the only way the clear will chip or orange peel is if it is prepped or sprayed wrong.

 

Powdercoating does require special setup, so you won't be doing in in your homemade garage booth The guys that did my Dad's frame were specialized in powdercoating and they do tons of stuff ranging all over the place, not just auto pieces. They were not that high end, we could have paid a lot more, and probably have gotten a little better job. We got a whole frame sandblasted and and painted including misc parts, and a free dropoff after they were done... for under $800. As far as prep goes, there are a number of methods, but I'm pretty sure PC requires bare metal. They can bead blast them or sandblast them if the original paint wasnt the best. Normal liquid paint will just fly off under the sandblaster. If the paint was orig. powdercoat, or the piece is very difficult to clean, they will etch it. Etching can be more expensive for larger parts becuase it requires a larger bath. As far as pricing goes, its probably not standard. The PC place might use their own etching house, or they might have a partner. The place I went to had a sandblasting shack where they did all of that on premesis.

You should see the difference between PC and liquid paint under a sandblaster.... the liquid literally blows off without hesitation, while the PC takes sortof "elbow grease" if you will. Much more bead/sand blasting needed, and they may you to get it etched cause its takes such a long long time.

 

I'm sure these rims I'm getting have regular paint on them. I'll have to look into powder coating.
Anyone have photos of a phone dial powder coated stock silver?

 

The price of powdercoating should include bead blasting the rims down to bare metal. I used metal centercaps so I could have them powdercoated as well. Remember $280.00 was my final cost after them masking off certain areas of the wheel, bead blasting 4 wheels, powdercoat and 4 centercaps. Dont know how you would ever get paint to match a powdercoated wheel.

 

Did you look up "powder coating" in the yellow pages to find where to get the job done?? And how do the center caps look powder coated...?

 

My "ghetto" method:
1. Remove tires from wheels
2. Clean wheels well.
3. Use scotch brite to scuff up the surface of the wheel to be painted.
4. Apply 2 light coats of primer
5. Apply 5 coats of paint.
6. Apply 8 coats of clear coat.

Yeah, some areas of the wheel will chip, but these are my track wheels, so it matters little for me.

A couple of pics of the results: (Yeah, I only painted the D-90's. Color is called Anthracite - it is a dark grey metallic finish)





-Z.

 

Dont have the time, patience (or skill) to apply 15 coats of paint to 4 rims! I'd gladly pay $280 to get them nicely powder coated by a pro!

Those dark D-90's look like steel nascar rims!

 

Yeah, I think I may repaint them speed yellow or guards red next time!
-Z.

 

Paint em speed yellow, and sell them to Damian as spares!

 

Haha, z-man all that paint is adding weight to your car! jk I wonder what it would look like bead blasted and cleared over pure metal.

 

The place that did mine came highly recommended..they do all of Kenny Brown's mustang wheels . My wheel centers are the same color that Kenny Brown uses. Check the yellow pages and call around, any good bodyshop should know of a good place. I took my wheels in hand before we agreed to anything, they priced them on the spot and stuck to it. I can take a pic of the centercaps if you like - they masked off the insides and back where they "mount" to the wheel so they fit just like they should. Good luck!

 

Heat and brake dust are no problem if the wheels have been coated properly with a wheel-specific paint.