Spray paint or powder coat the wheels?

[ncmx5]

I want a bronze-ish finish to my standard silver alloys. Should i spray paint them or powder coat them? Anyone done this before?

[smiles]

powder coat, doesn't cost that much and you can pick from many colours at places that do it. Looks much better and would last longer than spray painting.

[ncmx5]

thanks.
yeh, ive always thought powder coating wouldve been the way to go. do you have any idea how much it will cost for 4 wheels? anyone?

[smiles]

I think it was like $25 - $40 a wheel ... but this was a few yrs back and only going from memory!

[pcmx5]

I got charged $40 a wheel for powdercoating but ended up spending $55 and they put a clearcoat over the top and the results are much better.

Peter.

[Gilly71]

Depending on the result you are after, powdercoating may not be the way to go.

If you are looking for depth and shine, especially in a metallic finsh, you would be better off spending the money on spraying in two pack.

If your looking for a long lasting satin finish then powdercoating is the way to go.

I've seen wheels powdercoated that were supposed to be copper /bronze but came out more looking like brown.

You could probably get broken old rim from the wreckers for nothing and use it as a test. spend the forty bucks to get it powdercoated and check to see if your happy with the result.

Hope that helps.

[Gilly71]

Depending on the result you are after, powdercoating may not be the way to go.

If you are looking for depth and shine, especially in a metallic finsh, you would be better off spending the money on spraying in two pack.

If your looking for a long lasting satin finish then powdercoating is the way to go.

I've seen wheels powdercoated that were supposed to be copper /bronze but came out more looking like brown.

You could probably get broken old rim from the wreckers for nothing and use it as a test. spend the forty bucks to get it powdercoated and check to see if your happy with the result.

Hope that helps.

[Red Baron]

I have a set of rims that were 2 packed in white, use them for track with DO1's, they get heavy brake dust and all the other crap off the track.

A little Meguiars and they come up beautifully.

Powdercoating while durable is also brittle, so I think it would be prone to chip on a wheel, where 2 pack has not.

My experience

baron

[adamjp]

I just refinished some wheels using the new Holts Duplicolour wheel paint.

http://www.duplicolor.com/projects/howto_wheel.html

You cannot get the damn clear in this country yet.

The big lesson that I re-learnt is that you need to strip the old paint/primer/filler off the wheels in order to have it look good. I didn't quite get it all off and they look like crap up close. Still, it was a learning experience, and I learnt.

No idea how the duplicolour will age, but since it is a polyurethane, it should be as tough as hell. It went on over etch primer, so it ain't coming off anytime soon.

[ncmx5]

well, i would like a gun metal grey against a red car. im still not sure. how much is it to paint?

costs me $40 to powdercoat per wheel.

[Philip Lee]

well, i would like a gun metal grey against a red car. im still not sure.

Like mine?:

[smiles]

Gun metal grey looks hot on just about any car ... hard to go wrong with it.

[adamjp]

The paint is about $16 a can. 2 cans will be enough for 4 rims. Etch primer is around $15 and one can is enough.


The key is to get the old paint, etc. off. Try a bead blaster or professional paint stripper.

[ncmx5]

So it isnt enough to just clean it throughly and paint? Gotta physically strip of ALL paint?

[green_comet]

you get a better finish if you prep properly..if you cut corners the end result will show this.