RAW Works - 01 - Introduction

Hi everyone.

RAW Works (coming about as Ray's Alloy Wheels) is my outlet for my hobby involving refurbishing automotive wheels.  I mostly refurbish 3-piece wheels but also do 1-piece and 2-piece wheels too.  

RAW Works came about when I was on a student wage with an expensive hobby; I couldn't afford new, branded wheels so I often scoured internet classifieds and wreckers for wheels with rebuilding potential.  Just like many accessories automotive and non-automotive, there are "branded" wheels out there that carry their original designs and have the quality and R&D backed up to attest to their quality.  Such examples include wheels from companies like BBS, Work, SSR and OZ Racing, just to name a few.  They have been in the industry for many years with plenty of motorsport pedigree and even have been contracted to supply wheels for passenger cars of many well-known manufacturers (e.g. Volkswagen and Porsche often use BBS wheels for their cars sold to the general public).  And as with many premium brands, there are multiple copies and replicas.  As an enthusiast, these I despise as they have saturated the market and overall just decrease the value of a car due to their inferiority.

So, my first project started as a simple set of 1-piece wheels that desperately needed a new lease on life, with plenty of caked-on brake dust and gutter rash.  I attended an automotive paint class and bought some equipment to get started, and I ended with a as-new set of wheels that I was able to sell on eBay for the price I wanted.

My first proper project that really got the RAW Works name out was a set of BBS RS (arguably the most popular aftermarket alloy wheel) for a mate of mine.  

I ended up meeting a lot of new people through the build of that set of wheels and got a bunch of contacts to further my hobby.  This is going back about 6-7 years, and I've built countless more wheels since then.  I hope to upload more of my projects here to share!