dc2000

Hi guys, I just received my wheels back from powder coating with new MPSS tires! I went with gloss black and a machined lip. The wheels didn't turn out perfect. The shop machined the lip thinner than I requested and one of the wheels is already flaking on the inside. I'm going to get them redone. In addition to getting the lip machined thicker, I'm considering going with a semi-gloss or satin finish instead of full gloss. In the meantime, what do you guys think of the look?

awrryan

[QUOTE=dc2000;12606202]Hi guys, I just received my wheels back from powder coating with new MPSS tires! I went with gloss black and a machined lip. The wheels didn't turn out perfect. The shop machined the lip thinner than I requested and one of the wheels is already flaking on the inside. I'm going to get them redone. In addition to getting the lip machined thicker, I'm considering going with a semi-gloss or satin finish instead of full gloss. In the meantime, what do you guys think of the look?

i think they look great. I'd stick with gloss black.

Philster

I'd lean towards more machining and stick with gloss.


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Ten Years

Looking good. Maybe a tiny bit more width to the machined rim. Otherwise, they look nice. Keep the gloss black. Incidentally, be careful if they are going to sand or media blast the powder off. It's easy to dull crisp edges. You sure this same place should handle the redo?

dc2000

I am pushing hard for a full refund, so I can go with another shop. But if I have to stick with them, I will make sure they don't f it up again. The mistakes I identified are 1) need wider machining and 2) needs to use more powder on the barrel portion of the wheels.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Kuhl997.2!

I think finding the perfect set of wheels is not unlike a woman trying to find the perfect set of boots, its impossible they just have to keep trying more. I think the machined lip looks perfect. With your gray car the satin or matt finish will make the you car look really dull. One of the best combinations I have ever seen on a gray car like yours was a set of Carrera Sport wheels that had been painted the same color as the car with a satin finished lip. Maybe going with the same color gray with the machined lip would be better than having them refinished in a matt or satin black.

Cheers

Paul

Ten Years

Honestly, if the actual wheel faces are perfect, and the imperfect areas are just on the inside of the wheels, I'd leave them. Maybe paint the inside of the barrels. I'd even consider something easy like quality spray paint, or have them paint the barrels. You're never going to see the barrels, if they're black. I think it might be better than media blasting the whole wheels for the inside of the barrels.

Cleaning off the baked on powder coating will likely dull off a lot of the edges, if not done well. Or else just get a full or partial refund, and take them to someone who can strip them carefully and paint them. I believe all the OEM wheels, including the black version of the Carrera S II wheels, are painted and not powder coated.

Whatever you do, I wish you luck. CSII wheels, in any color, are some of my favorite OEM 997 wheels. ;-)

Greg2010

Black wheels on a meteor grey car looks really nice...and the machined lip adds an extra nice touch! I also like high gloss, but I really have no prior experience with trying to maintain them. Are they more susceptible to dulling or showing fine scratches vs matte black?. Regardless, looks great!

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Hella-Buggin'

I thought you weren't supposed to powder coat these rims because they're a pressure cast and the heat can effect the integrity of the cast. Maybe I'm wrong but I know I've read that somewhere.

Wayne Smith

Good point. It can be done, but not by your standard powder coater down the street. Verify that the coater understands the limitations and can coat without damage. It is a specialized service.

dc2000

You bring up a great point about the risk of having the wheels re-done. I could definitely end up worse off. The powder coat on the faces of the wheels seem fine. My main concern with the flaking on the inside barrels is that it could spread over time. Currently, it's about 3 spots, each about 5mm in diameter have flaked off one wheel. I could put some touch up paint to seal them off. Another route I could proceed is to get a partial refund and bring the wheels back if the flaking gets really bad.

dc2000

I've heard this too. I don't track my car, so hope whatever impact isn't significant. The shop powder coats a ton of wheels from M3s to other Porsches. But with that being said, I highly doubt they have a scientific method for baking wheels considering the lack of care that went into my wheels.

Ten Years

Never heard this about any kind of cast wheels. You definitely should not entrust powder coating of forged wheels to anyone but the very best shops, who know that over heating forged wheels will make them brittle. It's a very clear cutoff point, temperature wise, and duration of baking is important too. Painting is the way to go, especially with forged wheels, unless the people doing the powder coating have "Forgeline" or "HRE" hanging outside their door. ;-)

EMC2

I vote for gloss black also. The look is great. I personally prefer the narrower machine lip like you have, which is also what I did.

Sorry to hear about the quality issues you had; that is really unfortunate. I too would be concerned about letting the same shop touch the wheels again.

Good luck

9114Scab

I went all gloss black on my 2012 4s, and I love them. I would stay with Gloss over satin, imho.

I had a Lexus dealership do mine, they send them out. I don't know who they sent them too. I was a bit too cavalier with handing my rims out, I didn't know you can damage these kind of rims if done poorly.

Never the less, I love the look of powder coated rims.