Safely Removing Rim Without Damaging

[T88turbo]

I had my wheels balanced a few weeks ago and the idiots that did the balance grazed where the holes were for the bolts on the rims. They also nicked a bit of paint off from the rim near the bolt. This was on 4 wheels. What the hell did they do wrong?

Someone told me they should have used a plastic piece that goes around the air gun to prevent damaging the wheel? Does anyone know what this plastic thing is so i can tell the next person that works on my car?

Cheers

[Joe_89]

Yea the wa***rs that changed my tyres did the same thing

I was looking for a decent socket the other day but only found a set of them and didnt want all three, made by SCA i think? 17mm, 19mm and 21mm and they all have the protective outer lining bit, $35 from supercheap.

[fcruz3r]

its a care factor thing. most tyre shops know that you wont kick a fuss about minor scratches on the wheels so they dont really bother.

its like getting new tyres and balancing...this one place I went actually did the trouble of deflating ...rotate...inflate...balance a couple of times until they found a setting with minimal counter balance weights. other shops will install and balance and stick a ton of lead weights on one side if that's what the reading on the machine told them

[scathing]

Someone told me they should have used a plastic piece that goes around the air gun to prevent damaging the wheel? Does anyone know what this plastic thing is so i can tell the next person that works on my car?

Dunno what its name is, but yeah good tyre shops will cover the sockets in plastic.

If you've got a good relationship with the tyre shop and they don't have the plastic sleeve, ask them to put tape over the sockets. At home I wrap mine in masking tape or race tape. If they're lazy and don't know you they'll either give you lip service or tell you to get stuffed, but if you get on with them they might take the extra 30 seconds.

I've only found a couple of places that are willing to take care to not damage wheels. I was really happy to deal with Tyrepower Hornsby when I got my TE37s. Not only are their sockets plastic sheathed, but the guys there actually wrapped my metal valve steps with cloth so they could screw them in with pliers (or whatever tool it is they use to grip it) without scratching them. They also made sure they were careful moving the wheels on and off the car.

They also knew not to airgun-tighten my RAYS wheelnuts, which puts them well above most knuckle-draggers working at tyre shops.

[Daleo]

If you had noticed at the time, refusing to pay the bill until they agree to have all damage repaired , certainly would have made them be careful NEXT time...

But seriously, how long was it before you noticed? If it was only hours, go back complain, it's your property they're working on , you're paying them, there's an expectation that they don't damage things...

It's a shame to have to find out this way, check out ANY work done on your car BEFORE you pay. Most mechanics, etc, are careful, but some are not.