Anyone know a local shop that can powder-coat? I am getting some 18" performance wheels, and am looking to powder-coat them REALLY dark grey...

 

if you live close or in the valley you can visit

Andrew Powder Coating Inc
9410 De Soto Ave
Chatsworth, CA 91311-4947
Phone: 818-700-1030

i have been there a few times, they do a great job and their work has been shown in super street mags.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking more in the OC area...

 

By the way, I called Andrew's Powder Coating, and they quoted me a price of $100 per wheel to do a glossy black.

AHHVTEC from the S2000 forum quoted me only $35 per wheel...

I'm just doing more research, but anyone know MORE SHOPS???

 

Bullish, are you talking about powder-coating the factory 18" wheels? If so, let me know how it turns out, I've thought about doing that myself.

 

Yup. I recently purchased a set of 18" performance wheels since the rear tires of my 17" were NAILED! I'll let you know how it goes, but if it comes to $140 per wheel for gun-metal, I will NOT do it.

 

Yeah, that's rediculous, you could get a whole set of wheels for $140 per wheel. Very decent wheels too.

 

I paid $150/wheel to get my stock z32 rims powdercoated up in the bay. It was a rush job so thats why it was a little expensive, but all in all it came out perfect. Remember powdercoating is something that can be done poorly, and after a few months your rim will be chipping. I don't think $30/wheel sounds like "top end" work, imho.

Good luck dude, can't wait to see the results.

 

BullishZ,

I would check out Gemtech in Huntington Beach. I've had them do a number of things for me in the past and they've always done great work.

http://www.gemtechpowder.com/

It still might be more expensive that it's worth, though.

Mark

 

I just got off the phone with them... They said that they will have to chemically strip the wheel first, then they will directly powder coat the wheels after that. They need to do this because the factory 18" wheels already come with a coat on them. For the stripping, it's $60 for all 4 wheels, then it'll be $35 per wheel for the powder coating. That's $200 totol, which is alot better than $560. The person I spoke with at Gemtech said that they don't like to sand-blast alloy wheels, because it'll beat up or "destroy" the wheels since alloy is softer than steel.

The other shop listed above in Chatsworth said the same thing. They will have to chemically strip the wheel first, since the stock wheel already has a coat on them. But they said that they will Sand Blast the wheels after the stripping is done, then apply the powder coat. But this is contrary to what Gemtech told me, and the inconsistency is really BOTHERING me about this whole process.

I talked to AHHVTEC, who is a member of the S2000 forum and owner of a shop that can powder coat wheels. I contacted him because many S2000's have had their wheels powder coated. However, he was unaware of our wheels having coats, and wanted to just sand blast them from the start. Good thing I did my research, since the other 2 shops above confirmed that sand-blasting the coated wheels would have trashed them. I'm wondering though, regarding the sand blasting of alloy wheels AFTER the coating is stripped. Because the Honda S2000 wheels are alloy as well, (ours are aluminum alloy, if that makes any difference) and AHHVTEC has been sand-blasting a BUNCH of wheels for a BUNCH of S2000 owners. I'm wondering if it is OKAY to do it.

So there's the update so far. INCONSISTENCY... Different answers from different sources. Different procedures everywhere.

Anyone have any insights they may lend me?

 

BullishZ,

Sandblasting is a term that is used pretty generically for a process which should be called media blasting.

There are a number of differnent medias which can be used for the same basic process. The most common are sand, glass beads, walnut shells, and plastic media.

For aluminum parts, you DEFINITELY don't want to use sand, as it rapidly erodes the part. For removing paint without damaging the surface at all, they could use walnut shells or plastic media. The bottom line is that if the shop that blasts them really knows what they are doing, the wheels won't be damaged.

That said, I don't see much need for blasting the wheels, a chemical stripper will easily remove the original coating and will not damage the base material at all.

I'm about to PM you with my phone number if you still have some questions.

Mark

 

we used to send alot of stuff out to powder coaters, Its very sensitive to being completely clean befor ethe powder is applied, even fingerprints were removed, so I can understand why they would want to blast it after a chem strip since it does leave a pretty noticable residue,

 

Hey Mark... I've been SUPER busy with work and other stuff. I got your PM, and thanks for the offer to explain the powdercoat process. If you have some time, and the offer is still good, I'd like to call you to discuss this with you?

Eric

 

Sound fine, anytime you want...

 

Did you ever get your rims powdercoated? If so where and how did they turn out? I'm thinkin about doing this to my stock 17's

 

Nope... I never got them done. Sorry!

 

Performance Nissan does them on exchange i think. I got mine through them.

 

I saw powder coated gunmetal gray performance wheels at Performance Nissan. I didn't check the price tag so I don't know how much it is... but I'd recommend you talk with jeff/jason.

Btw, I thought you said you were selling your car???