Folks, i'm wanting to paint or powder coat my R90's center mesh part of the rim white to match the top of my MCS. One shop quoted me $180 per wheel for powder coating all 4 and another shop quoted me $125 for liquid painting and clear coating them. I've heard alot of good things about powder coating, but at that price, i'm considering liquid paint. these are both professional wheel shops, so the outcome will probably be great. I would like the opinion of you guys/gals that have experience with both options. let me know what ya'll think and which way i should go. thanks.

 

I think powder coating will produce a tougher finish than paint/clear...harder to chip and more resistant to stain etc.

 

So just to clarify, $180 per wheel to powdercoat them? And $125 per wheel for paint? If it's per wheel we are speaking of, then I think you should buck up the extra dollars and do the more durable powdercoat.

 

I didn't read that clearly, $180 per wheel - local shops here in KC average about $75 ea to powder coat - $180 sounds pretty spendy....does that include mounting and dismounting the tires? You wouldn't have to dismount/mount them to paint them.

Still, I think PC will hold up better in the long run and is worth the extra cost over painting. He's probably including the sand blasting in your quote, but then so were the two places here that I checked.

 

I'm with MINIdave .... That price seems way too high. Get them soda blasted and powder coated. Powder coating will give you a durable finish. We have several independent shops in my area that do powder coating and they are quite reasonable!

If I was going with paint it would be a two part epoxy imron paint job.

Many of the "franchise" wheel refinishers charge $250 and up for custom powder coating colors which I consider outrageous rip-offs.

 

both shops will unmount the rims, remove the tires, disassemble them, paint/powder coat and clear coat them all. Then reassemble the rims, mount the tires and mount them back onto the car. the one shop that's painting them with liquid paint wants $125 per wheel. The other shop that's powder coating them wants $180 per rim. Hope this is clearer-sorry.

 

Powder coating is much more durable but because these are multipiece wheels, that takes some consideration. There was an article here on NAM, I believe about the problems with taking apart these wheels, in that you need to replace all the bolts since they are single use. Though people have taken the wheels apart themselves and reused them, it wasn't recommended.

Anyways powder coating would be preferred over painting but you have to consider that baking the wheels puts a toll on the wheels..it's been said that you can only powdercoat wheels once before the heating process severely weakens the wheels..I don't know how true that is.

I had my wheels powder coated 3 years ago and they still look great, but tire shops as well as a bent wheel repair has degraded the paint and the only way to touch it up is to use normal paint as far as I know.

 

Powdercoating wood be your best option. From what I was told, 400 degrees for four hours won't put any stress on the metal. I'm not sure if this is true or not. Either way, I'd go with powdercoating for durability. Just remember, Powdercoating is technically just a type of paint and it can still chip. Just not as bad as liquid paint.

 

Paint them yourself.

 

For that price you can look at a second set of wheels.

 

I am partial to the R90 set of rims. I really like the look of them on all MC's. A new set of R90's from the dealer are $550 a piece here in Houston-way outrageous for me. i may look into a set of white wheels elsewhere if they are cheaper.

 

I called around my area about the same thing; a trendy "high end vehicle modifications" shop wanted $180 per wheel to powdercoat them, and an extra $20 per to dismount and remount the tires.

The other place I found was a paint/spray company that contracts to companies like the one above and they quoted $45/ea if I supply the bare rim for powdercoating.

I'd suggest you keep looking around...and fwiw, the r90 rims are nice looking, but there are VERY similar looking rims out there for less than you're looking to spend on powdercoating your (heavy?) stock ones.

 

I have a company near my shop that does great powder coating. I've had two sets of wheels done and sent several others to him. Once the tires are dismounted, he's never charges more than $125/wheel. I'd think 180 is way too high, but it might just be your area. Personally, owning a bodyshop, I spent the extra money for powder coating. It just lasts much longer.