Is powdercoating the ONLY option?
 

I just purchased some wheels with the anticipation the powder coating shop in my area didn't have their heads shoved up their asses... I was wrong.

Can wheels be painted and be as durable as powder coat? Durable = paint not chipping off when tires are mounted?

Any advice, different options would be greatly appreciated! :tiphat:

You can get them painted, but I'll just say the body shop that does all of my custom work sends me their customers wheels for powdercoating.

Btw Mike what would be the pros and cons on a Powdercoated vs Painted wheels?

I had my wheels painted 4 years and 60,000 miles ago, they still look good because I wash them regularly

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/IMG_1148.jpg

Powdercoating is not your only option at all

some people theorize that the curing process makes the wheels brittle. I have seen no empirical proof of that, only stories of friends of friends whose friend had a powdercoated wheel break. One member on here did have wheels fail after coating, but I believe by what he posted it was because the coater put them through a much higher temperature burn cycle to burn off the original paint. I know that Forgestar and other wheel manufacturers powdercoat their wheels.

The downside to painted is that they are much easier to mess up during the mounting and dismounting process. Once the tires are installed, they hold up fine though.

From the reading that I've done, P.C. is more flexible that paint and when done right lasts very well.

The guy that did my wheels didn't cook them long enough (thanks to Mike's info) so when he redid two of them, they look great. He was used to doing cheap steel wheels that hold heat a lot more than the aluminum wheels, thereby "cooking" longer after the oven was shut off.

Send 'em to Mike. He knows his ish.

I would, if I didn't have to cover shipping cost both ways for all 4 wheels + cost to have them powdercoated. Shipping is going to be ridiculous.

that is true. My main business is brake calipers, and those are fairly easy to ship, but wheels do get a little cost prohibitive if more than a state or two away. best bet is to go to Custom Powder Coating - US, Canada, International Powder Coater Directory and look for coaters in your area, and then ask them for references and to see their work.

Road trip? Petit LeMans is coming up. :)

Question: The guy at the place I went to said he could do my wheels in the color I wanted which I guess is a "chrome" color... Similar to the OEM silver on the Sport wheels. He then said that after time it would darken from sun exposure. My car is never in the sun for long periods of time and spends most of its time in the garage. Is what he saying true? If so, how much sun exposure would they need before the powdercoat started to change? I'm half tempted to take them back and tell him just to do it. He also mentioned some sort of UV coating that could be applied after, but said it won't help much.

The whole time I was there, it's like he was trying to talk me out of his business. However, a few people have recommended his shop for wheel powdercoating.

Unless he is going to clearcoat them after the chrome coat, don't do that color. All 'almost chrome' powders need clear for longevity, even the ones that are supposedly single stage and dont require it, which is probably what he would be using. If you get any chemicals on them, it will discolor it, even simple green. With a clearcoat, it would be fine, and look like the back side of aluminum foil, but shiny. Kind of like this:
http://thepowdercoater.com/gallery/a...ming_cover.jpg
http://thepowdercoater.com/gallery/a...me_caliper.jpg

both are the same coating, the quality of the reflectiveness depends on the surface on which it is applied. The caliper is more irregular shaped, so its not as reflective as the timing cover

That's kind of what I'm going for. The OEM wheels are a chrome/silver color and they have some gloss to them. I want to try and match the OEM sport wheels as close as humanly possible.

I think the chrome + clear would give me exactly what I'm looking for. Wonder how much he would charge to get them clear coated... He's already asking $125 per wheel. No, that doesn't come with any lube either.

you might find someone cheaper, but he may be who you want to do them. I kind of do the same thing he does, because wheels take longer than brakes and I'm always backlogged, so I don't encourage wheel work. If thats his reason, because he has plenty of work, that also means he does a great job. Just insist on the clear.