Alloy wheel refurbishment, powder coat or paint?

[DSM10000]

Our friend (who recently aquired the Jaguar XE) wishes to have all 4 wheels refurbished. There is little to any kerbing but all 4 have some paint peeling, probably from a poor previous repair.

She went to a recommended local wheel refurbishment specialist in Wiltshire mainly because of the many 5 star reviews who came back with a rather unexpected quote.

Firstly they would need the wheels for "hopefully no more than a working week"

Secondly, they do not strip the wheels themselves, they are sent off to another company for that.

Thirdly , they do not offer powder coating, they spray the wheels "for a superior finish"

Their charge for this : £660

She has declined their quote.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Our friend (who recently aquired the Jaguar XE) wishes to have all 4 wheels refurbished. There is little to any kerbing but all 4 have some paint peeling, probably from a poor previous repair.

She went to a recommended local wheel refurbishment specialist in Wiltshire mainly because of the many 5 star reviews who came back with a rather unexpected quote.

Firstly they would need the wheels for "hopefully no more than a working week"

Secondly, they do not strip the wheels themselves, they are sent off to another company for that.

Thirdly , they do not offer powder coating, they spray the wheels "for a superior finish"

Their charge for this : £660

She has declined their quote.

The last time I checked Lepsons ( who are reputed to be one of the best in the business) charged around £300 plus the dreaded 20% for a full refurb in one of their standard finishes for 4 18 inch rims

 

[KennyN]

Had the boys Ford Fiasco originally DC wheels powder coated in satin chrome , looks lovely and a more robust finish than paint + lacquer. We (me) were charged around £300 (cash ) for the job.



K

 

[Mactech]

I understand this will not be local, but I had my Porsche 20" rims powder coated this time last year. Aerocoat
The total cost was £60 per wheel including stripping, coating and tyre refit and balance.
They look as goos a year later as they did at the time. Other colours are available!

 

[rayaans]

Our friend (who recently aquired the Jaguar XE) wishes to have all 4 wheels refurbished. There is little to any kerbing but all 4 have some paint peeling, probably from a poor previous repair.

She went to a recommended local wheel refurbishment specialist in Wiltshire mainly because of the many 5 star reviews who came back with a rather unexpected quote.

Firstly they would need the wheels for "hopefully no more than a working week"

Secondly, they do not strip the wheels themselves, they are sent off to another company for that.

Thirdly , they do not offer powder coating, they spray the wheels "for a superior finish"

Their charge for this : £660

She has declined their quote.

Surely it depends on what type of wheels they are, the size and the finish.

Jaguar XEs are prone to lacquer peel on the wheels and the sills.

 

[DSM10000]

Surely it depends on what type of wheels they are, the size and the finish.

Jaguar XEs are prone to lacquer peel on the wheels and the sills.

17 inch wheels. Not diamond cut!

That doesn't equate to £660

 

[rayaans]

17 inch wheels. Not diamond cut!

That doesn't equate to £660

Yep that's expensive then. Going rate seems to be £80-120 each wheel dependent on where you are based

 

[fabes]

I'm about to pay 90 plus vat per wheel to be stripped and powder coated (19s) in silver

They will fill small imperfections / minor kerbing, but not dents and chunks

660 is a lot, unless they are two tone wheels perhaps....?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

£75 to £100 a corner is usual territory.

Sorry to point this out but you did say “she.”

Might be worth getting a man to call in with the same quote request.

While he’s at it it, ask for a discount or “if the cash price is lower?”

You don’t have to stand in a tyre specialist, or garage reception for very long to see that they charge women and the “not bothered” more than men who aren’t going to automatically say “OK.”

BTW. Jepsons are the best, by a country mile. Mobile wheel specialists: convenient but very constricted by the limitations of their tech.

 

[SmartAmg]

Powder Coated, simple's

 

[DSM10000]

I'm about to pay 90 plus vat per wheel to be stripped and powder coated (19s) in silver

They will fill small imperfections / minor kerbing, but not dents and chunks

660 is a lot, unless they are two tone wheels perhaps....?

Single colour 17 inch wheels. Nothing complex about them at all

 

[DSM10000]

Nothing complicated as said. The £660 quote is far too high in my opinion.

 

[Mactech]

View attachment 156207
Nothing complicated as said. The £660 quote is far too high in my opinion.

Yep! In fairness I did present Aerocote with a set of loose wheels which is probably why the cost was a little lower than average.
Maybe the firm which quoted twice the going rate, is to store an imobilised car for an extraordinarily long time?

 

[DSM10000]

Yep! In fairness I did present Aerocote with a set of loose wheels which is probably why the cost was a little lower than average.
Maybe the firm which quoted twice the going rate, is to store an imobilised car for an extraordinarily long time?

They have an extensive area for storage!

I think that they charge what they can get away with and painting is an inferior method plus they send the wheels off to another company for stripping.

She has received a quote from another company to strip and powder coat for £300 based on the pictures.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Painting is not really that inferior......powder coating is great.....but its far harder/more brittle so more prone to stone chips.

 

[Will]

Painting is not really that inferior......powder coating is great.....but its far harder/more brittle so more prone to stone chips.

It’s the opposite of that - powder coating is far tougher and more flexible than paint and is very hard to chip.

Paint is a thin coating and is brittle and much easier to chip or blister from corrosion.

The only real downsides with powder are more limited colour options and sometimes the finish is not quite as delicate as really well prepared and finished wet painted wheels - but a lot of that will come down to the quality of workmanship and preparation.

For ‘painted’ one piece plain silver wheels like the OP is showing, on a regular driven car, powder coat is an ideal choice

 

[Mactech]

The only real downsides with powder are more limited colour options and sometimes the finish is not quite as delicate as really well prepared and finished wet painted wheels - but a lot of that will come down to the quality of workmanship and preparation.

For ‘painted’ one piece plain silver wheels like the OP is showing, on a regular driven car, powder coat is an ideal choice

Colour options should not be limited with powder coating. My wheels were coated in Porsche 'Neodyme' colour, an option on many current Porsche models. The plastic centre caps were also painted to match by Aerocote. Can you spot a colour difference I couldn't.

 

[Will]

Colour options should not be limited with powder coating. My wheels were coated in Porsche 'Neodyme' colour, an option on many current Porsche models. The plastic centre caps were also painted to match by Aerocote. Can you spot a colour difference I couldn't.

View attachment 156252

The colour match looks fine to me - sometimes I think powder coat is used as a primer and wet paint as a colour coat with a powder clear coat/lacquer type coat again for durability.

Maybe you can get very specific colour matched powder coats these days - but I think usually colour matching is done more easily with wet paint