ready for the summer.

[Mk5 GTian]

Ive just sent mine off today to be powered coat black and then diamond cut face. Costing me £360 with postage etc

They get cleaned once a week and i will keep an eye on the laquer, hopefully they will last more than a year as i have winter tyres too.

Its the diamond cut monza that make the GTI in my opinion but saying that the shiny silver passat alloys on my car now look quite good

I totally agree, but I don't go down the winter/summer tyre route, so need something more durable that isn't gonna come with a yearly maintenance bill of 500 pounds!

[perky85]

Just sent a set of Focus ST alloys in for refurb,paint, diamond cut £70 per wheel 

Wheels collected yesterday, they will be back on my doorstep friday.

Quality is amazing, the company I use do alot of BMW wheels for me

[andrewparker]

....Only a year!!? That's NOT good!

IIRC mine cost me £400 for the 4. They're powdercoated.

I had mine done this time last year at A1. But as the car was loaded onto the transporter this afternoon I noticed white worm around the centre badge and wheel bolts, It was quite bad around one of the rear wheels. Whether its because I haven't been washing them as often due to not having time over the past few months I'm not sure but its only appeared over the past 2 weeks tops.

Need to arrange to get them sorted when I get the car back a I can't live with them like it and the sooner they get looked at the better. Might even arrange to leave the car up that way and let one of the pro's off here detail it ready for the summer.

Were they fully protected and waxed prior to going on the car?

[Nodz]

Not when they went on as they just finished being refurbed, when I got home I washed, waxed etc and kept on top of it religiously but the past few months due to work and stuff not had time to wash the car properly just had a quick wash here and there so this has probably contributed to it, another expensive lesson learnt lol

[RedRobin]

Not when they went on as they just finished being refurbed, when I got home I washed, waxed etc and kept on top of it religiously but the past few months due to work and stuff not had time to wash the car properly just had a quick wash here and there so this has probably contributed to it, another expensive lesson learnt lol

....This is what irritates me about the white worm problem - We simply shouldn't have to religiously clean our wheels nearly every week. Monza 18's look good but real-life practicality has been sacrificed. Design isn't just about aesthetics, and as a professional designer (now retired) it has actually put me off liking the lacquered diamond-cut finish!

To BBS and Volkswagen:

[monte]

I'd like to know what really causes this "White Worm"?

My Monzas are a few years old now and have been on through allsorts of weather! Never had any trace of WW.
Surely the Italian Reps are finished the same as the factory Monza's?

[RedRobin]

I'd like to know what really causes this "White Worm"?

My Monzas are a few years old now and have been on through allsorts of weather! Never had any trace of WW.
Surely the Italian Reps are finished the same as the factory Monza's?

....I'm gonna hazard a guess and suggest that once chipped, the seal of the lacquer is broken and consequently moisture and UK road salts (famous for being corrosive) then attack the lacquer. This is why the damage is *only* surface and not structural. Its spreading tends to support my theory.



^ You can see how it spreads organically 

If this is the case, then why can't BBS produce a lacquer which doesn't suffer from this? Whatever the cause, I think that BBS hollowed out their brains when they evolved their special Hollow Technology for the Monza wheel.

[monte]

WOW that looks awful.

I think an Ultra-super-duper Hard lacquer needs inventing!

[RedRobin]

WOW that looks awful.

I think an Ultra-super-duper Hard lacquer needs inventing!

....Well you would have thought that a lacquer used by Aston Martin would be up to the job but apparently not!

Yep, I couldn't afford to refurb at the time because I spent heavily on Quaife diff and KW V3 suspension, so had to wait. Folks couldn't understand why I left the white worm so long but I much prefer go to show and once I learnt it wasn't structurally damaging to the alloy wheel I wasn't bothered.

[brough74]

So whats the best wheel wax to give it a bit more protection ? Also i need a good cleaner for the tyre sidewalls as it has a few white pen marks on from a previous owner. I want to do the best i can before they go back on the car. I cant afford a refurb ever year as been suggested

[GrayMK5GTI]

....Only a year!!? That's NOT good!

IIRC mine cost me £400 for the 4. They're powdercoated.

I had mine done this time last year at A1. But as the car was loaded onto the transporter this afternoon I noticed white worm around the centre badge and wheel bolts, It was quite bad around one of the rear wheels. Whether its because I haven't been washing them as often due to not having time over the past few months I'm not sure but its only appeared over the past 2 weeks tops.

Need to arrange to get them sorted when I get the car back a I can't live with them like it and the sooner they get looked at the better. Might even arrange to leave the car up that way and let one of the pro's off here detail it ready for the summer.

To be honest, mine are doing this slightly  which i think has been caused by the centre caps damaging the laquer

A bit of the black paint has peeled off the rim too

It will be paint or powdercoat when they get really bad but they should do another year or so. Just goes to show whatever you try to do, Diamond cut is not a long term solution . . . .

So go on Robin, im waiting for the "I TOLD YOU SO" 

[RedRobin]

It will be paint or powdercoat when they get really bad but they should do another year or so. Just goes to show whatever you try to do, Diamond cut is not a long term solution . . . .

So go on Robin, im waiting for the "I TOLD YOU SO" 

....

Actually, much as I love and now prefer my Smoked Chrome powdercoated Monza 18's which haven't been out of storage since October 2009, I really do wish that the lacquered diamond-cut finish was more durable and more practical for those of us who drive more than we detail. In other words, I don't revel in other's white worm problems. However....



I TOLD YOU SO !! 

[GrayMK5GTI]

....

Actually, much as I love and now prefer my Smoked Chrome powdercoated Monza 18's which haven't been out of storage since October 2009, I really do wish that the lacquered diamond-cut finish was more durable and more practical for those of us who drive more than we detail. In other words, I don't revel in other's white worm problems. However....



I TOLD YOU SO !! 

[Mk5 GTian]

Not when they went on as they just finished being refurbed, when I got home I washed, waxed etc and kept on top of it religiously but the past few months due to work and stuff not had time to wash the car properly just had a quick wash here and there so this has probably contributed to it, another expensive lesson learnt lol

....This is what irritates me about the white worm problem - We simply shouldn't have to religiously clean our wheels nearly every week. Monza 18's look good but real-life practicality has been sacrificed. Design isn't just about aesthetics, and as a professional designer (now retired) it has actually put me off liking the lacquered diamond-cut finish!

To BBS and Volkswagen:

Absolutely Robin, I couldn't agree more. Having learnt a lot about my wheels over the past 6 months on here, I have come to the same conclusion. They have been designed because they look amazing in the showroom and help to sell the car, and little thought has gone into the longevity of the wheel. As such I'd say they're not fit for purpose, and VW should take some responsibility for this. Has the forum ever put any pressure on VW in the past over this?