Powder Coating? - Which color to use for Silver on BBS

[BMCINSD1]

So I dropped off my BBS CH028s to be Powder Coated but the samples they had looked too dark or "Greyish" when clear coat was applied. Does anyone have any advice on which color they used?... So far the two colors which come the closest are Mirror Silver or Xtreme Chrome. Any suggestions?

[s4andtls]

Wheels should never be powdercoated, but good luck.

[RusS4]

Wheels should never be powdercoated, but good luck.

why?

[BMCINSD1]

Wheels should never be powdercoated, but good luck.

Why?... A number of forum members told me that it was better than painting.

[S4King]

I heard the process of hot dipping the wheels makes the metal weak on the wheels. Causing them to be pron to busting when you hit a curb or a pothole.

[zerb]

at what point in time do the powdercoaters that you go to 'hot dip' the wheels in anything? and people powdercoat wheels all the time.

you spray the powder on the wheel, you bake it on in the oven, and you take it out.

[s4andtls]

I've done it a couple times in the past 15 years and regret it. Sure they look good but the finish doesn't hold up. If you chip the finish you'll have to use touch up paint. Powdercoat is 4-10 times thicker than paint so a center cap for example may not fit unless you grind away the powdercoat in that area. Many times the coating develops tiny spider cracks in time, etc.,etc.,. Paint to me is much more durable and just as nice or better a finish. Also,when mounting/dismounting a tire it's prone to chipping at the rim area no matter how careful they do it.

[Bimmerchop]

I disagree completely. In general, I find powder coating to be much more durable in regards to chips and such than a conventional liquid paint job. Not saying you can't get a quality paint job that's durable, but if I had a choice, powder coating would it.

[s4andtls]

Bimmerchop I agree as far as durability, paint is just
not as hard as powdercoat, but hey maybe today the powdercoating stands up better than mine 10 and 15 years ago, and of course the prepping is the key. Both look great, just have someone good perform the tire installing.

[Bimmerchop]

Bimmerchop I agree as far as durability, paint is just
not as hard as powdercoat, but hey maybe today the powdercoating stands up better than mine 10 and 15 years ago, and of course the prepping is the key. Both look great, just have someone good perform the tire installing.

Agreed

[EJB]

How would the powdercoating oven cause the wheels to lose strength?!? All the powdercoating that I've done was at MAX about 450 deg F. There's no way that's going to cause a wheel to lose strength. -my $.02

[pzp107]

Whoever taught you about powdercoating is giving you some seriously bad information. For one the 400 degress almost every powder cures at at part metal temperature is not enough to even begin ruining any heat treatment process the wheel might have gone though. You would have to hit in the range of 600-750 to get the metal to change phases or recrystalize etc. Not to mention powdercoating in general is actually about the same thickness given a part painted in an epoxy primer and then 2 stage base/clear painted. It may actually be thinner. It is a hell of a lot more durable,will not spider crack unless you actually heat the part to hot (like seriously hot). It will withstand brake dust and grime, and chemicals 100x better than paint. If the finish is chipped and it will not propogate the chip like paint would. Meaning if you were to pressure wash it it isnt going to blow more chips away like paint would. It also gives a much more even coating without special skills painting requires to give a uniform look with even gloss. Anyone who has tried to paint wheels can attest to how hard this is. Not to mention withstanding rubbing and brushing when cleaning your wheels a lot more. It is in fact the ideal choice for coating. However it is more expensive than painting which is why manufacturers still paint. ALmighty dollar. I do powder coating so I know the ins and outs pretty well. Not all but enough for most jobs.

[BMCINSD1]

I was curious if anyone has any experience on what powder coat color they used for Silver? Most of the Silver that I have been shown actually looks Grey after the clear coating. Also, it appears that the wheels have been previously powder coated, how much might the shop charge to sand-blast the prior coating off?

[JDM EJ1 95]

actually this has some truth to it.. ask any custom wheel company... for example HRE will not warranty wheels when they have been powdercoated by someone other than them... because they have had issues in the past with powdercoated wheels breaking.

[pzp107]

That is only true with big powdercoating operations. reason being is because they are lazy and just run them through a burn off oven instead of blasting or dipping the wheel to remove any old paint or coatings etc. Burn off ovens are very very very hot and should never be used on wheels and will remove any heat treatment apply and actually make them more malleable. As long as you blast or acid dip the wheel to remove the coating you will have a 100 percent better finish at the same strength.

[pzp107]

sand blasting a coating off per wheel would probably take an hour to do thoroughly per wheel. Maybe a bit less like 30 to 40 minutes.

[BMCINSD1]

sand blasting a coating off per wheel would probably take an hour to do thoroughly per wheel. Maybe a bit less like 30 to 40 minutes.

Anyone have any idea what it might cost to have them sand-blasted and powder coated?... Anyone powder coated with Silver?... What color was used?...

[S4 BOOST]

As far as the center caps not fitting properly, a powdercoater can mask off whatever parts of the wheel neccesary.. As far as sandblasting goes, it can take you an hour with a tool from home depot yeah, but with a professional sandblasting setup it will take 10 minutes.. Im at my powdercoater all the time (Orange County PCoating) the guys who do work for Orange County Choppers, Im sponsored for ATV motocross from them, I change my color setups all the time.. Ive had my whole frame sandblasted in 20 minutes.. As far as the powdercoat making the wheel weaker? No... It doesnt effect the origional quality of the product in any way.. The thing that probably throws off everyone is the fact that the powder has to cure in a preset oven for the "powder" to turn into a paint like substance..

[BlkdoutS4]

Anyone have any idea what it might cost to have them sand-blasted and powder coated?... Anyone powder coated with Silver?... What color was used?...

i got charged $100 bucks to have (4) 18X8 OZs sand blasted... and was quoted at $75 per wheel for powder coating.

[B528QM]

i got charged $100 bucks to have (4) 18X8 OZs sand blasted... and was quoted at $75 per wheel for powder coating.

Sounds about right... I got quoted $70 but ended up being $90 a wheel once the saw them because the wheels had a ton of spokes and not too much room between them....

[BMCINSD1]

Sounds about right... I got quoted $70 but ended up being $90 a wheel once the saw them because the wheels had a ton of spokes and not too much room between them....

Did you happen to powder coat your wheels silver? I was wondering what color
you used?

[KillerGSR]

ya call bbs and they will tell you not to powdrecoat wheels... At least for their forged wheels (RGR) they told me not to...As for what color check my sig and see if you like my RGRs in that color...