Powder coat or paint on wheels?
 

The wheels on my boxster were damaged when new tires were mounted. The mounting machine caused bad scratches that that go almost all around the front of the wheel near the edge. They are option code 411, 18" Lt. Alloy Carrera wheels

The tire shop admitted to damaging all 4 wheels and are getting them fixed at their cost.

3 questions:

1 are the wheels powder coated from the factory or painted?

2 They had a high end mobile wheel shop come out and sand and repaint the wheels. I have to admit, they do look pretty good, but should I insist they they have them sent out for powder coating or is a high end mobile wheel repair shop that sands and paints the wheels going to be OK and be durable long term?

I am concerned that they might scratch easier when I get tires mounted again

3 Is there a paint code for the wheels?

Stock wheels are painted, base coat, clear coat.

This is my experience, in terms of durability;

1. OEM paint - very durable.
2. Aftermarket powder coat - not as durable as OEM paint (IMHO), but very good.
3. Aftermarket paint - least durable of the three but easier to touch up than aftermarket powder coat.

Also, some people have expressed concerns about the temp and duration of heating wheels as part of the aftermarket powder coat process. I won't take a side in that argument, but its something to read up on and consider.

Hmm, I would have thought powder coating was stronger than paint. Anybody know whats in the factory paint that makes it so good?

Thanks for the input.

My guess is OEM paint is baked, so it harder

If you powder coat -- I've been told the elevated curing temperatures can weaken the aluminum structure and should not be tracked.

But that could just be internet gibberish.......

M

Had mine stripped, sanded and powder coated. They look great and never had an issue.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1411515827.jpg

You have any more pics? Want to get a better look at wheels

Ill have to dig some up. That pic was the only one on my iPad! I will say they are the original twist wheels and were powder coated gloss black. I bought the black center caps off eBay for about 30 bucks. Had new hankook ventus v12s then mounted and balanced.

Here is my set of twists done in powder coated white. They have stood the test of time and still look good with no chips or scratches.