Questions Regarding Painting Wheels

[Ckrikos]

I recently bought some lightweight carrera wheels and the fronts were powder coated. One is darker than the rest of the wheels and so am considering reprinting all of them a silver that is a little brighter than stock or like the special edition wheels. I'm just curious how durable painted wheels are, can you paint powder coated wheels? And what does it cost in the north east.

[Johnny Danger]

In theory, powder coating provides a more durable finish than paint. However, the process by which powder coating is applied can sometimes make it difficult to get really good uniform coverage on an object that has multiple surfaces and recesses such as wheel. Personally, I was not happy with the outcome of having a set of wheels powder coated. Poor coverage in lugs and windows caused me to have them sent through again to no avail. The last two sets of wheels that I've owned were painted by traditional means. In the end, I was much more satisfied with the outcome. And, so far they've held up great.

[ccstud17]

its all about the prep! if you properly clean the wheels yes you can paint on top of the powder coat. one issue will be the "orange peel" that the powder coat naturally has will be mimicked in your paint job. Its minute details but would bother me.
Clear coats are king in wheels as that will be your "shield"

[Izman1000]

What do you all think of plasti-dip?

[particlewave]

Plasti-dip is an easy DIY that looks great and is pretty durable from what I hear. Only about 50 miles on mine, so I can't swear to the durability, but it looks amazing for $25-30 and a couple hours of work.

I'm going to whore my car again...

[thstone]

I've had my street and track wheels plasti-dip covered since last May (http://986forum.com/forums/291674-post1.html) and it works well. No problem with washing the wheels, rain, heat, or cold.

If you nick the coating, just re-touch in 30 sec's. When they look too dull, use 1/3 of a can to put on a fresh top coat.

With that being said, plasti-dip works great but don't confuse it with real paint or powder coat.

[Izman1000]

Great info... Thanks

Couple of quick questions:
How did you prep the wheels?
Did you have to sand them?
Any quick hints or tips?

Both of your cars look great. Funny thing is, I just put the same decal down the sides of my car this afternoon so I can really get a feel for how it will look.

[particlewave]

No sanding needed. Just a thorough wash. That's another advantage to plasti-dip; it is removable and you will still have your stock wheels and paint.

You can mask off the tire if you choose to, but the plasti-dip peels pretty easily off the rubber. One tip would be to tackle the hard to get to areas on the very first coat. Around the edge of the wheel, the lug holes, and the inside/rear of the wheel. For nice smooth coverage, allow at least 20 minutes in between coats and apply 5-7 coats per wheel(I did 6) and make the first coat light for good adhesion.

It goes on very similar to spray paint, but is much more forgiving. Light runs will smooth out as it dries and not show in the finished product(my experience, anyway).
Also, make sure you store the plasti-dip at room temperature before using. If it's too cold when you try to spray it, it will come out in bigger globs rather than a fine mist(was 55F in the garage when I did mine, so kept the cans inside).
Clean the nozzle between each coat. You can do this by carefully peeling off the dry plasti-dip, then holding the can upside down and spraying for a couple seconds to clear out the nozzle. If you don't clear the nozzle between each coat, you will also end up with larger globs.

[particlewave]

oops...double post

[Izman1000]

sounds pretty simple... Thanks for the detailed walk-through