Say I had a 100% polished wheel that was forged, and wanted the centers to be a medium color of grey
05-03-2006, 10:49 PM
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Say I had a 100% polished wheel that was forged, and wanted the centers to be a medium color of grey
and wanted them to be a very smooth feel. More or less I think the best route of going about this would to get the wheel's centers painted and clear coated, say a medium shade of grey. Who does this kind of work? I want to keep the lip polished on it, and don't want it to be powder coated. Is anodizing going to make it nice and smooth/glossy like a painted wheel finish with a clear coat? LMK TIA!
05-04-2006, 03:36 AM
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anodizing will not work. unless you know how the wheel was forged and exactly what type of alum was
used.
any body shop should be able to do this work. if the wheels is already polished then mask the lip you want with a heavy duty tape.
then you prep the surface with sanding just like you would paint of a car. spray your color and clear and peel the masking.
my roomate has done this twice to his wheels with great result. only difference is he powdercoated them the second time instead of paint, which imo looks alot better and is more reliable.
any body shop should be able to do this work. if the wheels is already polished then mask the lip you want with a heavy duty tape.
then you prep the surface with sanding just like you would paint of a car. spray your color and clear and peel the masking.
my roomate has done this twice to his wheels with great result. only difference is he powdercoated them the second time instead of paint, which imo looks alot better and is more reliable.
05-04-2006, 06:12 AM
#3
Why no powder coating??
Paint might be less durable, but is easier to repair then powder coating. I had good experience with mine...
Powder coated the brushed centers, left the lips polished.
Powder coated the brushed centers, left the lips polished.
05-04-2006, 07:44 AM
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depending on the metals properties, even a forged wheel, may or may not accept an anodized
finish... you might get a spekely surface from all the outside contaminants in the metal that don't color...
if you do anodize, and find your wheels accept the color, you will still need to clear over them.... the anodized surface is not exactly the most wear resistant. and if you looking for that shinny look, it's not going to give it since the color is now the surface, vs. lloking through a clear (which magnifies) to see the color on a painted wheel.
if you do anodize, and find your wheels accept the color, you will still need to clear over them.... the anodized surface is not exactly the most wear resistant. and if you looking for that shinny look, it's not going to give it since the color is now the surface, vs. lloking through a clear (which magnifies) to see the color on a painted wheel.
05-04-2006, 08:04 AM
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You can pick all kinds of crazy colors and finishes with powdercoating
My SLs are powdercoated and it's the best (of 3) finished they've had on them. Without any fancy machining of the lip or anything, it's not expensive. I paid $425 (with tax and everything) for my metallic gunmetal and clear coat.
05-04-2006, 09:22 AM
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I was told to stay away from that process because it involved heat. This is coming from a pretty
good race wheel company. I am not so sure though. Do you have any pictures of your wheels? Did they turn out glossy after the coat?
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05-04-2006, 10:34 AM
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look at my picture poster, last two pics. those are the best i have now...
you can kinda see the finish qualities.
The powdercoat guy told me they cook the wheels at 400 degrees. That's not very hot and i'm thinking not much hotter than how much brake heat is tranferred through the hub. I'm not sure though. Pure guesswork. I've taken brake temps and tread surface temps but never took the temp around the lug nut area.
The powdercoat guy told me they cook the wheels at 400 degrees. That's not very hot and i'm thinking not much hotter than how much brake heat is tranferred through the hub. I'm not sure though. Pure guesswork. I've taken brake temps and tread surface temps but never took the temp around the lug nut area.
05-04-2006, 03:45 PM
#9
I thought the same...I researched it for ages and you know what I found??
Powder coating requires less then ten minutes at 325 degrees...
Every resource I spoke with said it is a myth. The powder coating will do no damage. The repair is more of an issue...you can't spot repair the powder coating as you could with paint. This is the main reason I chose not to pc my lips...
They can be finished in a godjillion colors and can be treated just like a painted surface...so if you needed to knock the gloss off them you probably could...
This is what one of my rears looked like before they were broken down, stripped of the clear coat, polished, centers were pc'd and then reassembled...
<img src="http://images8.fotki.com/v146/photos/4/43687/1762959/RearBefore2-vi.jpg">
This is the same wheel, same spoke...after.
<img src="http://images9.fotki.com/v166/photos/4/43687/1762959/ZoopsFinalPolish-vi.jpg">
I considered anodizing in an attempt to duplicate the finish on the centers of my old Kinesis...these were shot-peened and then anodized...I hated the wheels, but loved the finish on the centers..
<img src="http://images3.fotki.com/v32/photos/4/43687/313950/P71301052-vi.jpg">
More pictures of both sets of wheel, and the cleaning process...<a href="http://public.fotki.com/LI-S4/cars_and_stuff/mods/"><i>here</i></a>.
The downside to the polished lips is that they require a **** load of work to keep clean...I live 100 feet from the open water and salt is a big issue for me. I did an interesting experiment with <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/detail/msgs/33772.phtml">Zoops Sealer</a> to try to combat the oxidation...read if you wish.
Every resource I spoke with said it is a myth. The powder coating will do no damage. The repair is more of an issue...you can't spot repair the powder coating as you could with paint. This is the main reason I chose not to pc my lips...
They can be finished in a godjillion colors and can be treated just like a painted surface...so if you needed to knock the gloss off them you probably could...
This is what one of my rears looked like before they were broken down, stripped of the clear coat, polished, centers were pc'd and then reassembled...
<img src="http://images8.fotki.com/v146/photos/4/43687/1762959/RearBefore2-vi.jpg">
This is the same wheel, same spoke...after.
<img src="http://images9.fotki.com/v166/photos/4/43687/1762959/ZoopsFinalPolish-vi.jpg">
I considered anodizing in an attempt to duplicate the finish on the centers of my old Kinesis...these were shot-peened and then anodized...I hated the wheels, but loved the finish on the centers..
<img src="http://images3.fotki.com/v32/photos/4/43687/313950/P71301052-vi.jpg">
More pictures of both sets of wheel, and the cleaning process...<a href="http://public.fotki.com/LI-S4/cars_and_stuff/mods/"><i>here</i></a>.
The downside to the polished lips is that they require a **** load of work to keep clean...I live 100 feet from the open water and salt is a big issue for me. I did an interesting experiment with <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/detail/msgs/33772.phtml">Zoops Sealer</a> to try to combat the oxidation...read if you wish.