Purley Way car parks, retail park kerbs and scuffed alloys
A Saturday run from Beddington Lane over to the Purley Way retail parks is a routine trip for many local drivers, and it's also a reliable way to scuff a wheel. Traffic backs up onto the approach roads, the car parks are busy, and the raised kerbs around bays, trolley shelters and pedestrian islands are exactly the height to catch a low-profile tyre and the rim behind it. One misjudged turn and the outer lip picks up a silver graze. Vans and pickups working out of Beddington Lane pick up their share of scrapes too, often on tight turns into yards and loading bays.
That graze isn't only cosmetic. Once the paint or lacquer is broken, moisture gets in, and on a diamond cut wheel corrosion creeps outwards under the lacquer, leaving a milky, spreading patch. Brake dust from lots of stop-start driving along the A23 also bakes onto the barrel and spokes, and if it's left, it pits the finish. Repaired early, a kerbed wheel is usually a simple job. Left for a few winters, it needs far more preparation.
When you bring the car in, we check each wheel for cracks and buckles before quoting, because a cracked wheel isn't something we'll refinish. For kerb rash, the damaged area is sanded, filled and shaped, then the finish is matched. For wider damage or corrosion, the wheel is stripped and powder coated, or diamond cut and lacquered if that's the original finish. Tyres come off, and wheels are balanced before refitting. If your car has tyre pressure sensors inside the wheels, they're removed before any stripping and checked when refitted. We torque the wheels to the correct setting and recommend a quick check after about 50 miles.
From the old village near St Mary's Church and the Carew Manor dovecote, it's a short drive west along the A232 and up London Road to us. You'll get a written price per wheel before we start, and the work carries our 3-month workmanship warranty.