im thinking about sending my stock rims to get powdercoated next week though im interested in getting opinions on what color would go best with a black car.

also i was wondering if any of you guy's had examples (pix?) of already finished stock rims that were powdercoated a different color?

Black and Chrome has always been nice

Chrome.

You gotta go with CHROME!! Powder coat your brake calipers if anything!!

Tri Turbo

Can't answer til we know the color of your 8...

MrTux has a shiny black one.

.....err, so they say!

S

Gunmetal, w/red brake calipers

Black wheels w/ red calipers

What is the general cost of powdercoating 4 rims? Not looking for exact price.

i looked up in ca in the bay area they are charging like 100 bucks plus per rim and if u end up doing chrome or gun metal it might be around 50 additional for coating per rim. so your looking at around 100-150 per rim + tax. :eek:

We have a powder coating facility in our town that builds custom motorcycle trailers and has a huge powdercoating facility to take care of their own needs, but also completes work for other individuals who are interested. We have had all kinds of different items powdercoated, and they are very reasonable. Whole motorcycle frames and accessories for $100. Small items the size of wheels, $25- $40.
One note on chrome powdercoat: I have an offshore boat and had a few items chrome powdercoated. That color has a very low tollerance for chemical resistance. The slightest hint of cleaners with clorox or bleaching agents ruins the finish with huge black spots that are non-reversable. Not sure why anyone would have those around their 8, but not sure what other chemicals or brake dust(corrosive in its own right) may affect it in the same way. If you don’t know, powdercoat has a very high and I mean high resistance to wear. So, sand blasting is a huge task to remove all of the coating and strippers are almost worthless until you have a large amount of the coating blasted. So if you choose unwisely, you may be more disappointed with the finish if your not careful in the care of the wheels.
Whichever you choose, I'd have them colored first then clear powdercoated. It will give the color more UV resistance and fewer chances for color damages.
In my previous profession (corporate business jet outfitting, interior and exterior mods) we used more chroming than powdercoating. If you dare to do without your stock wheels a little longer, I think that black chrome is an awesome look, shine out of this world, easy to clean brake dust, and cheaper that purchasing new ones from Mazdaspeed. Just make sure that all wheels are completed in a set as the color of black chroming differs with each lot of parts. More often than not, we rejected parts based on different black transparency color not quality of finish.
Cheers!

anyone have pics ?

Gunmetal works best if the edge / lip of the rim is chrome. All black and it tends to look like a car without hubcaps.

I don't think that black rims that were painted to match a black car would look too bad. Like a gloss black rim. Stock rims black but retain the original color of the caps. Would look kinda like this WRX

Good info! I've had a couple of powdercoat jobs for several cars we've worked on in the past and have always been extremely satisfied at the finish and durability of this method.

Any negative effects off the top of your head it may cause on caliper systems, and approx. how much would this cost for all 4 calipers?

:eek: That WRX is hideous.

I would say get the rims stripped, polished, and then clear coated.

Why didn't anyone vote for gold? Gold wheels are the shiz. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/grinser/grinning-smiley-004.gif

Does anyone have pictures of a bb with gun meal powdercoated stock wheels. I found one in "calling all bb" but it was on a very sharp angle and hard to really get a good idea of how its looks.