FW: Powder coating alloy wheels (pt. 2)

[Tom Nas]

"Livolsi, Stephane" <Stephane.Livolsi at investorsgroup.com> wrote:

>You're right. I see where I missed part of the conversation.  But still,
>that is an expensive oops, isn't it, Tom?  What did it cost to get them
>done?

Not too expensive, about $40 for two wheels for media blasting and powder
coating.
The history- I used to run 7x15 Ronals on my old 90q, until I had to swerve
to avoid an old lady fallig off her bike. The lady was OK, I killed two
wheels by kerbing them. They could be straightened but it would cost more
than the two badly corroded examples I found on a Coupe GT in a scrapyard
($40).

>I have 4 "new to me" wheels that I am considering options for and am very
>interested in your results.

Looks like a happy end. I've sprayed one wheel with high-build primer,
sanded, another layer or two and now it's just about perfect. I gave it a
first coat of Zermattsilber today, looks incredible!
There are a couple of minute pits in the finish and there's a slight dent
in the rim (visible only when you look very closely), but that's about all
there is to distinguish these from new wheels.
Huw commented that there's something called 'Lab Metal' which would survive
the heat used in powder coating. Maybe if your wheels are really badly
corroded, you could use this to rectify any damage before having the wheels
powder coated. Powder coat is a better finish than paint, but to get my
wheels powder coated in something resembling Zermatt, I'd have to bring
about 40 sets according to the outfit who did my coating. :-)

For me, the alternative would be to track down a new set of 4x108 7x15
Ronals, I really love these wheels. They're NLA so I think $100ish
(including paint) for two as-new wheels is a pretty good deal overall. The
powder coating is a great base for paint, they'll never corrode again and
they look amazing...
I'm going to make some decisions about tyres and mount the wheels ASAP, so
I can get rid of the ghastly 16in PCWs and Tyfoon tyres (ever heard of
those? No? Excellent, keep it like that...).

Pics forthcoming, I'm going to replace the picture of my car in the
Registry as soon as I have the wheels mounted.

Regards, Tom