Powder Coat or Paint Wheels & Finish
10-23-2012, 10:02 PM
#1
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Location: Houston, Tx
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2006 W211
Powder Coat or Paint Wheels & Finish
So im thinking of buying some wheels very soon most likely avant garde m550 or vossen cv3s.
they dont have the finish i want. So im thinking of powder coating or painting them. Any Suggestions
Also want to get a little poll going on the finish...matte black or gloss piano black.
the grill is high gloss black and so is the bottom grills along with the badges.
they dont have the finish i want. So im thinking of powder coating or painting them. Any Suggestions
Also want to get a little poll going on the finish...matte black or gloss piano black.
the grill is high gloss black and so is the bottom grills along with the badges.
12-30-2012, 08:22 PM
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BMW M5, Jeep SRT8, MB E63
I can offer a bit from my experience-
I had a Jeep SRT8 which has stock 20" durabrite (semi-chrome) wheels. I first had them painted - it was a shorter process and I had read touching them up matched better than touching up powder, in case of any curb rash (super wide truck, gf occasionally parallel parks it
).
Issues with paint - when they did it the first time, they did not paint the full barrel - just the front face.
Took it back, said I wanted the full wheel painted - they painted the barrel. However, they did not remove the tire, so there was a thin visible line of silver at the wheel.
Due to heat and brake dust, the wheels eventually got to a point that I couldn't seem to clean them completely. I was also scared of pressure washing - they had a coat of clear, but because I could see the edge of the paint at the tire, I wasn't comfortable with that.
When there was a scratch, the paint flaked a few times - very small flakes, but flakes off none-the-less. Lots of touch-up paint.
I finally got tired of it and had them powdercoated. For PC they have to remove the tire and coat the entire wheel - there is no edge to the coating from leaving the tire on. The finish was flawless. The place I went to, their primary business is coating components for Boeing's 787 - they were the only place I found that put a powder coat of clear over the base - everywhere else sprays a paint clear coat.
I was very happy with the results, but I'll never have a black wheel again. Any damage, even the slightest, will show silver underneath and be obvious.
That said - all places I talked to offer a semi-gloss or satin black. It's not dead-looking like flat black, and for me, I don't like gloss black on wheels. This is a perfect middle ground. A tiny bit of luster.
Expect around $160-190 a wheel, which around here (Seattle) includes repair of any existing curb rash.
Cheers!
I had a Jeep SRT8 which has stock 20" durabrite (semi-chrome) wheels. I first had them painted - it was a shorter process and I had read touching them up matched better than touching up powder, in case of any curb rash (super wide truck, gf occasionally parallel parks it
).Issues with paint - when they did it the first time, they did not paint the full barrel - just the front face.
Took it back, said I wanted the full wheel painted - they painted the barrel. However, they did not remove the tire, so there was a thin visible line of silver at the wheel.
Due to heat and brake dust, the wheels eventually got to a point that I couldn't seem to clean them completely. I was also scared of pressure washing - they had a coat of clear, but because I could see the edge of the paint at the tire, I wasn't comfortable with that.
When there was a scratch, the paint flaked a few times - very small flakes, but flakes off none-the-less. Lots of touch-up paint.
I finally got tired of it and had them powdercoated. For PC they have to remove the tire and coat the entire wheel - there is no edge to the coating from leaving the tire on. The finish was flawless. The place I went to, their primary business is coating components for Boeing's 787 - they were the only place I found that put a powder coat of clear over the base - everywhere else sprays a paint clear coat.
I was very happy with the results, but I'll never have a black wheel again. Any damage, even the slightest, will show silver underneath and be obvious.
That said - all places I talked to offer a semi-gloss or satin black. It's not dead-looking like flat black, and for me, I don't like gloss black on wheels. This is a perfect middle ground. A tiny bit of luster.
Expect around $160-190 a wheel, which around here (Seattle) includes repair of any existing curb rash.
Cheers!
