A worn soft diamond wheel can be recoated at home with epoxy and diamond powder, and lapidaries have documented the method in detail: clean the wheel, brush on a mix of epoxy and diamond powder, and let it cure for about 24 hours. It is cheap in materials and slow in time. Sending the wheel to us for resurfacing costs more than the materials, takes about a week, and comes with a full refund if you are not happy. Both work. Which one makes sense depends on how many wheels you have, what grits you want, and whether you want to do the job.
How people do it at home
The method as practitioners describe it publicly:
- Clean the worn wheel with acetone.
- Suspend it on a dowel through the bore so the face can be coated all the way round.
- Mix epoxy with diamond powder. Practitioners use nickel-plated diamond powder.
- Brush the mix onto the face.
- Let it cure, about 24 hours.
Practitioners report roughly $30 of materials for four 6" wheels. One reported results that matched a new wheel. Another noted recoated wheels run noisier, because the epoxy is harder than the original bond. This is not our method written up. It is the home method as the people who use it describe it.
What you need to buy
- Epoxy, to mix with the powder.
- Nickel-coated diamond powder, one grit per wheel. That is what the method calls for. Our diamond powder is uncoated, so it is not what this method uses. We sell it for making paste and charging laps.
- Acetone, a dowel, a brush, and a clean place to cure a wheel for a day without dust settling on it.
Side by side
| Recoat at home | Send it to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost, one 6" wheel | Materials, a fraction of the powder and epoxy you buy | $39.95, plus shipping both ways |
| Cost, four 6" wheels | About $30 in materials, as practitioners report | $159.80, plus shipping |
| Your time | Cleaning, mixing, coating, and a 24-hour cure | Packing and shipping |
| Wheel out of service | About a day per coat | About a week |
| Grits | Whatever powder you buy | Any of 14: 60 to 200,000, plus cerium |
| Consistency | Depends on the coat you lay down | Our job to get right |
| If it goes wrong | You redo it | Full refund, including your shipping |
| Brands | Any | Any soft resin wheel |
When each one makes sense
Recoating at home makes sense if: you have several wheels and the materials cost matters more than the time; you already work with epoxy and have somewhere to cure a wheel; or you want to experiment with grits.
Sending it in makes sense if: you want the wheel back ready to use, without the cure time or the mess; you want a grit you do not have powder for, up to 200,000 or cerium; you want the result guaranteed; or the bore has worn oval, since we fit a new bushing when we resurface it.
Already recoated at home? In most cases we cannot resurface a wheel that has been recoated with epoxy. Call 714-771-7007 before you ship one. If you are deciding between the two, send the wheel to us first.
Questions we get
Can I recharge a Nova wheel myself?
Practitioners do it with epoxy and nickel-plated diamond powder. Nova is a soft resin wheel, so it can also be sent to us for resurfacing.
Does a home recoat match a new wheel?
Reports differ. One practitioner reported it matched a new wheel. Another reported it ran noisier. It depends on the job.
Is your process secret?
No. Resurfacing a soft wheel is a known method. What you pay us for is doing it consistently, in the grit you want, and standing behind the result.
Can you resurface a wheel I already recoated?
Usually not. Call us before you ship it.
Can I send hard wheels to be recoated?
We do not resurface hard wheels. See Resurfaceable or scrap.
Related: Resurfaceable or scrap, Resurfacing versus buying new, Changing grit when you resurface.