Cardozzo Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Has anyone here powerdercoated the stock wheels black? I don't have much experience with it, but it seems like it would be an inexpensive mod that looks a little meaner than stock, unless powerdercoated wheels don't turn out that well. Thoughts? pics? ps They'd be going on a white lgt wagon w/ light tinting pps I think the cost would be about $200 + dis & remounting wheels, balancing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 I don't know that you can powdercoat your wheels by yourself. A wheel shop should be able to do it though. Here is basically what the process is. I think it would look nice on stock wheels. Powdercoating would last waaaaaay longer than painting with a poof can would last. I haven't read about anyone doing it on here yet (haven't read all the threads either) but I'd like to see pics too if someone does do something unique to their stock wheels. I plan on just leaving mine silver and spending the money I would use to powder coat them and buy new rims. These will make good winter rollers, but I want some bling bling for summer. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tronix Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 You can do it yourself. Powdercoating is actually VERY easy. I do alot of powdercoating myself in my garage. The biggest issue would be getting them stripped. I have a blaster and its still not powerful enough to blast the wheels down to bare metal. its all about prep, but powdercoated wheels can look really nice, and be very cheap to do. If you take them somewhere. I usually see charges around $80 a wheel. Which is primarily labor. the powder itself for a full set of wheels will be about $8. So you are paying for the labor/stripping involved. I'm buying new wheels here in a couple of weeks. I may powdercoat my stock wheels in black chrome (shiny gunmetal). I'll post pics if I do. -Tronix(likes strippers)GT for more pics and info... http://angevine.org/legacy/legacy.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dv8ingvector Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 You would also need a large spare oven for a DIY as well no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JessterCPA Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 You would also need a large spare oven for a DIY as well no? My thoughts exactly. Unless you use those large infa-red lamps. But they seem expensive, which offsets the reasonableness of the process to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperhawkLGT Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 I had a set of rotas done in black chrome, $50 per wheel and they look sweet. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/superhawk4469/detail?.dir=1446&.dnm=fef3.jpg&.src=ph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tronix Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 You would also need a large spare oven for a DIY as well no? Yes you would. you would not want to use the oven in your house. I picked up a spare oven at the local goodwill for $25. Im actually in the middle of making my own stand up oven to do larger stuff. When I started powdercoating I only had about $100 in the startup. You can do it cheap. Its really beneficial if you are doing alot of little things. With building a 65 GTO I have alot of suspension components,brackets,etc that I just powdercoat instead of paint. I guess its not for everyone because you need to have the space and setup to do it. But its not something thats really hard. You can actually pick up a cheap infrared heater at harbor freight that you can power with your gas grill propane tank. thats another alternative. heres some of my work if you are bored.. http://208.56.192.50/tuned/ -Tronix(dont sniff this powder)GT for more pics and info... http://angevine.org/legacy/legacy.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Th3Franz Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 I'm considering powdercoating since my wheels already have some blemishes.. Yeah, it takes a good amount of heat to cure. But, I have also heard it's important that the heat is not too much, because on wheels it can compromise the strength. I guess one instance of this was a rallyx car that had powdercoated wheels and I think 2 of them broke due to being weakened from the curing process. -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dv8ingvector Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 Yes you would. you would not want to use the oven in your house. I picked up a spare oven at the local goodwill for $25. Im actually in the middle of making my own stand up oven to do larger stuff. When I started powdercoating I only had about $100 in the startup. You can do it cheap. Its really beneficial if you are doing alot of little things. With building a 65 GTO I have alot of suspension components,brackets,etc that I just powdercoat instead of paint. I guess its not for everyone because you need to have the space and setup to do it. But its not something thats really hard. You can actually pick up a cheap infrared heater at harbor freight that you can power with your gas grill propane tank. thats another alternative. heres some of my work if you are bored.. http://208.56.192.50/tuned/ -Tronix(dont sniff this powder)GT that is cool, nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gohmer1 Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 To the tippity top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuxtaGT Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 I spent a lot of time researching this, and for sure it can be done. I don't recommend doing it yourself though. The wheels are one of those critical parts that is best left to professionals. The alloys used to make a wheel have been heat treated to specific standards, and while the tempatures involved to cure the powder should not affect the hardness of the wheel, can you be sure you got it right with a cheap oven? I wouldn't want to trust the temp guage on an old oven myself, unless agumented by a digital temp guage of some sort. At less then $100 a wheel, and much less hassle or worry, take your time to find a good shop in your area. I'm sure if you look hard enough you will find several. Or better yet, talk to your local tuning shop for recs. A friend got his wheels done on his ZO6 and they look outstanding, 3 years later and several track days worth of abuse. -Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gohmer1 Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 To the top again for pictures. Dang this is a slow moving forum though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 If nobody has done it then nobody is going to post pictures. Its cheaper to get a new set of rims that you like better than the stock ones rather than powder coating factory rims. Most likely nobody has powder coated their stock Legacy rims and that is why the lack of pictures. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gohmer1 Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 Its cheaper to get a new set of rims that you like better than the stock ones rather than powder coating factory rims. How is that cheaper? But yeah, I want to powder coat them and use them for the winter. Get some other rims for summer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperhawkLGT Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 I paid $50 a wheel for mine, they are heated to about 300 - 350 degrees. I have done car and motorcycle wheels, no problems..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xantium Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 pics hawk! are the wrx rims similar to the legacy rims... maybe the 2.5i legacy rims? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTLegs Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 my family owns a powdercoating and ceramic coating shop... we charge about $75 a wheel... definitely cheaper than new wheels, and you can remove curb rash this way too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperhawkLGT Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 Roat subzero's, black chrome, and they had much curb rash, not easy to get rid of. They look good but far from perfect, you can take metal away but you can never replace it. try this, might work http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/superhawk4469/detail?.dir=1446&.dnm=3d3b.jpg&.src=ph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 There have been numerous reports of allow wheels failing after powdercoating, because of the heat baking step weakening the alloy. Proceed with caution. TireRack does not recommend powder coating for alloy wheels, and I would be inclined to trust them on this. No problem with steel wheels, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverDog Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 I have a set of OZs that I powder coated 3 years ago and they're fine. I also PC'd a set of Borbets that were perfect, no cracks, no weakening/bending. I think Tirerack's stance on this may be as much for their liability as any real issue with the rim. Frankly, there's no way you could buy a rim from a manufacturer that was painted and that you expected to last, be resistant to chipping that wasn't powder coated. My guess is TR is looking at the scenario where they sell a set of rims, somebody has them painted and something happens and TR may be on the hook for a warranty claim. It's just like any other mod that "voids" your warranty with another manufacturer. From the 2 sets I've had done, I think it's fine and wouldn't hesitate to do another set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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