SE Alloy Wheel, chrome cap corroded...

venusinfurs

venusinfurs

Member
As the glorious weather is upon us i'm spending some time tidying up the future classic Audi A2 :D

Is there an easy fix for the chrome oxidation or do i need to replace the cap? If i need to replace where do i get this from? Can't find any on ebay... cheers.


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Hi there is no easy way of removing the corrosion, it's under the plastic coating. They do come up on eBay from time to time but the best option is a trip to the dealers. Take a deep breath though, they are surprisingly expensive!
 
venusinfurs said:
As the glorious weather is upon us i'm spending some time tidying up the future classic Audi A2 :D

Is there an easy fix for the chrome oxidation or do i need to replace the cap? If i need to replace where do i get this from? Can't find any on ebay... cheers.


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Hi
There is no easy repair unfortunately.
You could get them sanded down an painted but they wouldn't look right.
You will struggle to find any on eBay that are not corroded in that way.
You can get then from Audi still, probably around £30 each.

Give them a call and check.

It might be the only option you have if you want them to be perfect.

Steve B
 
simufly said:
Hi there is no easy way of removing the corrosion, it's under the plastic coating. They do come up on eBay from time to time but the best option is a trip to the dealers. Take a deep breath though, they are surprisingly expensive!
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Hi, I watched out for these caps on ebay for a couple of weeks after I bought my SE - minus two centre caps - at the beginning of April this year; unfortunately the ones advertised that didn't look perished had damaged fixing clips and the ones with their fixing clips intact were corroded just like yours.

I bought replacements from my local Audi dealer. They were £22.13 + VAT each - £53.11 for the pair.

Then, because of Sod's Law, shortly after fitting the new ones, one of the original two caps fell off as I was washing the wheel , I discovered that that one had only two (of the original four) fixings, so I'll be off to the dealership and buying another one any day now! And a floppy wiper whilst I'm there; as the OP suggested, now that the weather's improving it's time to sort out the cosmetics.
 
Corroded (milky) wheel caps can improved! (sort of)

I needed a full set of caps and could not justify the £100+ at this stage. I acquired a second hand set of caps with a fair amount of corrosion to the ‘chrome’ ring hoping to improve on the condition

Purchased set:
standard caps 3.jpg

Whilst not being a proper refurb and might be frowned upon by the purist I attempted to improve them.

The ring is of Plasticoted polished aluminium.

The ring cannot be removed from the cap itself as it is crimped all around the perimeter, so there is no option but to work on the assembled cap.

Lifting the Plasticote off the corroded areas with a craft knife is very easy but it is so well adhered to the unaffected areas the decision was made to leave that alone (first compromise)

Rubbing down the corrosion with fine emery paper, then wet and dry worked well but care has to be taken not to damage the central painted area. Polishing the raw aluminium with metal polish such as liquid Brasso started to bring up the shine then rubbing with buffing compound produced a very shiny surface. Use of a small buffing wheel would have been desirable but it would be difficult to avoid damage to the centre paint, so it was done only by hand (second compromise).

The junction to the original Plasticote was obvious and is the biggest limitation to the quality of the final job.

A thorough clean with spirit before masking off and spraying with clear lacquer.

Hear I got a little too enthusiastic and caused the odd run, so be patient and apply several thin coats.

The overall appearance from a few feet away is far better than the milky corroded ones As I say this may not appeal to the purist but for me it is a stop gap until I can justify buying new.

‘restored’ cap:

P1020876 (Large).JPG


There is a single one in good condition currently listed on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A2-A...heels_tyre_Trims_Trims_ET&hash=item2a3c8ad904

but at £22 plus P&P it is not much of saving over the dealership

Can I set a challenge for who can produce the best restored caps!

They are so rare and expensive a good solution would be good news

Geoff
 
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i'm going to give in an buy two of the new ones, thanks for the links.

How easy is it to remove the old cap without doing any damage? Any tips?
 
venusinfurs said:
i'm going to give in an buy two of the new ones, thanks for the links.

How easy is it to remove the old cap without doing any damage? Any tips?
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There's a tool designed to remove the cap - you'll find it here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130988163279?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT but a thin screwdriver inserted at an angle through the hole in the cap will do the job just as well.

Second tip: When replacing the caps, make sure that the 'removal hole' is lined up with the tyre valve; any other way and there's a much greater possibility of breaking off the fixings.

Good luck,

Jeff
 
Jeff Sutcliffe said:
There's a tool designed to remove the cap - you'll find it here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130988163279?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT but a thin screwdriver inserted at an angle through the hole in the cap will do the job just as well.

Second tip: When replacing the caps, make sure that the 'removal hole' is lined up with the tyre valve; any other way and there's a much greater possibility of breaking off the fixings.

Good luck,

Jeff
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is this tool not in the Audi A2 tool kit?

- Just looked and it is indeed...
 
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