Nice.
I’m a fan of powdercoat, one reason being, 5-6 years down the road the parts will still look new as long as you take care of them.
I think that after the time and effort to properly prepare a wheel and paint it your better off powdercoating them.
The powdershop does all the pre-prep work though correct?
Yes sir. They clean it right up for you! :excited
Any OEM wheel I have checked has been painted.
So will paint. I still see 1960 cars with factory body paint that looks great. Paint sticks to metal. Powdercoat sticks to metal. Both accomplish the same things.
Exactly. How many old ass beat ass cars you see rolling around with oem wheels that look MINT? they are out there all day, everywhere.
Paint > Powdercoat:
More colors and effects avail.
More places that can do it
dont have to dismount the tires
Easier to make repairs after they are painted
Powdercoat > paint:
Physically harder finished surface
Thicker material, will hide casting dimpels, scratches, where paint you need to prime with high build and may need to sand prior to base coat
Less work to finish the work, less steps involved and actuall work time
there are many Paint is better becasue of this but you need to do this and powdercoat doesnt need these steps so it equals out BS…
they are both %50-%50. each has slight KEY advantages over the other… so take a good hard look at what your after and that will make the decission.
since its the daily, i would just re paint them on the side of your house. prep them right and it will last, re do it in a stock color, because they are stock wheels. i’m prob stripping my wheels and painting them silver when its a tad warmer out.
yep any paint job depents 99% on the prep and surface work prior to spraying color.
My subaru winter beater had some cheap ass american racing 16’s on it. The rattle can Duplacolor Wheel paint on them still looks great. Not chipped or anything, and it never gets cleaned, goes through mud, sandy back roads and salt.
powder coating is a dry powder that is electrostaticly charged and sticks like a magnet. then is baked on. this forms a type of skin. this is more durable because it can be much thicker and be much more consistant
paint is a liquid that needs to be sprayed on. will be less consistant and is weaker.
Powdercoat wont bond to metal like a primer that will etch into the surface. If you chip the powdercoat (not that hard to do) moisture can work its way under the powdercoat and weaken the bond to the wheel.
Correct application process. But like you said it forms a skin, doesnt really bond to the metal.
Its thicker, like i mentioned so it can be allied over 80 grit/scratch surfaces and with enough powder will level out the surface and not show the imprefections. Paint needs 600 grit for color coat to give a glass like flat finish. Primer should be around 320-440 prior to laying it down, for physically adhesion
A good painter is consistant with the application. Look at a heavy metalic content or pearl base coat… if you suck at spraying it will look like bawls. powdercoat, aslong as it covers the surface 100% physics and chemestry do the rest.
Exactly. Not only water but chemicals, salt… but just like paint anything that gets under the surface and touches the metal… it is fucked. but yeah when PC chips, it will catch other rocks, stones, branches, what ever else comes in contact with it physically and can and will keep chipping.
Metal etch primer is the strongest chemical to metal bond I can think of like you said.
aircraft stripper. treat with alodine, prime, paint, clear. done.
My winter 17’s were painted gloss black by Otto’s bodyshop.
As long as they use the same process that the paneling of cars are painted with, it will be just fine.
i would say go with powdercoat 100%. its a much stronger finish. for something thats going to see that temperature change(braking heats up wheels, then cools off once ur off the pedal), then theres the exposure to outside elements, theres salt, dust, sand, dirt, rocks and all kinds of shit flying around. theres going to be some small VERY hot brake pad material particles flying around in there, if it hits paint and u decide to take that little black speck off, itll lift the paint cuz its baked itself on there. powdercoat is definitely more expensive, but IMO its completely worth it.
^Duderman, do you know what your saying?
Beg to differ friend. When u come down to my house tomorrow, ill show you my jetta wheels I blasted, etch primed, painted and cleared, 3 years ago. I drove the piss off that car and got my brakes HAWT. The paint never was affected. in fact even after a beating on the car, you could still touch the wheel surface/paint and it wasn’t burning your fingers at all. warm but nothing it cant handle.
Rocks and shit hit your front end and hood all the time, but good paint and clear it resists chips. Cars with excessive rock chips are either cheap paint, or LOTS of direct rock impacts. Road debris doesnt hit the sides of the wheels, unless your power sliding gravel roads.
The hot break dust is a good point though. It isnt like a spark from grinding metal though, but the dust does get hot and will cake on the clear. but if you use a good clear coat and keep them clean, it wont be an issue in the long run. My jetta wheels even sat over the last 2 winters with the salt and shit still on them from back then, the bare aluminum lips are shot now, but the paint will just need to be spray detailed and it will be 100% still.
Powder coat still chips like a mother. in fact thick powder coat applications work against you, the thicker it is the deeper a rock or impact will go into the surface coating, and will allow it to chip easier. Once powder coat chips, water gets under VERY easy, and separates the hardened powder coating from the surface its applied to.
ATV arms from the factory come PAINTED. hitting field grass, and small soft surface stuff while you ride, actually sands the paint off and will actually polish the bare metal left behind. Roosted dirt and rocks actually dont leave behind as many chips in the OEM paint as you would think. its because the paint is thin, and the impacts translate right through the paint into the metal.
Aftermarket POWDER COATED arms resist the grass and soft surfaces that usually sand the surface away. but they get chipped all to hell from roost and rocks. because the impacts dont go right into the metal to disburse the impact forces, the powder coat itself absorbs alot of the sharp impact, and because of the surface hardness of powdercoating, being rather brittle if you may, the impact pressures get translated into the coating and it causes it to crack/chip.
SMOKENSS I know you will atest to this. You have run alot of aftermarket suspensions on your race quads, VS the painted stock stuff. Do you notice the same thing I am saying?
hmmmm. cuz im thinking of doing my BBS wheels and theyll be used in winter with the salt and lots of shit on the roads. i wanted to do the inside of my wheels black, because it wont show brake dust and the particles on there. my wheels get a decent amount of that on the inside.