wheels

[flathead 53]

steel wheels are sand blasted ,should I have them painted or powder coated .

[RalphM]

That's a tough question, which do you prefer?

If your doing it yourself, then painting is certainly cheaper, factoring in the cost of a dedicated oven big enough to powder coat wheels.

If your having them done then powder coating is much more durable, and probably not much more than having someone professionally paint them. JMHO

[Kube]

I have found powder finishing to be quite a bit cheaper than painting wheels (properly). However, even the best powder finish can't match the appearance of properly prepared and painted wheels.
So, what's your desired outcome? Driver? Powder finish. Show car? Paint.
If you go the powder finish route, I'd suggest you find someone in your area that truly knows his business. Like any service, there are wild disparities in quality levels.

[flathead 53]

thanks, prices are the same , powder coating or painting from a body shop , I used the powder coat guy to do my grille in my 53 f-100 it came out nice $100.00 for the prep work and the powder coat.

[Charlie Stephens]

Also be advised that your powder coater will probably want to blast your wheels again since he would want to be sure there is no rust started of form.

Charlie Stephens

[19Fordy]

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Whatever you decide be sure and use one of those tire changing machines that doesn't touch the rim when you have the tires installed. Vermillion red paint works for me. I wonder if powder coating makes it more difficult to change the color of your wheels later on if you choose to do so?

[Bob NH]

Is it OK if I jump in here for just a second ? I just asked a local fellow who specializes in Corvette work about powder coating a couple of wheels and he recommended painting them at about 1/2 the cost. Quoted me $100.00 per wheel for paint. I have a question about prep, I have glass beaded them and they are pretty smooth, wonder if it would make sense to use sand instead to give a better surface/bite for primer to stick ? Any body's thoughts ?

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Bob NH

Is it OK if I jump in here for just a second ? I just asked a local fellow who specializes in Corvette work about powder coating a couple of wheels and he recommended painting them at about 1/2 the cost. Quoted me $100.00 per wheel for paint. I have a question about prep, I have glass beaded them and they are pretty smooth, wonder if it would make sense to use sand instead to give a better surface/bite for primer to stick ? Any body's thoughts ?

Glass beading is fine as long as the metal is prepared properly prior to priming. Of course, proper preparation is paramount regardless of the stripping method.
There is no need to be more aggressive (sand) when stripping your rims. In fact, by being more aggressive, it will be necessary to build the primer up more than with a less aggressive method.

[Bob NH]

Thanks Kube, I guess that is the answer i was looking for. Outside is really nice, inside on one is somewhat pitted, would you bother to put any filler for smooth up or leave it alone ? Just curious

[D. Jones]

Powder coating is the easy choice for me, I just take them to my nephew's powder coating shop and have them done for free. I really do try to pay and when he is not around I can get the girl at the front desk to take my money but then he calls and gives me the dickens for paying. But the wheels do come out looking better than if I paint them.

[lodaddyo]

I had the 35 wires on my av8 roadster blasted and powder coated gloss black. Theres a local shop that does a lot of industrial items. Charged me $300 to blast and powder coat. They came out great. I wouldnt go any other route.