Which is better? I have been told both have their disadvantages. Painting the rims can be bad because eventually the paint will chip off. Powdercoating will make the rim weaker. What do you all think? I just bought some bronze Nismo's and I was thinking of making them black. Just can't decide what to do. Also does anyone know any places in the Northern VA area that does Powdercoating or painting?

 

powdercoating won't make the rim weaker. Anealling occurs somewhere between 1/2 to 2/3 of the melting temperature of the metal. Aluminum is 1200+ degrees melting point, so 6-800 degrees to change the charactersistics of the aluminum. (Although aluminum wheels are hybrid alloys that are actually higher temps) Powdercoating is done at 400 degrees which isn't hot enough to harm them. People have been powdercoating rims successfully for years.

If your rims are 18" or smaller, I can do them for you down here in atlanta. I just did a nice set in black of stock 17" G35 rims.

 

From what I understand, the powdercoating will stand up to high temps better than paint.

 

I would say it depends on the wheel in question. I spoke to an enkei rep in jacksonville at the enkei FL tour a year or so back that swears up and down that the wheels they make using M.A.T. can become unsafe after powder coating.

I have a set of nismo wheels that are powder coated and a set of stock wheels that are painted. The powder coat is a million times better as far as durability goes. I can't visually tell a difference really but the paint chips a whole lot easier.

 

So what about powdercoating a forged wheel? will it be fine?

 

depends on the forged wheel in question. Its not hard to find pics online of RPF1's that show the wheel cracked on the track. However, thats with R compound tires which are hard on wheels anyway, much less ultra light weight wheels. Enkei blames the heat. There are other examples of thin spoke wheels that seem to have cracked after powercoating. However, wheels like Volk and Nismo seem to do fine.

Its not that you take the wheel to 400F for a few seconds. its more like 425F and its actually 2-3 heating and cooling cycles that total from 30-45 mins (outgasing, PC-ing, clearcoat). From everything I've read, there isnt much worry if the PC-er is paying attention and cares. I personally think the problem has arisen from PC-ers using the bake off oven to remove existing paint. it works great on steel wheels, where they make their money on 18-wheeler wheels. But 500-550F (or more) is a problem. Make sure they dont use a bake off oven.

Lastly, if the PC-er is attentive to your job and doesnt get distracted, he can work in such a way to make sure your wheels dont cool completely. Or cool too fast. If youre still worried, ask him about the lower temp coatings.

It's your safety. I think most wheels can be safely powdercoated. With a wide margin of safety. If the PC-er blows off your questions about his process or acts like heat is no concern at all, find another PC-er. If he cares enough to talk to you about how he intends to do the job and what temps he uses, youre on the right track I think.

 

you are referring to the nismo wheels, correct? del105's are powdercoated and he auto-x's plus performance nissan powdercoats these wheels all the time for people.

 

how much would powdercoating typically run?

 

I charge $350 for up to 18" wheels. $150 if you strip them down to bare metal first.

 

Cool.