i know people on these boards are color matching rims with the color of their cars or any color in general..what methods are most of you using?are you powdercoating them or painting them?i know if you paints you can get an exact mtch of the color you want as opposed to powdercoating where the colors are limited..is painting rims safe and durable?my cousin is going to paint his maya rt5's the color of his car caribean blue...but he wanted to know if he should powdercoat them instead...benefits and drawbacks of painting vs powdercaoting please

 

With painting, you might have to "touch up" or fix your rims because paint isnt even as close as durable as powdercoating is.

If you have the money, go for powerdercoat.

.

 

Painting you will probably get an exact match to your car pain. Powder coating, I think you are limited to colors they have on hand. I'm not sure if you can do exact color matches with powder coating.

 

powdercoating weakens the metal. i believe that's why volk wheels are painted.

 

I got quoted $40/rim to powder coat black...what's the average rate?

 

yeah someone told me powdercoating will weaken the metal..i dont want a weak rim..so I am leaning towards painting...now if thats the case...is the wheel scuffed or wetsanded?is it like bodywork?how is the wheel prepped...my cousin has the maya rt5 and he wants to paint the inside of the spokes not the face a different color..is there already a clearcoat or some type of clear sealant on the rim already?and if so will that have to be removed ?

 

powder coating does not weaken the rim. All they do is spay the wheel and then bake it. nothing thats damaging to the wheel.

Powder coating last longer and is a lot more durable.

ps- to my understanding volk always powder coated their stuff

 

You can make it any color you want.

It absolutely DOES NOT weaken metal. How do I know? I operated a powder coat facility in my Support Equipment Division. As long as you match the heat and powder coat material to the metal being coated, you'll be fine.

When powder coating aluminum, we used a special low temp powder coat that was just as durable as the material we applied to non-stressed components. It worked just as well, but was a little more expensive than the standard stuff we used on lifts / stands / jack bodies / etc.

Having said that - if you overtemp your metal during the process, you can cause damage. That goes for steel or aluminum. Hopefully the folks doing wheels know what they're doing and are using the right materials and temperatures. I would think that they would, but nowadays you never know.

 

I was referring to heat effects, but it sounds like if the shop knows what they're doing, you would not weaken the metal. Reheating a finished piece of metal is always a dangerous thing in terms of strength. Thanks for the correction.

 

powder coating > painting ... why? because powder coating is more durable as stated above.

 

i agree...powder coating is stronger and you can color match it just depends on the shop you go to

 

Right on. Wasn't meant as a disrespect or a correction - just info.

 

most places will have your standard colors or may be one or 2. You can buy your own and bring it to the shop. (a few different places i've dealt with told me it would be ok). Some will refuse to order special colors or will charge you an arm and a leg to get what you want.

JUST FYI...

craftsman sells a powdercoating system at sears. I was contemplating on buying it, but i dont want to ruin my home oven. its only about $200 (back when i was looking at it) But they do suggest you do not use your regular owen and just use a spare or buy one from a junk yard for a few bucks.

 

this is the info i have gotten about the process. This is a friend who does it
------------
As far as necessary steps give them to me and let me do my work. Just pull them off the car, i will chemical strip them, abrasive blast them, metal prep, and powder them. I like to do everything to ensure that its done correctly. Cost my cost is 400 for a set with tires on and 350 a set with tires off.Turn around time is typically 3-5 days depending on what condition the rims are in when i recieve them. When you say black chrome, do you mean chrome thats smoked meaning chrome with a black haze over them, or a mirror black where the black looks so glossy its mirrored, because i have both colors available. Let me know if you have any more questions, or if you want to set up a date to have them picked up.
----------

I am going to go anohter body shop and see if they can do it, with me leavingmy car with them