Wheel Powdercoating Questions/Recommendations in San Francisco

[Carl242]

Hi All,
I want to powdercoat my wheels black, and I emailed a powdercoating place, and their response led me to have a lot of questions. Anyone know the answers to any of these?

1) Can anyone share a positive powdercoating experience in the Bay Area?
2) Are the smart stock (passion) wheels powdercoated or painted (the powdercoater will need to know to estimate the cost)
3) Does anyone know a place here that I won't have to bring the wheels in already off the vehicle and tires removed? I don't really want to deal with all that
4) If no one knows the answer to 3) does anyone around here have 4 wheels I can borrow for a few days?

Thanks
Carl

[babybenz]

If you were by me I have a ton at home lol. Factory wheels are painted. Just paint them instead

[headless]

Hi Carl, sorry but the powdercoating company you mention don't sound very good or knowledgeable, they don't need to know if they are already powdercoated or painted for a quote as they will be stripping it off anyway if they do it correctly.
They should also be able to take in your whole car, strip the wheels and then the tyres off and strip the old coating and then spray the wheels and then refit all in 1 day, I know, I had it done last year, I had my standard smart alloys that were in silver, powdercoated black, and they look fantastic, and they are so much easier to clean with just a soft sponge.
I know you are in America and I am in Britain, but if you need any questions about powdercoating answered look at this British company where I went, their site is very informative and takes you through the whole process from start to finish.
Good luck with the powdercoating.
Ellis.
Alloy Wheel Refurbishment | Refurbish Alloy Wheels | Refurbish Wheels | Alloywheel Repair | Refurbished Alloy Wheels

I was so pleased with the finish and job they did, I sent them a piccy of the car and a testimonial, so if you go to the testimonials & gallery section, you can see my car, the blue/black smart roadster with the black alloys.

[Carl242]

Thanks Ellis. They said they needed to know because with paint they could just strip, but with powdercoating there they'd have to burn them off or chem strip them. I sure hope I can find a place like the one you went to.

Cheers
Carl

[headless]

Originally Posted by Carl242

Thanks Ellis. They said they needed to know because with paint they could just strip, but with powdercoating there they'd have to burn them off or chem strip them. I sure hope I can find a place like the one you went to.

Cheers
Carl

Oh right, did'nt realise that, in that case they are painted so no need to chem strip, so should cut down on costs.
Another thing, make sure the company you go to take off the tyres and do the whole alloy inside and out, as a lot of companies just mask off the tyre and only do the bits you can see.
El

[John_H]

I'm really not sure about the declarations that the wheels are painted. When I was trying to get my rims powder coated in my corner of the country, chemical strip was the only thing I was pursuing.

Are we sure there's not an epoxy coat in here?

Powder coating companies do a huge amount of business beyond wheels so most shops aren't setup for the full service experience. It's for this reason it can be convenient to work with a dealer (Smart center, perhaps) that's willing to take care of all the "hassle" and bundle everything up into one price. The price will be more than taking everything to the powder coating business yourself, but it could very well be worth it.

Whatever you end up with, make sure bead blasting isn't part of the procedure. Beads tend to embed themselves in the aluminum alloy and pop back out during the powder bake for some really odd looking imperfections in the finished product.

My wheels ended up not getting powder coated. Instead, my Smart Center got them painted to my needs: black wheels, bright rims. Unless you're going for an "all black" ninja appearance, the bright rim really helps keep the look clean. You can see closeups of my wheels in My SCOA Gallery.

[tbone28]

Check out wheel techniques in santa clara.

http://www.wheeltechniques.com/

[LittoDeviL]

Carl,

Your tires would have to come off as the heating process wouldn't do so well to the rubber when the powder is being cured. I could have your tires taken off, demounted, powdercoated and reinstalled if you want. Just let me know And chris might have a set of spare tires sitting around for you to borrow.. hehe

Larry

[silverbrabus]

Originally Posted by tbone28

Check out wheel techniques in santa clara.

> Wheel Techniques <

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT take your wheels to Wheeltech.

Had a very bad experience with these guys. Even gave them a second chance to get it right but ended up having to take them to another shop at my cost.

[tbone28]

Originally Posted by silverbrabus

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT take your wheels to Wheeltech.

Had a very bad experience with these guys. Even gave them a second chance to get it right but ended up having to take them to another shop at my cost.

I've gone there twice, and have not had issues. I do hear stories, like yours, every so often. The main complaints I have heard deal with slow turnaround times. You do have to push them along if you want your wheels back sooner, but they have done great work on my wheels.

What was your experience?