I have the S-lites in white, but would like to powder coat them a different color. Are these wheels painted or powder coated in white? If it is paint do I need to remove the paint in order to powder coat them?

Has anyone out there changed the color of their wheels?

 

That is funny because I have the same EXACT questions about a set of rims I bought today. I also want to have them done in white. What color do you want to do the S lites?

 

they're most probably painted and clearcoated.

get to work on them if you want the local treating company to do it cheap.

not that i know what you're supposed to do on them or anything... i think you just have to strip everything off so the powdercoating can get on there properly.

and don't go to some crap "automotive wheel specialist". Just find some small shop that does it. They'll charge a chunky set up fee, labor maybe, and not much for anything else.

find someone with a machine shop to include it in one of their jobs, or have them send it to someone they know under their account. While you're at it, borrow some of their tools to get all that "junk" off your wheels.

 

I did this to a set of 70 steel whells for a Mustang project. I started with media blasting to clean off all the old crap, (paint and rust) as a prep for the powder coating. Eveything worked great, but the powder coat was more than the used wheels ($25 a wheel, ~$50 a wheel to powdercoat) and this was quite a while ago.

while this will allow you to customize the color of your wheels (anyone thinking purple?), it does add cost. And the Mini wheels are very heavy to start with. You may find it cost effective to get some aftermarket wheels used, and since you're going to paint them, you can get some scuffed ones for cheap. Then you get your color, AND lighter wheels....

Just a thought.....


Matt

 

I will be powder coating my 17" Crown Spokes black but need to know what to do about the stems. Can they be powder coated?

 

Valve stems need to be removed. Tires should be dismounted. Center caps removed. Depending on where you live you might find a Wheels America, they have a few around the country. I've always found them to do excellent quality work at reasonable prices. Some offer BMW CCA discounts too.

I know for a forged wheel such as a BBS paint is better option. BBS states the heat needed to bake the powder coating will change the molecular structure of the wheel. I have no idea if this is the same for a cast wheel. In the interest of erring to far on the side of safety I choose to only have wheels painted. There are newer powder coating processes that use lower temperatures, but I don't know much about that.

 

I'd consider powder coating on a steel wheel, and a good epoxy paint on alloys. Media blasting (sand or soda) is the starting point for either process.

 

I've got my wheels in being powder coated (white) right now. I thought they put the wheels in solvent tank to remove any paint? I know the place thats doing mine have done a lot of show cars and as far as i can find out there have been no problems with the wheels.

 

No matter what, you need to remove the existing layers. Media blasting should do the work. About painting or powder coating, I personally prefer powder coating. I believe it's more durable.

 

I had my Mustang Cobra R wheels powder coated in black. After 8 years they still look brand new. I had them done at a local shop and they media blasted then powder coated them...beautiful!

 

I found a powder coating shop locally that works with aluminum. You want to be careful what type of blasting media you use, as aluminum is soft and will pit easily. The shop I chose uses a chemical stripping method and low temp powder coating process that doesn't hurt the soft metal. i was amazed at the color choices available. It's just like paint, but more durable.
These are my OZ Ultralegerras that started out silver: