rwiii

Didn't want to hijack Lysoleverywhere's post but am curious what the best way to color the wheels is? Local collision center says paint chips easily, you should powder coat. Also, does the factory coating need to be removed first? Is that a big deal?

Edgy01

The proper way to paint wheels is to roughly sand the existing color, primer it, wet sand, and then color coat it with paint, applied the regular way. Then bake them for awhile (after you put on the clear coat). There are some schools that are a bit concerned over the temperatures required to cure powder coated finishes, suggesting that they may alter the strength of the wheel. I would be greatly surprised if the aluminum structure could be negatively impacted by anything powder coating can do to them. Obviously, this is all done with the tires dismounted, and the valve removed.

Gaspasser19

I had my Sport Designs powdercoated and they look great and are very durable. No complaints.

jyoteen

powdercoat makes the wheels heavier. A negative result, IMHO.

SH || NC

I think you're splitting hairs. If applied correctly, the delta I would think would be minuscule and of little impact to rolling mass. I would even venture a guess there is more of a variance in the weight of the tires.

IME, PC'ing is more durable.

There were also some internet stories that said baking the wheels altered the metallurgy of the wheels as well. Whatever; its always something. YMMV.

Sneaky Pete

I had my 18" wheels sandblasted and powder coated. The powdercoat actually filled in some areas of curb rash. Found a local applicator and at $85/wheel + any color I could imagine was a deal. I painted the center caps with a (I thought) a complementing color.

Before and after

FLY996

Powder coated gloss black....