Kevin in Atlanta

Getting ready for SITM and need to do this post haste.

Current set was painted and some of the clear coat has flaked off. Probably with the help of my tire shop.

Opinions or experience to pass on?

Marcquito

I'm actually getting a set of wheels back today from the powdercoat shop. I'll post some pics as soon as I get them. Maybe that will help your decision.

nosnow

I powder coated my 944 rims and it worked well. However, I was warned to NEVER wash or wipe the rims down if they were hot because it would damage the shine. Had them for two years and they looked like new when I sold the car. I'll be powder coating my 928 rims once I get the rest of the car sorted out.

bigmac

Chaadster powder coated his 2 years ago and they look great. Mac

Jim bailey - 928 International

Powder coating is better partly because the wheels get stripped and cleaned completely before they are powdered and baked. But it is a more durable finish.

Kevin in Atlanta

Well, then that's it! Off to be powder coated! I wonder what a set of Cup 1's will look like in gloss black... Maybe with a polished lip.

hacker-pschorr

Interesting discussion on powder coated wheels:

https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-and-drivers-education-forum/347250-why-to-not-powdercoat-wheels.html

Kevin in Atlanta

H-P, Well I am back up on the fence.

Tom928

I am doing the clearcoat process with the Wurth Silver Wheel paint. I just stripping to the primer, clean well, apply color, let dry 2-3 days, then apply clear. I was going to paint this weekend but looks like rain on Sat. When complete, I can post pics of the results if you are interested.

Mike Frye

Hacker,

I remember seeing that one. I have to get a set of wheels redone and I was under the impression that the PC process was not good for aluminum wheels (or aluminum alloy wheels). Something about the heating process weakening the original temper?

Not sure which way to go with it.

Does anyone know what they do for the nicks and scratches? Do they weld in a new blob of alloy and then grind it down to match or what? I got mine for free, and I want to make them look nice, but not at the expense of safety.

hacker-pschorr

Sorry!!!

I ran into a set of factory wheels that were stripped / coated more than once after leaving Germany. 3 of the 4 whees were cracked on the inside lip. I cannot say for sure this was from the coating process, just puzzling.

Tom928

I have seen a write up for using spot putty or bondo on the nicks and scratches. Kind of surprised me as I would think this would be ruined just by mounting the wheel!

EDIT - I guess I should say if the nicks or scratches are on the outer rim of the wheel.

chaadster

Man, there are a lot of powdercoated wheels doin' miles out there...

Rob Edwards

Tom-

I would be very interested in seeing pics of the final product, especially with respect to how close the Wurth Silver is to the OEM (of course, the OEM paint may now be 15-20 years old, so who knows) I've got a set of D90's that need attention.

Also- where did you find Wurth Silver? It's out of stock everywhere I looked, at least in April it was....

Mike Frye

Chaad,

You're right about that, and JB would know better than I would. Maybe it depends on the way it's done. The thread I read (which I'm pretty sure is the one Hacker linked in) talked about not just the temp, but the rate of heating and cooling that affects the strength of the wheels. I don't know enough about it to shop yet, but that's why I'm here .

Another factor is probably the intended use. I'm going to refurb some old phone dials for an 'old school' look for my DD, but I plan to keep my stock slotted wheels for DEs. I think they're inherently stronger and I don't want to track my street wheels, even for beginner DE level driving.