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Alloy wheel refurbishing

M

Mark R

Diamond Member
I've got the option of stripping the old coating/bead blasting followed by either:
Wet painting
or
Powder coating.

I'll be getting all 4 done, so I don't need precise color matching.

Any advantages to one or other. The powder coating is quite a bit more expensive, but if it is more durable then it may well be worth it.
 
The painting is about $70 per wheel, and the powder coating is about $110 per wheel.

Price includes taking the wheels off the car, removing tires, refitting tires, and reinstalling wheels to the car + storage of the car while the work is done. The poweder coating place has a wheel balance, so will rebalance the wheels, but the paint shop can't do that.

I'd like to keep the car for another 2-3 years. Car is probably worth about $10k, so I don't really want pay the extra for the powder coating, unless it will give a relevant benefit in that time frame.
 
If you're going to bother to have the wheel totally stripped down and refurbished to like-new condition, it only makes sense to powdercoat. I could see painting smaller inlays, but if we're talking about the whole wheel, powdercoating is worth the money.

Painting is best kept to where it is the most suited- touchups. Not durable, but also not that difficult and can look good for a while. I don't think people realize how many cars that come off of dealer lots have spot repairs that include touching up damage to wheels. Mobile body guys that come through lots on a regular basis and do touchup work are super common around here.
 
I had acquired some curb rash on mt SVT wheels, had them refinished at a local shop. They used paint and clearcoat. Couldn't tell where the damage was. Was $225 iirc.
 
I Plasti Dip'ed my rims today, it's not permanent but it was cheap, and super simple. They have a ton of colors. I know this isn't something you mentioned OP, but if you don't know about it you might at least check into it. I paid $15 and it took me about an hour including prep work. About 10 people who know my car have already commented on my rims. I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them. From everything I read I should get at least a year out of what I did, maybe 2. And it can be removed in minutes with no damage what-so-ever.
 
QueBert said:
I Plasti Dip'ed my rims today, it's not permanent but it was cheap, and super simple. They have a ton of colors. I know this isn't something you mentioned OP, but if you don't know about it you might at least check into it. I paid $15 and it took me about an hour including prep work. About 10 people who know my car have already commented on my rims. I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them. From everything I read I should get at least a year out of what I did, maybe 2. And it can be removed in minutes with no damage what-so-ever.
Click to expand...

interesting that you did the rims and not the whole wheel. curious to see what that looks like
 
phucheneh said:
If you're going to bother to have the wheel totally stripped down and refurbished to like-new condition, it only makes sense to powdercoat. I could see painting smaller inlays, but if we're talking about the whole wheel, powdercoating is worth the money.

Painting is best kept to where it is the most suited- touchups. Not durable, but also not that difficult and can look good for a while. I don't think people realize how many cars that come off of dealer lots have spot repairs that include touching up damage to wheels. Mobile body guys that come through lots on a regular basis and do touchup work are super common around here.
Click to expand...

Be very careful with powder coating, the baking process can cause a loss of strength in the wheel, which can lead to failure.

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=151053

http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/670115-aluminum-wheel-failure-after-powder-coating/

At the very least the wheel manufacturer should be contacted to make sure powder coating won't affect your wheels. I, personally, wouldn't powder coat my wheels. They're too important to potentially compromise over aesthetics IMO.

Zivic said:
interesting that you did the rims and not the whole wheel. curious to see what that looks like
Click to expand...
I was wondering the same thing. Must have been a hell of a masking job...
:awe:
 
JCH13 said:
Be very careful with powder coating, the baking process can cause a loss of strength in the wheel, which can lead to failure.

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=151053

http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/670115-aluminum-wheel-failure-after-powder-coating/

At the very least the wheel manufacturer should be contacted to make sure powder coating won't affect your wheels. I, personally, wouldn't powder coat my wheels. They're too important to potentially compromise over aesthetics IMO.
Click to expand...

Nice links. Thanks for sharing.

I've been thinking about powder coating a spare set of OEM wheels I've got lying around.
 
Id go with powdercoating, I had a set of wheels blasted and then black wrinkle powdercoated and its been super durable and looks great, better than paint.
 
Zivic said:
interesting that you did the rims and not the whole wheel. curious to see what that looks like
Click to expand...

I probably will do the rest of it when I take my wheel's off off to paint my calipers. I literally put a trash bag over my rotors and calipers and Plasti Diped my rims while still on the car. Since it's easy to remove if I didn't like it I figured why go to all that trouble until I know I'll like it.
 
I'd double check what it costs to pick up a OEM replica wheel. When I bent a wheel awhile back the replica was almost the same price as the refinishing. If you're doing all 4, you might as well price out a new set. Brand new wheels vs refurb. Of course the nice thing with refinishing them is you should be able to choose whatever color you like.
 
Hmm. That's quite interesting, I hadn't thought of replacing them.

Turns out that there are a bunch of local refurb shops that will part-ex my ones for an identical set that have been pre-refurbed. Powder coating for the price of painting + I can see the workmanship before I buy.

Looks interesting. Certainly something to think about.
 
Update: I had my current ones poweder coated. The painting place couldn't give an appointment before August - LOL. Plus I checked out some reviews, and they are almost all terrible.

So, I had them powder coated at a highly recommended place. Took the car in at 0800, and had it back at 1700. They look brand new. Kerb damage gone, corrosion gone, they sparkle and shine probably better than new.

before.jpg


after.jpg
 
kitatech said:
Good looking rims....good work on them....Can I ask how much the powder coating cost?
Click to expand...

Expensive. About $120 per wheel.

However, they did a complete refurb: chemical strip, bead blast, weld and polish the kerb damage, polish the bead seats, full powder coat front and back.

Tires removed form rims, wheels refurbed, tires back on and balanced.

One of the wheels was losing air from the tire slowly, probably due to corrosion on the bead. They said that they should have fixed that.
 
Mark R said:
Update: I had my current ones poweder coated. The painting place couldn't give an appointment before August - LOL. Plus I checked out some reviews, and they are almost all terrible.

So, I had them powder coated at a highly recommended place. Took the car in at 0800, and had it back at 1700. They look brand new. Kerb damage gone, corrosion gone, they sparkle and shine probably better than new.

before.jpg


after.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice. Did you talk to the powder coating guys about the process they follow? Especially around the temps n stuff? Curious to know their take on it.
 
Mark R said:
Expensive. About $120 per wheel.

However, they did a complete refurb: chemical strip, bead blast, weld and polish the kerb damage, polish the bead seats, full powder coat front and back.

Tires removed form rims, wheels refurbed, tires back on and balanced.

One of the wheels was losing air from the tire slowly, probably due to corrosion on the bead. They said that they should have fixed that.
Click to expand...
$120 a wheel isn't bad at all IMHO. Looks great!
 
Mark R said:
Expensive. About $120 per wheel.

However, they did a complete refurb: chemical strip, bead blast, weld and polish the kerb damage, polish the bead seats, full powder coat front and back.

Tires removed form rims, wheels refurbed, tires back on and balanced.

One of the wheels was losing air from the tire slowly, probably due to corrosion on the bead. They said that they should have fixed that.
Click to expand...
That doesn't sound like a bad price for all the work they do.
 
yhelothar said:
That doesn't sound like a bad price for all the work they do.
Click to expand...

Right, but you can buy brand new wheels for that price per wheel as well. Worthwhile to save expensive or OEM wheels where replicas don't exists. Makes more sense when you have have one or two that need some love.
 
NutBucket said:
Most cheap wheels look cheap....good aftermarket is not $125 each typically.
Click to expand...

You can get copies of 'expensive' wheels for that much, or whatever floats your boats. If you want to say the cast wheels are of questionable quality and not as strong, sure. Looks? They can look like anything you want.
 
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