Wheel Repair and Powdercoating

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B16RacerN2NR

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I recently swapped out my TE37's for some 99-00 Si wheels for the winter. I demounted the tires from the TE37's and sold them to a co worker.

I decided to give them a thorough cleaning. Upon removing brake dust and road grime, I noticed my wheels were scuffed in a few spots, the inside of one wheel has rash due to the previous owner having the car completely slammed and causing the inside to rub, one wheel has the inside of the barrel rashed (I assume it's from one of those tire machines that clamp the wheel from the inside while mounting tires), and a few of the wheels have small scuffs near the wheel bolt holes from sockets rubbing against them.

Anyway, does anyone know of a good place I can send these wheels to for repair? And possibly a powdercoat (or whatever other type of coating Rays uses from the factory) as well? The wheels are currently Bronze and I wanna get them Takata Green, Magnesium Blue, Gun Metal, or redone Bronze.

Price isn't and option (to a certain extent of course lol) as long as they are done right. Since these are Forged Monoblock, I would think they require a different and more careful process than regular aluminum wheel.
 
I have had a couple different sets of wheels professionally painted or powdercoated over the years. None of them had major damage, but if there were any scuffs or scrapes, i just sanded them until it was smooth. After recoating them you would never know. As far as deeper damage, im not sure who can fill and shape those forged wheels... maybe someone who knows more will chime in.

If you search around i bet there you could find a local or localish shop that does powdercoating. Powdercoating is certainly tougher, lays on thicker, and overall has a deeper look to it. Last set of wheels i had coated was about $250... they sandblasted them clean and coated them for that price, came out flawless.

I did have a set of wheels painted with automotive paint professionally one time, and they came out pretty sick, as it was matched to the paint code of the car. After a few years there was some chipping here and there though.
 
I cant really offer advice on repair, because of the material and type of repair. But, for getting them coated, go to your local shops and ask them about those colors but be vague. "Im lookin for a medium green, maybe a royal blue. Even some kind of gun metal, or gold color." Somethin like that. See what colors he shows you, pick a few then ask for rough estimates on those. Next, ask what colors they use from day to day. See what he shows you. If they picks up any of your vaguely described colors, and you like em ask for an estimate on those. The price SHOULD be a fair amount lower. If he quotes you the same price, leave. Theyre just tryin to make a buck off you.

The biggest thing about powder coating is its a batch operation. Its not like painting where you spray one color, roll the next batch of parts in and spray another color. The spray booth has to be cleaned between colors. If your four wheels are the only thing in the shop getting that color then your payin for powder, booth time, cleaning time, oven time and overhead. If your wheels are in a batch, all of those costs get cut for you.

If you hafta have a color that the shop doesnt use a lot, ask what powders they have in stock near your favorite colors. Theres a minimum buy for powder, and that minimum covers way more then 4 wheels. If they dont have it in stock, they dont have a need for it. They will pass the cost on to you. Once again, this comes down to batching. If you can use all of the minimum buy (think its 5 pounds) the price should go down, per part.

One last thing, powder coat can have stages. Like paint. Each stage equals more cost for material. Takata green looks like it would be 3 stages of powder. So now, if they dont stock any of your 3 colors, you triple your minimum buy. Food for thought, dont count on any shops doin multiple stages in day to day operations.

Being as you dont really have a budget, your prally not too worried about gettin the best price. But I just typed that fuckin fairy tail story book out on my phone, so it will get posted.
 
According to local reviews, there's no good powder coat shops out here lol.

I will keep looking though. Thanks guys...
 
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