Hey guys,

I just got some used 19 inch PIAA Super Rozza's. They do have some curb damage on them. I want to get them fixed, but I have my G over here in the UK and I've been told be every shop so far that they cannot fix the wheels. One shop said that they could powdercoat the wheel with a chrome color and put clearcoat/lacquer over the top. They said it won't look exactly the same, but it will be pretty close to the look of a polished lip. I just want the curb damage to be fixed and the lip to still have the polished look. I don't know much about wheels, but I thought these wheels could have had chrome lips. Its seems as though with enough polishing, an alloy wheel could appear chromish looking. Just want your opinions or if you have soon or went this route to repair damage on a polished lip. Thanks.

 

Do you have photos of the damage? Honestly I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to polish them. Personally I've never seen a powder coat finish that looks exactly like chrome, so I'd be skeptical in that regard.

 

Thanks for your reply. I do have pics, but just to make it simple...its basically just curb damage. One wheel actually has gouged out scratch on the lip. The problem is that I live in the UK. It seems as though they aren't used to large lips like the PIAA Super Rozzas.I thought that the curb damage could just be sanded or grinded down a bit and smoothed out. Then it could be buffed to bring back the natural finish. Unfortunately, it seems like a difficult feat here in the UK. So I thought maybe a chrome powdercoated finish would look good as well. I'm not going for an actualy chrome lip. I just want them too look as good, or close to as good, as the mirrored polished aluminum look. What do you think?

 

That's correct in terms of how to correct the rash, assuming the lips on your wheels are not coated in anything or plated.

 

Back to my question then.....will powdercoated chrome lips look as good as polished lips? If not, what would the noticeable differences be?

 

In my opinion, no. Again though, I have not seen any powder coat finishes that look like a chrome plated finish, or a polished one. Polished looks close to chrome, and in some cases, almost looks identical (especially the case with forged wheels).

Powder coating is similar to paint in terms of color options and whatnot, but it is much more durable. In certain lighting conditions though, powder coat can look a bit 'flat' compared to paint.

 

Thanks for your reply. I can't seem to find a good answer when I ask this question. I want to say that I've seen wheels that were for sale on this forum and the lips were powdercoated chrome. At that time, I had no idea about paint or powdercoating so I didn't pay much attention. If I remember correctly though...the pics looks just like any chrome or polished lip. I just have to find that thread again and look at those pics. Anyway, thanks for you opinion and expertise. I'm going to go this route and I really hope they turn out decent. I can't believe that I can't find anyone ot fix my polished lips on my wheels. Maybe the UK isn't up to par compared to the states.