Hey guys,

I have an old Borbet Type A wheel that is slightly bent (only visible on the balancer machine) and is chrome (does that make things worse?).

Anyone have a favorite shop in the area? What should I look to pay for this?

Thanks,

Eric

 

Hi Eric,

There is a company located here in Anaheim off the 91 at Kramer and LaPalma; Custom Wheel Service; a guy by the name of Paul Watanabe owns and runs the place...I have known Paul for 17 years and they have been there longer than that...anyway, he does rim straightening for all kinds of wheels, whether it is a 3pc rim, a 2pc barrel, or 1pc cast wheels he can tell you for sure if it can be fixed and he can fix it right...I have referred many people to him for this and most have success. Having old wheels and one being damaged is a bummer, having the opportunity to fix it is worth looking in to. Paul can be reached at (714) 632-6700
You mentioned the wheel is chrome too, the only set back with that is that you may have to have the wheel re-plated and that will just add to the cost...probably about $120.00 for strip and re-plate...don't quote me, I am guessing that is what he may charge...but you can call him.

I hope this helps

Jimbo

 

thanks for the info, I have two sets of wheels need to re-finish, I'm guessing they can do it too. I'll give them a call.

 

My brother and I dropped 3 Porsche Cup II wheel sets and center caps at CWS before New Years 2010 for paint refinishing, and just got the last of the parts back, five (5) weeks later. Horrible service and mediocre painting at best. His trial & error approach was additionally painful for us, as the one and-a-half hour roundtrips to his shop to deal with the screw-ups mounted ... final total, four (4) roundtrips.

First problem, the newly painted wheel sets had been slid around his shop's concrete floor, resulting in a slew of nasty scratches on the rear lips. His reply, "well unless they're for a showcar, it's not an issue". Really? He did agree to a touch-up ... another week passes, another trip.

Up front, Paul misled us claiming he has his own paint shop nearby to his office - later we realized it's a shop where he subcontracts paint work. For some reason his paint subcontractor didn't paint the Meteor Gray Metallic factory-color on the edges of the front face lips. Who does that? After mounting tires, the set looked like 4 Oreo cookies. Time now an issue, and after growing frustration, I bought paint and touched-up the edges myself.

Next, the center caps took three passes to get a reasonable finish that color-matched, plus so the paint build-up didn't obliterate the insignias. To add insult to injury, after his subcontractor fouled these up multiple times, Paul charged us for extra paint to correct their errors. The wheel paint is already starting to flake-off in places, probably due to incomplete/improper surface preparation or priming.

BTW, to bolster his cred in the wheel refinishing business after our bad experiences, Paul stated he has a customer who monthly travels from Atlanta to his shop with wheels in suitcases for refinishing. Really? There are surely better wheel refinishing services between LA and Atlanta. Do yourself a favor and avoid Paul and his Custom Wheel Service.

 

My company uses wheelsamerica.com They pick up for free and drop off. Always happy with their service.. If you dont like the outcome they will also re do for free.

 

I apologize for your bad experience, I have known Paul for many years and this was the first time I have ever heard about a negative experience with him fixing wheels. I am very sorry that you had this outcome, just prior to giving you his info I had a friend who is local from Newport Beach who came to our shop with some old Kenesis wheels and assembled them, it turned out that a couple of the rim parts were out of round and I referred him to Paul to fix them...my friend got back to me a few days later and said the were fixed perfect and he really was pleased.

The next time I see or talk to Paul I am going to shame the $hit out of him

Jim