The tyres on my 2002 Ford Focus Zetec are all good, but they are all losing air. I'm having to blow them up every 3 or 4 days. I had them 'sealed' at a local tyre place, but I think they just sprayed something around the rims and it didn't solve the problem.

A relative in the car industry has suggested that this problem might be because the alloys are old and pitted, so the seals between the wheels and the tyres are compromised.

He also said that the alloys can be recoated, which should fix the problem. Is this possible? Would this solve the problem? If so, does anyone know of a business in the Birmingham area that offers this service?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Just need to find a place offering alloy wheel refurbishment. They will repair and then either paint them or powder coat them. Powder coat is likely to be a better option in this case.

However I would be expecting £80+ per wheel nowadays. Plus the tyres need to be removed and refitted at additional cost. And the car would be out of action for a few days.

It might be cheaper and easier to buy another used set for a car of this age. Or buy a set that have already been refurbished.

Porous or poor sealing alloys - I had to sort this on a Fiesta some years ago, but only to one wheel, and of course, I had a full size spare............ tyre off, valve out, dress the sealing areas of the rim so they are smooth, and spray paint the normally hidden part of the rim. Ford have moved away from properly painting the rims, the insides now just get a coat of water colour........

I assume you do have valve caps, as valves enable you to pump the tyre up, and the cap is there to keep the air in, and the dirt out.

You can always identify a hire car - no valve caps...

How old are the tyres?

I have seen before that older tyres became porous and deflated within a few days.

2 hours ago, Paulkp said:

Porous or poor sealing alloys - I had to sort this on a Fiesta some years ago, but only to one wheel, and of course, I had a full size spare............ tyre off, valve out, dress the sealing areas of the rim so they are smooth, and spray paint the normally hidden part of the rim. Ford have moved away from properly painting the rims, the insides now just get a coat of water colour........

I assume you do have valve caps, as valves enable you to pump the tyre up, and the cap is there to keep the air in, and the dirt out.

You can always identify a hire car - no valve caps...

Thanks Paul. Yes I do have valve caps.

I do have a spare, so I could get them done one at a time. That's a great idea!

I'm pretty handy, so maybe I could have a go myself. What do you mean by 'dressing' the sealing areas of the rim? Is that sanding them?

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Hi,

Just need to find a place offering alloy wheel refurbishment. They will repair and then either paint them or powder coat them. Powder coat is likely to be a better option in this case.

However I would be expecting £80+ per wheel nowadays. Plus the tyres need to be removed and refitted at additional cost. And the car would be out of action for a few days.

It might be cheaper and easier to buy another used set for a car of this age. Or buy a set that have already been refurbished.

Thanks for replying.

The car is great, apart from this, so it's worth doing. It's cheaper than buying another car. I've had this one for nearly 9 years - the longest I've had any car - and I'm rather attached to it!

2 hours ago, JW1982 said:

How old are the tyres?

I have seen before that older tyres became porous and deflated within a few days.

Thanks for the information, but the tyres are relatively new.

13 minutes ago, linbadd said:

Thanks for the information, but the tyres are relatively new.

Were you losing air from all 4 wheels in a similar way, before the 'relatively new tyres' were fitted? And, did you have new valves fitted when the 'relatively new tyres' were fitted?

Many thanks for the replies to my post. I've now got several options to consider as a way forward.

Also thanks to Ford Owner's Club and all its members for help over many years for my previous Escorts, and now with my Focus.

59 minutes ago, linbadd said:

What do you mean by 'dressing' the sealing areas

Yes, just making sure the sealing areas are smooth with a bit of emery or similar. When I did it, I took the wheel over to a nearby friendly garage that also did tyres. They removed the tyre for me, and refitted it when I had sorted the rim - I did only cost me a couple of pints in those days !!

Before you do anything, when you remove the first wheel, cover it with soapy water, especially the tyre/rim interface, around the valve, and look for bubbles

Friendly small garages are like pubs - closing down. I have taken struts with springs across, and used their spring compressors when rebuilding suspension.

Just in case you get carried away.....

Car Mechanics November 2025 had an article on alloy wheel refurbishment. I no longer have it, as I pass my old magazines on !

1 hour ago, Paulkp said:

Yes, just making sure the sealing areas are smooth with a bit of emery or similar. When I did it, I took the wheel over to a nearby friendly garage that also did tyres. They removed the tyre for me, and refitted it when I had sorted the rim - I did only cost me a couple of pints in those days !!

Before you do anything, when you remove the first wheel, cover it with soapy water, especially the tyre/rim interface, around the valve, and look for bubbles

Friendly small garages are like pubs - closing down. I have taken struts with springs across, and used their spring compressors when rebuilding suspension.

Thanks, Paul. That's really helpful. I have a small tyre place nearby, that would be able to take tyres off and put them back on. It'll probably cost more than a couple of pints to do all 4, though. :-)

2 hours ago, YOG said:

Were you losing air from all 4 wheels in a similar way, before the 'relatively new tyres' were fitted? And, did you have new valves fitted when the 'relatively new tyres' were fitted?

2 hours ago, YOG said:

Were you losing air from all 4 wheels in a similar way, before the 'relatively new tyres' were fitted? And, did you have new valves fitted when the 'relatively new tyres' were fitted?

Thanks for replying. Yes and yes to both questions. They lose air at different rates, one being not too bad and one being very bad.

43 minutes ago, Paulkp said:

Just in case you get carried away.....

Car Mechanics November 2025 had an article on alloy wheel refurbishment. I no longer have it, as I pass my old magazines on !

Thanks Paul. I'll see if I can track down a copy.

I definitely second the soapy water trick and very close attention. Or if you have a large enough container, submerging the whole wheel into water is a bit more of a definitive way to tell if there are leaks in my opinion. Start by over-inflating them a bit, and look closely for bubbles.

I was convinced my alloys were porous, 3 of mine were leaking, and I had receipts from the previous owner who had 2 valves replaced and 2 tyres re-seated in the last 2 years.

But to my surprise, a good wire wheel cleaning in the tyre fitters, and 3 new valves later, they are holding air. Not all tyre fitter’s attention to detail is the same unfortunately.

9 hours ago, Sausage2026 said:

I definitely second the soapy water trick and very close attention. Or if you have a large enough container, submerging the whole wheel into water is a bit more of a definitive way to tell if there are leaks in my opinion. Start by over-inflating them a bit, and look closely for bubbles.

I was convinced my alloys were porous, 3 of mine were leaking, and I had receipts from the previous owner who had 2 valves replaced and 2 tyres re-seated in the last 2 years.

But to my surprise, a good wire wheel cleaning in the tyre fitters, and 3 new valves later, they are holding air. Not all tyre fitter’s attention to detail is the same unfortunately.

Thank you for the advice.