Thordog61

I brought my 2006 A8 to the dealer today to fix a leaking tire. (Had a nail in the tread)

At the same time I had them inspect my 19" turbines as it appears to me as if there is clear on the rims that is hazing and coming off.

The service manager took pictures to send to Audi, but he was telling me that he doesn't think there is clear on the turbines and that something else, possibly a residue from a chemical, is covering the rims.

I doubt anything will be done by Audi, but I wanted to find out if anyone knew whether, or not, the turbines have clearcoat on them?

geordie

you will get anything done for this. However, Wheels America or a similar outfit can refinish. The polishing of the spokes prior to coating may have to be done by hand though to get the right appearance. expect around $100 per wheel minimum.

MP4.2+6.0

From trial and error, I can tell you common experiences I had with them across three different wheels, then a set of 4. Very uneven quality control, but with patience you can get a nice result. I think they are franchised, so it may vary a lot by location too.

If no other take away, don't let them touch any more than you need done--no general machining, no touching the wheel interior.

geordie

20 inch 9 spokes which have a machined finish to Texas to have it finished by hand. They did a very nice job.

MP4.2+6.0

came out really nice on the polished surface. Better than new since likewise it looks hand polished--no obvious machine marks or patterns. Very shiny and high end looking, yet not all the way to a fake chrome look either. But, nobody would think it was a painted surface done at less cost either. By chance when they first returned them they weren't clearcoated (yet another oops), so that gave me a chance to go over the tape lines where the side spokes were painted before they shot the clear coat.

The not so good areas are when they machined them, they didn't account for the center cap and I didn't catch it in full until I had the tires remounted and put the caps on. Thus, the caps don't go in fully flush. Also, they don't do a good job with the interior wheel paint, both behind the spokes where the clearcoat gets a bit rougher and in the barrel area especially. The original OEM finish was much, much better. But since the brake dust pretty much obscures this, it isn't a big thing visually on the car.