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Hi guys. I’m looking for an opinion here. I’m thinking about getting my wheels powder coated so they look like they’re brand new. They are not in bad condition but they’re showing scratches etc. Has anybody ever had this done? Should I expect they will hold up as good as the factory paint? Any opinions are welcome.
If it's just some scratches, you could have them refinished. I wanted a color change and had my Carrera II's powdered. Held up just fine over a couple of winters.
have a wheel finisher do it that specializes in complete restoration. Strip, fix, recolor and powdercoat. it they do fix-it jobs you wont get a good as new wheel
I have thought of having all the scratches fixed but that would most likely cost the same or more.
Do you think the finish is as durable?
Powder coating in very durable. Much more resistant to weather, scratching, and rock chips when compared to regular paint. But it's not invincible. If you curb your wheel bad enough it will scratch up like any other paint.
I've had it done to my boxter's carerra s 20 inch wheels before. Powder coating wheels mean different things to different shops. Some will just put a coat the top and chips/dings will still be visible. The better shops strip the finish, sand blast to smooth imperfections out, patch worse spots, ensure round/balanced, and hand sand as needed. Know what you're getting into...many sketchy shops out there.
The end result of the powder coat (matte black) looked good, but there were some imperfections, however it was an improvement to the stock factory finish my wheels had (inconsistent finish and chipped...those wheels were rock magnet turbines). The stock painted/ clear coat wheel finish was easy scratch/ put swirl marks into...powder coat was very strong and you'd need a significant impact to chip it. Made the wheels easier to clean because brake dust didn't stick to the finish and it seemed to have water repelling properties. I noticed a few small patches around spokes where it seemed as if the alloy had flaked off or something when they refinished. They colored the center caps with paint to match closely to the rims and it looks good, but not perfect. It can and will impact wheel balance somewhat if not done properly (sloppy job). Baking wheels can degrade their strength if not done properly...apparently having magnesium in the allow makes it worse for this. Harder to touch up, but the finish is more durable than factory painted/ clear coated wheels...it will still get dings though..I got a few on larger rocks, whitish grey was visible behind black (not pretty)...the chipped powder coat finish was sharp to the touch...enough to cut your finger or tare a micro fiber cloth.
What I found out later is you can easily plasti dip your own wheels cheap and its not permanent. I probably would have gone that route.
My opinion after dealing with all this is I don't really care too much about imperfections in wheels. Its going to happen and gives the car character. Unless its like really bad (curb rash etc), I wouldn't both trying to refinish wheels just a few scratches or chips. You wont have perfect wheels for long with sticky summer small profile tires and crumbling american roads. Most of the dings aren't visible from normal viewing angles...you really need to lean down and search.
I recently had my carrera classics powder coated. They had been curbed by previous owner and the repair required them to be diamond cut again. My wheel repair person recommended powder coating as multiple diamond cutting events will eventually compromise wheel integrity. I talked to multiple powder coaters until I found one that used a low temperature coating, sand blasted the prior paint ( rather than burning off the coating in a high temp oven) and assured me that they would take as much care of the backs of the wheel rims as they did the fronts.
A couple of shops appeared to do a reasonable job, but the backs of rims were damaged from the racks they were using in the ovens.
The shop i used (WCWR in Fremont, CA) did a good job but not an absolutely perfect job. There were a few bubbles in the coating, the outer surface under the tire (that will never be seen) is not well done and there are some minor surface scratches in the spokes and barrels where the workers in the shop had moved the wheels around. Durability is yet to be seen but they look great. I ceramic coated the wheels.
My other wheels are plastidipped. I love the ability to try different wheel colors and will leave the dip on to protect the original wheel finish. Cleaning has to done gently as you can tell that it is a rubber finish, even if you "glossify" the final coats. My next wheel color is gold!!
Below are the powder coated wheels ...
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And below are the plasti-dipped wheels in black...
Thanks for all the advice. The shop I was going to go to is called New Age powder coating and it’s in southern New Jersey. It’s a gigantic place and it looks first class to me. I saw a 22 inch wheel they had just done in black that looked pretty much perfect. That said, I am going to wait until the end of the summer rather than do it right now.
Like RoWa points out, be sure that they powders with a lower-temperature bake safe for high performance wheels. Some run-of-the-mill powder coaters may use removal, heat levels, and bake times that weaken the molecular structure carefully engineered into our cars' wheels. If the coater doesn't know about this, they aren't the right ones for the job.
While higher-temp bakes might be okay for wheels on cruisers that never see higher speeds, it can render high performance wheels unsafe at higher speeds. Looks are only half of the story.
Like RoWa points out, be sure that they powders with a lower-temperature bake safe for high performance wheels. Some run-of-the-mill powder coaters may use removal, heat levels, and bake times that weaken the molecular structure carefully engineered into our cars' wheels. If the coater doesn't know about this, they aren't the right ones for the job.
While higher-temp bakes might be okay for wheels on cruisers that never see higher speeds, it can render high performance wheels unsafe at higher speeds. Looks are only half of the story.
This does make me hesitate so I’m just gonna hold off for now. Certainly I will ask when the time comes about the baking process and the fact that it has to be done at a lower temperature.
I had my GT3 wheels powder coated since the factory painted finished scratched and chipped like nobody's business. Came out perfect and looked much better than factory, and held up way better as well.
Curious to see pics of powder-coated wheels in a light silver? Those I've seen were supposed to be silver but were a milky gray—a problem black doesn't have.
The baking process is its own animal. I'd want to have a high degree of confidence in whoever is doing it. More curious to know if modern wheel deterioration in use has to do with water-based paints not being as good as the old finishes in terms of chip resistance. But wheels are going to take on signs of wear in use—no matter what their finish.
RoWa, your car looks great! Those wheels look great when they're all one color.
id like to see powder coated after market rims or stck rims powder coated into a shiny silver or a light gray. My car is in aqua blue with black tint. I would consider gold, but it might be too much for my taste and re-sale.
id like to see powder coated after market rims or stck rims powder coated into a shiny silver or a light gray. My car is in aqua blue with black tint. I would consider gold, but it might be too much for my taste and re-sale.
Take a look below, all of my wheels have been powder coated. The 18" set is done in glossy Porsche silver color
They all look good. tough choice on rim color- will continue to think it through. black will be hard to clear and is now overly done. Gray is nice, and gold is over the top cool but may be a bit more for most peoples eyes. Thanks for the eye candy.
07-14-2018, 11:42 AM
Powder coating wheels opinion
