18" diamond cut monza refurb, opinions please

[bimbound]

So the 18" monza wheels are the main thing letting down the appearance of my recently purchased gti. They have a pretty bad case of white worm on all 4 wheels.

I've found a place local-ish to me that will do full diamond cut refurb for £85 a wheel which I think is more or less the going rate for this work and after a chat with them on the phone have no reason to doubt quality of the workmanship.

I can get them stripped and powder/coated sprayed for £45 a wheel keeping them in a single colour, eg losing the darker shading inside the wheel.

So my question is, is it worth getting the proper diamond cut refurb or will the wheels just end up in the same state again as soon as they pick up a few chips and water gets in behind the lacquer. I will be cleaning the car weekly and would try to keep on top of keeping the wheels sealed and touch up any chips with clear nail varnish but is this a losing battle?! Is it worth nearly double the price per wheel?

Those of you who have had this refurb done, were you glad you did it or did you later wish that you'd just had them re-painted which maybe doesnt look quite so good but makes the wheels somewhat more resilient.

[ArildStavrum]

IMO you should definitely pay the extra.

[chowgar]

So the 18" monza wheels are the main thing letting down the appearance of my recently purchased gti. They have a pretty bad case of white worm on all 4 wheels.

I've found a place local-ish to me that will do full diamond cut refurb for £85 a wheel which I think is more or less the going rate for this work and after a chat with them on the phone have no reason to doubt quality of the workmanship.

I can get them stripped and powder/coated sprayed for £45 a wheel keeping them in a single colour, eg losing the darker shading inside the wheel.

So my question is, is it worth getting the proper diamond cut refurb or will the wheels just end up in the same state again as soon as they pick up a few chips and water gets in behind the lacquer. I will be cleaning the car weekly and would try to keep on top of keeping the wheels sealed and touch up any chips with clear nail varnish but is this a losing battle?! Is it worth nearly double the price per wheel?

Those of you who have had this refurb done, were you glad you did it or did you later wish that you'd just had them re-painted which maybe doesnt look quite so good but makes the wheels somewhat more resilient.

didnt bother with the refurb and had them powdercoated...

[alexmccabe]

When I bought my car, the previous owner had the wheels refurbed ready for sale. They are in anthracite grey and they look excellent, much better than the standard look.

[S2 Ant]

I love the mirrored shine the original Monza 2's have... Love mine how they are and wouldnt want them any other way... when the car is clean and the sun is shining, they look pretty special IMO and painting them / powder coating them or anything else i think ruins them

[itismebigd]

This is the age old Q the monza 2 is an awesome looking wheel imo,but as you have rightfully said its prone to the notorious white worm,i have had two sets of said wheel now, my first set had white worm and i decided to go down the very exspensive route of having them mirror polished with no laquer on them,which ment no more hassel with white worm but as they got duller then all i needed to do was get out the autosol.but when i got the wheels back from the polishers omg were they mirror lol wae to much bling for me so i sold them. i now am on my second set of monza  2 and altho i dont have white worm as yet i am considering having them re done as vw intended my local works is diamond wheels in dundee and have quoted me £65 per wheel which i thot was very reasonable and i am sure if i could get enough rims they would do us a deal on the forum.might be worth putting out the feelers.

Dougie

[Dubbin]

Chowgar - are your wheels finished in a "two-tone" powdercoat? The inside looks to be darker than the outer flat. They look fantastic in the photo. I've always thought that the whole wheel had to be powdercoated the same colour.

[sandancer]

Had mine refurbished Mountain grey (LH7Z), really suits the silver well

[homesqueeze]

The diamond cut look is nice, but yes it will always find it's way back, although regular care will help to delay it. I was unsure about getting mine powdercoated, but I'm so glad I did! If anything I think they look better now than when they were diamond cut. I got mine finished in a custom 'Smoked Chrome' and I love it. Changes colour depending on the light and angle you view them. Plus they are unique, no-one will have exactly the same colour finish  

[chowgar]

Chowgar - are your wheels finished in a "two-tone" powdercoat? The inside looks to be darker than the outer flat. They look fantastic in the photo. I've always thought that the whole wheel had to be powdercoated the same colour.

powder coated black then masked off sprayed then lacquered...

[alexmccabe]

On this page you can see mine (the red GTi) http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,19933.630/topicseen.html

It's not a great pic, really need to get some more before I start doing things to it.

[bimbound]

didnt bother with the refurb and had them powdercoated...

What colour are these on the face and do you have a picture of them on the car?

When I bought my car, the previous owner had the wheels refurbed ready for sale. They are in anthracite grey and they look excellent, much better than the standard look.

Any pics?

I love the mirrored shine the original Monza 2's have... Love mine how they are and wouldnt want them any other way... when the car is clean and the sun is shining, they look pretty special IMO and painting them / powder coating them or anything else i think ruins them

They do look amazing when they are perfect, my main concern is the risk of them ending up the horrible state they are in now again and having to keep splashing out on refurbs!

This is the age old Q the monza 2 is an awesome looking wheel imo,but as you have rightfully said its prone to the notorious white worm,i have had two sets of said wheel now, my first set had white worm and i decided to go down the very exspensive route of having them mirror polished with no laquer on them,which ment no more hassel with white worm but as they got duller then all i needed to do was get out the autosol.but when i got the wheels back from the polishers omg were they mirror lol wae to much bling for me so i sold them. i now am on my second set of monza  2 and altho i dont have white worm as yet i am considering having them re done as vw intended my local works is diamond wheels in dundee and have quoted me £65 per wheel which i thot was very reasonable and i am sure if i could get enough rims they would do us a deal on the forum.might be worth putting out the feelers.

Dougie

£65 a wheel seems a bargain for re-finishing with diamond cut, although i'm a long way away so I guess by the time the wheels were shipped to and from it'd be in the same ball park as getting them done locally, be interesting to see what deals might be offered though.

Had mine refurbished Mountain grey (LH7Z), really suits the silver well

Look great on the silver 

The diamond cut look is nice, but yes it will always find it's way back, although regular care will help to delay it. I was unsure about getting mine powdercoated, but I'm so glad I did! If anything I think they look better now than when they were diamond cut. I got mine finished in a custom 'Smoked Chrome' and I love it. Changes colour depending on the light and angle you view them. Plus they are unique, no-one will have exactly the same colour finish 

These look great  as soon as I see the word chrome it conjurs up images of nastiness in my mind but these do look ace!

[RobboGTI]

The diamond cut look is nice, but yes it will always find it's way back, although regular care will help to delay it. I was unsure about getting mine powdercoated, but I'm so glad I did! If anything I think they look better now than when they were diamond cut. I got mine finished in a custom 'Smoked Chrome' and I love it. Changes colour depending on the light and angle you view them. Plus they are unique, no-one will have exactly the same colour finish 

Very very nice! Do you have any pictures of the whole car with this wheel finish?

[will_15]

I've head really good things about http://www.lepsons.com they may not be local but nationwide delivery & pickup is offered.

Two of the Monza II's on my Golf were refurbed in OEM style by it's previous owner at Lepsons and they are immaculate, look brand new.

[alexmccabe]

When I bought my car, the previous owner had the wheels refurbed ready for sale. They are in anthracite grey and they look excellent, much better than the standard look.

Any pics?

Sure! Fresh off the camera this morning