powdercoat v paint

[ecossebev]

Thinking of getting my wheels refurbed. I've been quoted £45 per wheel from a bodyshop to get them painted, and £33 per wheel from a local powdercoat specialist. Is there any advantages/disadvantages to getting them powdercoated rather than painted, ie tougher than paint, more prone to chipping etc.
Any experts out there who can advise me?

 

[bolide]

I wouldn't do either. I'd have them properly refurbished by experts like Spit & Polish or Lepsons

Wheel refurbishing is a complex task and the experts produce the best results

Nick Froome

 

[andy_k]

if you get them powdercoated keep a very close eye on the tightness of your wheel bolts. The kit car and VW forums are awash with tales of the powdercoat breaking down around the bolts and allowing them to loosen.

The general concensus of opinion is that powdercoating works well but remove it from the bolt seats with an abrasive

As an aside, our beetle wheels are powdercoated and the adhesive balancing weights keep falling off them

 

[Will]

As with any 'finishing' job, preperation is the key.

Powder coat would possibly be a more durable finish than wet paint, but ultimately the quality of the finish may not be so good, especially if they're just going to blast/coat the wheels with little prep beforehand.

Quality of these sorts of jobs can vary wildly so it would be well worth seeking out some recommendations from other local members who have had this work done somewhere and can vouch for the quality.

Will

 

[talbir]

Thinking of getting my wheels refurbed. I've been quoted £45 per wheel from a bodyshop to get them painted, and £33 per wheel from a local powdercoat specialist. Is there any advantages/disadvantages to getting them powdercoated rather than painted, ie tougher than paint, more prone to chipping etc.
Any experts out there who can advise me?

I wouldn't reccomend bodyshop paint if your car is a daily driver. Body paint and lacquer does not hold up in the long term to brake dust exposure. Fine for a vehicle that's gonna be used very rarely but not otherwise.

Wheels ideally should be powder coated and then powder lacquered, they stand up to any abuse.

Other points here are very valid about quality of finish and the thickness of the coating which can present problems at the rear side of the wheel face where it fits snug onto the hub....too thick a coat and it's gonna be so tight onto the hub that when you need to remove, you'll need to hammer the wheel off ! So ensure the coating is rubbed down if it's excessive on that hub mating section.

Couldn't agree more that Spit & Polish do a super job (best i have come across), but your local powder coating specialist should also provide a good result especially if wheel refurbs are part of his service.


talbir

 

[Roger Jones]

"the tightness of your wheel bolts"

Should be set to the manufacturer's recommended torque value, no more, no less. That's often but not always 110 Nm on MBs, and it appears to be the correct value for your 230 TE.

"you'll need to hammer the wheel off"
No need if the mating surfaces ar smeared with copper grease.

 

[stats007]

if you get them powdercoated keep a very close eye on the tightness of your wheel bolts. The kit car and VW forums are awash with tales of the powdercoat breaking down around the bolts and allowing them to loosen.

This is usually because the powdercoat is way too thick. An OEM coating is very thin - I've seen 3mm of powdercoat on some wheels - how they expect centrecaps to fit or for the wheel to go back on the hub I don't know!

The rear mating face should have no powder on it at all - if they come back like this then complain.

Couldn't agree more that Spit & Polish do a super job (best i have come across).

You must get special treatment as they're not even close to Lepsons or Pristine IMO. I could give you a list of dealers who stopped using them because the number of returns was so high. I tried them after your last recommendation as an experiment - they ruined a set of two-piece wheels .

As for powder lacquer vs wet lacquer - no difference in terms of longevity. Most colour matches and two-stage paints use a wet lacquer and I've yet to see anyone complain.

 

[talbir]

You must get special treatment as they're not even close to Lepsons or Pristine IMO. I could give you a list of dealers who stopped using them because the number of returns was so high. I tried them after your last recommendation as an experiment - they ruined a set of two-piece wheels .

They have never even seen me so no, no special treatment. I have had about 15 sets of wheels refurbed by them over the years....all have come back perfect.

The only time i have had powder coating on the rear hub face is when i've used a local powder coating specialist for the pieces on split rims (as it's false economy to get a wheel refurbisher to do split wheels...the cost is all labour, so i do that myself).

Spit and polish wheels have always come back perfect and bolted on without issues - and have lasted superbly well. I would never use anyone else.

talbir

 

[talbir]

Nope, nothing to do with copper grease. That's a surface rust issue you refer too. What i am discussing here si the poweder coating coat benig thick and benig applied to the inner side of the hub mating face...which means it becomes a very tight fit on the hub. The powder coat would need to be filed off fmo the inside if it comes back this way.

This will usually happen with local shops doing powder coating - they are not wheel specialists so they only powder coat what you tell them to.


talbir

 

[EDZ649]

This is usually because the powdercoat is way too thick. An OEM coating is very thin - I've seen 3mm of powdercoat on some wheels - how they expect centrecaps to fit or for the wheel to go back on the hub I don't know!

The rear mating face should have no powder on it at all - if they come back like this then complain.



You must get special treatment as they're not even close to Lepsons or Pristine IMO. I could give you a list of dealers who stopped using them because the number of returns was so high. I tried them after your last recommendation as an experiment - they ruined a set of two-piece wheels .

As for powder lacquer vs wet lacquer - no difference in terms of longevity. Most colour matches and two-stage paints use a wet lacquer and I've yet to see anyone complain.

I have had several bad jobs done by Spit n Polish, the last set of E55 wheels were done by them and they came back with 'last time, too thin' written on them so they couldn't be cut again. There was so much debris in the lacquer that it had run off the high spots leaving the cut finish exposed and within a few months they looked worse than when they went in. So they ruined my wheels and then had the cheek to say that the cut finish was only guaranteed for six months. I had to have them painted in the end. I would never use them again, stats007 will be doing the next set that I have done hopefully!

 

[rf065]

I'm no expert, but I did read a write up in Mercedes Enthusiast magazine about refurbing wheels.

I remember them saying that powder coating is quick & cheap, that's why the majority of firms use it. If you want the best finish possible though, paint is the way to go, but it will cost more.

Russ

 

[Bill_33]

+1 about powder coating on the inside of the wheels

My son had his VX220 wheels powder coated Black........there were a bugger to take off........using a mallet, and stronger, is a bit disconcerting on a VX as it is a very light car.

Still not easy to pull them off.........so check if you are going down the powder coating route

 

[ollya]

Just had mine done at BJV engineeering at £50 a wheel (tyres on)
Not overly impressed. Colour isn't as nice as OEM (even though I asked for them to be same). Sprayed only the fronts with silver so can see undercoat through spokes.
Didn't remove/fill all damage and some debris slight running in laquer.

 

[Will]

Two identical sets of wheels (excuse the tatty wheel bolts )

Powder coated wheel, all prep and finshing done by BJV:

Colour-matched wet paint wheel, all prep and finishing done by Amazing Alloys:

I was dissappointed by the BJV finish - they actually had some slight sags/runs in the powder coat on a couple of wheels, and there were several areas of poor preparation (see pics)

Attention to detail is everything (look at the second photo - a quality refurb processed and finished by hand).

I guess the meaning behind these examples is - whatever method is used, it's only as good as the skill/attention to detail etc of whoever carries out the work. Decent wheel specialists will know what methods/processes are needed to achieve the results that a customer wants I have heard/seen some good results from BJV - it's not a dig at their work overall, perhaps I was unlucky when I used them

Will

 

[ollya]

sod it..let's "dig"...you got unlucky...i got unlucky...not impressed...wish had paid a bit extra and got them done somewhere else...actually wish I'd paid the same and got them done elsewhere as some of damage was really minor.

 

[Chris Murray]

I have used everyone you mention... none of them come close to Rimfurbish
They're the refurbishing department of Rimstock who make oem for Aston Martin/Bentley. The later part of the refurbishing process is carried out on their new wheel production line. I just had a set of two piece 19" AMG IV come back with all new titanium fasteners - whatever the wheel is, 2/3 piece, magnesium, buckled etc.. they come back datestamped for finish warranty and with your name on the rim label. The packaging is fantastic and they can arrange shipping both ways.

 

[stats007]

Can't say I've ever heard of them? Their repairs are approved by Aston Martin / Bentley - they don't make the wheels for them (well not any that I've seen as these are BBS/Ronal etc) as far as I can tell?

CNC machine is always an advantage providing they have the profiles for every wheel you can send them. A 5 day turnaround and £20 delivery each way isn't something any private individual is going to want to swallow - especially as they already want £107.50 for an M3 19" refurb.

I can't see how they can be much better than Pristine or Diamond Styling either - their refurbs are normally 9.5/10 as new.

 

[Chris Murray]

Definitely higher price bracket (less so for trade since the discounts bring it down a lot), and the turnaround time can put off retail buyers...
They are one of the UK's two wheel manufacturers (the other being Compomotive).