My friend is powdercoating my 15" SSR wheels. He just got done with the 1st center.. What you guys think? Looks pretty good..

https://www.rx7club.com/rx-7-audio-visual-lounge-143/before-after-powder-coating-steves-3-piece-ssr-rims-561757/

Also pics of the wheels prior to taking them apart..

 

I wonder what the stock rims would look like power coated

shakes head to regain conciousness



Good job on the wheels

 

Looking sharp, your car is going to be SOOOOO nice once its done!

 

that looks great love the lip

 

I was also thinking of using a colored lug nut on the wheels.. still not decided on that

 

lookin extremely nice!!!
I was thinking of picking up one of those new craftsman powder coaters. I wanna see the pics of it all back together!!

 

nice wheels

 

For those interested in the process, I coated these wheels in a smoke chrome with a clearcoat. From the top, left to right, then bottom, left to right, are the 4 stages of coating, Top left is base coat sprayed on, right is after baking. Lower left is the clear sprayed, right is finished wheel.

This was one of my early coating jobs and didn't come out as well as I had hoped. The base coat left some dark speckles here and there, indicating the powder was not thoroughly mixed from the supplier. They are a set of Western wheels in the 4X108 pcd, that have been modded for 4X110. Wheels are 14X6, iirc. I have no plans on using them and will entertain reasonable offers, PMs only please.

Sorry for the thread jack, gonzz. I thought members might be interested in the process. The powdercoating is the easiest part, stripping, especialy mesh wheels, is very time consuming. Then they need to be neutralized, baked to draw out any chemicals, sandblasted, baked and sandblasted again. Once all the dust is removed, only then are they are ready for coating.

Your wheels are going to look sweet. Love true 3 piece ones.

 

Got the front 2 done.. rears will be done later this week..

 

looking better each time i see 'em

 

mmmm...smokin hot.

 

i have to agree,cleaning these damn rims takes forever. lol

 

I have one of those roll around shop stools with the round seat on top. When I polished my Eps, I set them on the stool, got out the DeWalt buffer and compound and started polishing. If your control is good, the buffing wheel will spin the wheel along with the seat, and you can get a pretty even polish on the wheel. Did this with the centers removed so I didn't bugger up the fresh powdercoat.

If you don't have a stool, you can do the same thing by making a plywood/aluminum blank to replace the center piece and mounting it on the car.

 

Nice.. I'm having a shop polish the rears.. Will be done tommorow

 

What is the torque on the Eps bolts, I want to take my center out and have the rims polished and new bolts installed?

You've been jack'd!

 

I think it torqued mine to 30 ft/lbs, with blue thread lock. It's loads of fun cross torqueing 20 bolts, trying to get them all even.

Make sure you get a nice even bead of slicone sealant between the shell halves, leaks are a pita to chase down.

 

I know what stock wheels look like powdercoated

 

Dude... Scott I *love* that smoke chrome! I wish I had known about that sooner!

Now I'm having an internal debate over whether or not to do the meshies (that I will eventually get) in black/polish, or in smoke chrome. Both look awesome.

Jon

 

Thanks Jon. I'm not that pleased with the even-ness of the smoke chrome coating. It's the black speckles that I don't like. Rims come with centercaps, studs and lug bolts, $250+ shipping. I need to re-measure, they may only be 13" rims. Keep in mind that they were the 4X108 pattern, modded for our 4X110, but do look like they were done correctly. They will need hub centric rings for safety. I mounted them without tires and appear to fit with no issues.


Gonzz, my aplologies, it seems you are now officially jacked. Still looking forward to seeing you wheels mounted.

 

No idea on the torque. I just made sure they were tight.. Do they sell a chrome allen bolt? That would look nice with my black centers..

 

My Eps have 3 different sized allen head bolts. I went to Home Depot to replace some of them and they wanted over 3 bucks a piece in the ziplock bags. I would go to a specialty fastener company and buy in bulk. You may need to buy a box of 100 for any kind of a price break. McMaster-Carr may even have then, if not, check the Yellow Pages. If you do find them, let me know. I painted mine and they are starting to rust already.

 

Just put the fronts together and got my rear back from polishing shop. As soon as the rear centers are powdercoated i will install them...

 

Looking Good

 

i'll try and get them rears done today if i have time if not,tomarrow for sure. they would have been done if my damn company didnt make me go out of town all the time. lol

 

Looks really good!