Has anyone powdercoated the wheels on their 355? Mine have a few cosmetic issues, so, I was considering having them powdercoated. I understand there is a possible issue with magnesium and they key is to find a powdercoated who knows how to do it properly. My car is Titanio Grigio, and I was thinking of powdercoating them silver. Any thoughts? If anyone has done it, any pics? Thanks! Larry
I read a thread here about 6 months ago that went over powdercoating wheels for a 328 I think. It did not look good, very lumpy. Better to take the wheels to a wheel refinisher and have them do a standard refinish which usually costs around $150 per wheel to make them like new. BT
Larry bear in mind that if chipped repairing powdercoat is difficult and getting a perfect match almost impossibile. Martin
Guys, I have powdered coated my wheels on my Ferrai. Thet look great better then standard lacquer finish. They are harder wearing as well. I had them powder caoted black then a silver sprayed over top...
I had my Challenge wheels painted body color to match my 355 (grigio titanium). I was going to get them powder coated, but with the issues of chipping finishes and color matching, painting them became a better alternative. Here it is fitting the wheels/tires the first time. Image Unavailable, Please Login
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have had various wheels done over the years,, mainly on porsche,, if you repaint -(i.e. have them spray painted) then this is normally cheaper,, but they need a good quality laquer over the silver to protect them,, laquer can be hardened without heating and should last well.... assuming painter is good, the finish should be as original.. they can rub down the surface and repair any scratches annd blemishes, filling as required.... powder coating, will need all old paint removed,, normally,, sand blasted,, (although its not sand,, it will be steel grit or ball shot normally) which leaves a good keyed surface for powder coating,,,,(can use glass beads etc but more expensive as abrasive is not re-useable),,, if there are any deep gouges in the actual magnesium, these will need to be filled with a heat resistant filler (have had this done before on porsche wheels) and then wheels are powdered and cured in oven,, (typically 180 deg.c for about 10mins),,, then the powder has to be laquered,,laquer will give the powder the shine and protect it.... (powdered finishes are normally more (orange peely-effect) than paint),,, but depends greatly on the powdercoating firm,,, some put a slight fleck through the silver which helps to visually hide the orange peel effect.... as for colour matching,,, each powder coat firm will have their own silver,, which may or may not match the original wheel colour.....re-matching the colour should be no problem if you use the same company, although quality of powder coating colours ( in terms of repeatability) is not as good...(the powdercoated surface is harder wearing than the paint finish , but it still has a laquer over it which can chip the same as paint) I have had various wheels powdered on porsche 911's and may of the club guys have had also,,, varies from £25-£50 per wheel,,,, painting is about the same,,,, many varying quality,, so I would suggest you find someone local who can show you examples of their quality... personally,, I would not powder the 355 wheels,,, they have flat areas which will show up more of the orange peel effect that is more predominant in powder coating,, where as the turbo 911 wheels are all curved and hide the orange peel effect better........and if you are having them painted,,, most car-re-finishers should be able to do them for you...and make sure they use a 2-pack laquer as it will provide a harder wearing finish... regards scott..
