General Panda 15in diamond-cut alloys on a silver Panda?
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General Panda 15in diamond-cut alloys on a silver Panda?
We'll probably need a photoshop wizard to pull that one off, I haven't heard or seen any silver cars with these alloys either, even on google image search.
They're quite similar to the factory bicolour alloys I have on my 500, the car is metallic grey and they look really well so I'd imagine they'd suit the panda too
very similar to the 'standard' alloys of the UK spec 4x4 - there must be photo of that somewhere... here for example: http://www.larevueautomobile.com/fiche-technique/photos/2013/Fiat/Panda-4x4/Fiat_Panda_4x4_001.jpg
Aren't those alloys standard on all 4x4s?
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These diamond cut wheels were standard on the special edition, "Antarctica" that celebrated 30 years of Panda 4x4's.
The Antarctica's only came in white with a black roof, tinted rear windows, orange mirror caps and wheel centres and penguins!
http://www.fiat.co.uk/fiat-panda-4x4-antarctica
They look good and I think due to the dark paint will look fine on a silver car.
One problem is they aren't easy to refurbish when the time comes (and it will come, they are fairly soft alloy and the rim chips easily)
It's not a quick strip, fill and repaint!
The Antarctica's only came in white with a black roof, tinted rear windows, orange mirror caps and wheel centres and penguins!
http://www.fiat.co.uk/fiat-panda-4x4-antarctica
They look good and I think due to the dark paint will look fine on a silver car.
One problem is they aren't easy to refurbish when the time comes (and it will come, they are fairly soft alloy and the rim chips easily)
It's not a quick strip, fill and repaint!
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And, if you live in a climate where they salt the roads in winter, they'll corrode, however meticulously you try to maintain them.
I'd never leave any kind of diamond cut wheel on a car in daily use in the UK between October and March.
But that's a good excuse to go buy some winter wheels & tyres.
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I like it - looks very coordinated, like someone actually thought about the design of the whole. The curves in the wheels complement the shape of the Panda perfectly.
I much prefer this to black wheels (which to me look like a hire car on steelies when someone's removed the trims), but taste is a personal thing.
I much prefer this to black wheels (which to me look like a hire car on steelies when someone's removed the trims), but taste is a personal thing.
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So I did this to one of my bicolour alloys recently, brought it to a wheel refurb place and they said they'd have to diamond cut the whole face to sort it and it would be as new when done, cost 125Euro! Does that sound like a correct solution, ie, it can't be filled etc?
Diamond cut it, does mean nothing more then machine it to the pont the damage is gone and clear coat it again.
I could also mean they weld it and then machine it, and clear coat it.
I could also mean they weld it and then machine it, and clear coat it.
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It all depends on how deep the damage is, if it's deep it'll need filling with alloy (welded).
It's stripped, repaired (if needed) and painted.
The paint is usually electrostatically applied (powder coat) as it's fair hardier than wet painting and it's baked (probably several coats/bakes are needed).
Now the paint is cut back to alloy with a diamond coated cutting tool.
Three of my diamond cuts are either scuffed or kerbed (it's not me, honest), at least two would need filling, but it's pointless repairing them as I can't stop it happening again without a divorce!
It's stripped, repaired (if needed) and painted.
The paint is usually electrostatically applied (powder coat) as it's fair hardier than wet painting and it's baked (probably several coats/bakes are needed).
Now the paint is cut back to alloy with a diamond coated cutting tool.
Three of my diamond cuts are either scuffed or kerbed (it's not me, honest), at least two would need filling, but it's pointless repairing them as I can't stop it happening again without a divorce!
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Yeah, look on Youtube for alloy wheel repairs, powder coating and diamond cutting wheels. There's plenty of vids on how it's done.
If that's all the damage there is, all the existing paint is sound, and it doesn't need filling with weld material, then I don't see why they'd need to repaint the wheel - they could just diamond cut the face back to sound metal & relacquer.
OTOH, if they do need to weld any metal in, then the heat of the welding will likely damage the paint & they'll need to powder coat & bake the whole wheel before cutting back. Getting the paint to perfectly match the remaining wheels is part of the skill, and is one the differences between an OK job and a top quality one. Much easier of course if you're refurbishing all 4.
Either way, they might need to put the wheel in an oven at the end to cure the lacquer.
Getting lacquer to adhere properly to bare alloy is challenging; any defect in the coating and the winter salt will soon get underneath the clearcoat & ruin the finish. However carefully it's done, they're unlikely to stay pristine for the life of the car in the UK climate.
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Made a quick photoshop.
Thanks TP! They look good, but I am not completely swayed by them. I think the Mopar option wheels are a darker grey than that and polished highlights are brighter?
I just realised that the entry-level Fiat Ritmo (Bravo) came on 16x7 steel rims. That might be a much cheaper way of getting 16in rims. I could afford to get them painted and fit new tyres.
I am still not sure about the ride/handling compromise of 16in wheels though. They would look really good (IMO), still give good turn in response but economy and ride?
