I fell so much better now..... I have known from the start that I want 16/17 inch wheels, between 8.5 and 10 inches wide, that are lightweight, White, and look good. now I just dont have to worry about them being white!

 

Here is an example of Near chrome that I just did for a customer............

It has alluminum mixed in so that you get a similar effect to polished rims, but not soo shiny and the finish doesn't oxidize like exposed alluminum........

 

...

 

direct angle..... notice the shine

 

Here is "steel" powder coat with clear coat. It is common for people that want that gun-metal look....

 

 

I had a few people ask me what kinda camera I use........... Definately NOT Digital camera (unless u get the Nikon/Fujitsu one) I use the Nikon N90s..........

 

I'm having my stock FD wheels done locally next week, but my question is how crucial is having them bead/sand blasted prior to the powder coating process?

I have access to a bead blaster, but I am time constrained on finishing the project. I have read people say yes, you must sand blast the wheels, and others say, no, not necessary. What's the real answer? I want a top notch finish, so I wanna do what is best. Thanks!

PS - is the sand blasting needed to remove the factory clear coat? just curious.

 

all of my work the metal is thoroughly bead blasted..... or it may chip off easier. The finish is more or less determined by the prep work, but also the layers and thickness of the powder coat....... but like painting if u do a heavy layer on one shot it make have orange peel and u can't wet sand it out since it will scratch and dull. unlike painting.....

 

I just cleaned the crap out of mine and powdercoated right over the top of the old powdercoat. The guy doing it said that in the oven the old powdercoat will melt as well and form an unbelievable strong bond with the new powdercoat, which is exactly what seems to have happened. Mine have been done for several months now and seem rock hard. Only time will tell I guess.

Like everthing else in life: "opinions are like ********, everyone's got one and most of em stink".

I think either way you'll be fine.

David

 

David is right...... the above Near Chrome samples have 2 layers of powder coat..... one is a clear coat powder, basically transparent..... think of it as creating an alloy where u mixed one or more metal substrate........

 

Ok, so if I clean them really well, with high pressure and scotch brite type pads, and then powder coat them gun metal, bake them, powder coat them with the clear coat, and then bake them, I should be in good shape?

Also, will the clear coat add or subtract from the glossiness of the finish?

Thanks for your help!

 

Actually what happens is that they will add the dry gunmetal powder to the rims, then bake them at I believe 400 or so............when they roll them out of the oven they hit them immediately with the clearcoat powder and it sort of melts/coats on contact since the rims are still hot.............it definitely adds gloss and I think makes the gunmetal color look friggin great....................so in total they are baked just once...........I saw the whole process and it was pretty cool..........err............hot.............err.. .......whatever.........

Check out Batman's pics which look great with the shiny finish............look at my thread in the earlier reply for the two tone look if you wanna do that...............it was a little tricky..............but I got pretty much the look I wanted without spending around $1500 for the SSR Comps I love so much.............

Good luck........

David

 

Sweet. Thanks for all the help, and I'll try and post some pics once they are finished and on my car!

 

yeah, if u do the clear coat just right it has a nice look where there is depth.......

 

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And for your simple viewing pleasures:

 

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btw, all those colors do not have the clear coat on them to birng out the shine and details.........

 

More viewing pleasures.........

 

That Steel Gray looks like it is close to the gun metal color I want. Thanks for the swatches!

 

actually the last wheel on the bottom is grey steel.......

 

Thanks for all the help! One last question.

The center caps on the stock wheels I just bought were spray painted with the "chrome in a can", so I need to clean them and re-paint them. What is the best way to remove the chrome paint without damaging the plastic caps? What kind of prep do the center caps need? And finally, is there an easy way to find a paint that will closely match the powder coat?

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

U'll have to repaint them since the plastic is black........

 

I know I'll have to repaint them, just want to know if I can paint over the chrome paint that is on them, or if I should remove the existing paint and prep the plastic. And if I need to remove and prep, what is the best way to do it without damaging the plastic caps?

My original thought is to use the high pressure washer at the car wash, and hope it peels the paint off.

Any other ideas? Thanks!