Alloy wheel refub, powder coat or wet spray , which is the better option.

[Charlie Farley]

As in the title really guys, I've been looking to upgrade my alloys but nothing really seems to knock me out to be honest so toying with the idea of repainting my DTM's in a light gunmetal finish.
They are pretty well immac condition with only one small chip near the centre cap, but , I am torn between wet spray or powder coating them.
cost wise does vary wildly with powder coating my rims coming in at all most £400 or £350 if I just drop the rims off, which does seem a bit steep.
what is the general viewpoint chaps on this, wet or powder, powder will last a fair time but also a lot harder to remove if repainting is required, wet wont last as long but easier to repaint ..... any suggestions.

cheers rob

 

[Gazwould]

I've seen the odd rough finish from powder coating.

Touch up wise , PC will be on the RAL system and wet spray a normal paint code.

 

[SDHA4SLine]

Had mine wet sprayed, seem to be holding out well a year on.

I think we both know who's going to be the man to answer this one properly. I'm sure Ajax1976 will log on shortly and give an answer

 

[Charlie Farley]

I have had my duke race bike frame powder coated a few times over the years and it is a tough old finish but can be a pain to get off when I wanted to change colour etc, but never tried doing anywheels the powder coat route, my duke had magnesium wheels and mag cant be powder coated.
wet sprayed them and they looked fantastic , but that was bike wheels not car alloys.

 

[Orange225]

Powder is a lot more durable but wet paint has a lot more colours. Where are you based, £100 a wheel does seem a lot in my opinion

 

[ajax1976]

From my experience with the guy I use with regards to finish and choice of colours there's not much between paint and pc, a decent pc place will be able to give you a decent choice of colours and a perfect finish. More importantly they'll also be able to replicate the colour should one be damaged, which is something they used to struggle with. For longevity it's probably more down to how clean a person you are, if your car/wheels regularly go weeks without a wash I'd go pc, if you look after them paint will be just as good. Both will damage and scratch if you're hashy although for say tyre fitting I think pc is slightly tougher if the guys having a bad day. The pc place will take care of the stripping so if you fancy a change of colour it's not really a big deal.
Those prices are ridiculous tho, I paid £180 for my 20" OZs and that was the guy taking the tyres off and putting them back on. Always let the pc place take care of the tyres, they damage the finish then they can't argue about fixing it. My 20" Speedlines were £250 for splitting them, doing the barrels in chrome pc, centres anthracite pc, rebuilding and tyres back on. The majority of times I've used them I've dropped them off on a Monday and they've been ready for the Thursday.

BTW, So glad you're not going with the wheels you'd decided on the other day.

 

[SootySport]

I think £3 or £4 hundred can be better spent elsewhere, on your other projects for instance.

 

[Charlie Farley]

yep agree chap, going to stick with my dtm's and channel the funds towards the remap next week.

rob