I have Pedrinis that I want to paint red. They are in pretty good condition. But, like most of the wheels that old, they have nicks and chips, etc. I would like to have the edge polished alloy, and then the whole circle inside red.

I took them to a local shop that has a pretty good reputation. He suggested that they clean the wheels up and restore them, then powder coat the whole front of the wheel in grey. Then paint the powder coating with red paint. Then send them to a shop to have the approximately 1" or so edge lathed (just removes a tiny bit of metal). Cost - $130 a wheel.

Is that a good price?
Powder coating vs. painting?
What about powder coating and then painting over that, like he suggested. That seems to defeat the purpose of the powder coating - durability.

That seems like a good price for a fair bit of work. I just had a set of 19" Carrera classic 5 spokes powder coated for a Boxster S for $160 per wheel. They also installed new valve stems and mounted and balanced the new tires for that price. I like powder coating; it seems much more able to withstand the abuse wheels take with brake dust, etc.

The price sounds appropriate for the amount of work getting done. I probably wouldn't go that route but its not my car. Tom B powder coated some mahles I sold him and they looked great. Powder goes on thicker than paint so it can cover up a lot of small imperfections. Maybe your guy is using the powder coat as a primer to bond to the alum and then paint bonding to the powder coat - ?

I got quoted $120/wheel to bead blast and silver powder coat but decided to sell the mahles and bought a nice set of 2.0 fuchs for $400.

Ya, I think that is his idea - bond the powder coating to the wheel, then paint it. I definitely want the wheels red. Any ideas on the best way to do that is appreciated.

why wouldn't he just polish the edge, tape it off then powder coat the rest red?

I do not think polishing against a painted edge will give you a good finish.

polish first, mask then paint or powder.

they can powder over JB weld, mix up some fill your scuffs then sand down you can do most of the prep yourself.

High built gray primer. Color. Clear. 30,000 miles later they look new. Will post pictures tomorrow. Under $40 including sandpaper. This covered most if the dings and gives a smooth surface.

Spray can or 2 part paint?

Thanks. What did they look like before you started? Why kind of primer, paint, and clear did you use? I am considering now polishing the 1" edge of the wheel, and instead just doing them all red. So, what your suggesting is an interesting idea for me.

`I like the Idea of ceramic coating.they do it in colors and I think its more durable than powder coating.the color choices are minimal but I think as long as you do the prep work its not that much pricier than powder coating??I don't think its caught on with wheels yet though?

I'm sure powder coating will give you a better finish. Mine is the CSOB version.
2 coats adhesion primer. 3 coats primer. 3 coats color. 3 coats clear. It covers up 89% of the nicks. Did this 2 years ago. Light sanded and clear recoated about a year ago. Since this is a fun-sometime daily driver I'm happy with the results. Duplicolor ceramic paint

I rough painted a wheel with a rattle can, just to see how well the paint covered the nicks and scratches, etc. You can still see a lot of stuff on the wheel. But, it is a driver 914.

I am trying to decide between having them powder coated (about $50 per wheel), and shooting them with a filler primer and then paint (about the same cost). The powder coating will be very durable. But, it doesn't fill any nicks, etc. The filler primer would fill in a little.

I'm leaning toward order coating them all the way to the edge and not having anything done to the edge (just leaving it red).

Any other advice as to something you have seen work on this type of wheel?

Edit...Duplicate post without a pic. The downside of powdercoating is if it does get chipped your are left touching it up with paint.

I did a set of Boxster wheels with duplicolor and this Bondo product for nicks and curb rash. It worked great. Easy to sand and fast drying in the summer. Very happy with the results.Click to view attachment

powder coat on wheels is something I would not do,, your human and will change your mind ..powder coat is a real PIA to remove..
blast /machine, paint.....nothing is forever..

Check those Pedrinni's first to be sure thay are straight. They are light so they bend easy. Polish first then either paint or powder coat. Buffing later makes a mess that you have to try to clean off the powder or paint. To remove powder use aircraft stripper. Wrinkles right up.

I bought them from Brad at 914ltd. I think he said they were straight when I got them. But, what's the best way to double check them?

I bought these wheels from a guy in Florida. They were painted black with a red rim. I'm sure they looked good on his red 911 but I had them powder coated and they turned out pretty good. You could "Plastidip" all four wheels and if you don't like the way it looks it will clean off easier than anything else. Powder coating is the way to go though.

Get your tire guy to spin them on their machine. Takes two minutes. They may charge you, they may not. We wouldn't.
Run your hand around the outside of the rim. If you can't see or feel a flat spot or ding, your good.
If Brad said they were good then I'm sure your fine.

This wheel was plastidiped.

Mark & Steve,
My powder coat buddy does mine at his cost + - to sand blast and powder coat a color of my choice. The Mahle cost was about $75.00 per wheel, The Mahle wheels were nice and didn't need lots of prep work the 8-Spoke American Eagle wheels needed more work and his cost was probably a little more. Everything depends on how much work is required to set a selling value.
This gives you a base line $$-value to power coat & different states have different costs.
BTW: The (4) 8-Spoke American Eagle Wheels are still FS Cheap plug
Tom

Thanks.

They look great. How did he fix any imperfections before he powder coated them?

Tom made those wheels look great and he can correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they had many imperfections in them. Powder coat is thick. It will cover up scratches that paint will not.

powdercoating is melted paint. Paint = powder coating.

I had 2 sets of wheels powder coated.

One set was a dead ringer for anodized silver lips and black centers. They put the wheels in a lathe and machine cut the lips. So, black, silver, clear - 3 different powders and it was about a grand to do them.

Another set I had done, the centers were viper green and the lips were machine cut/polished (you can still see the machine cut marks, which is pretty cool) with a clear powder over the top. Same price as above, it was expensive but turned out really nice.

Mark,
I agree the Mahle's from you were 99% almost perfect with no curb rash, etc. so the sand blasting, followed by a two (2) coat system of powder and clear coat came out factory new.
Any wheel in rough condition will need a skilled worker to bring it back to almost perfect/better condition. It's like the saying "putting perfume on a pig and you still have a pig"
Buy the best condition wheel for the best finished results
Tom

I had a set for 2 liter fuchs done about 2 years ago. The price you were quoted is quite good. I was warned about paint where the lug nuts seat on the rim. I spent around $150 a rim and was not happy with the paint as it was thick and I am worried about peeling down the road.

Chris

Oh, the other part of the cost of my wheels was to strip them down of the original finishes. Honestly the amount of work that went into them was worth the price

I'll be the "negative nancy" in this thread.....

I have had three sets of wheels done over the past 10 years, all by different places, all for three different daily drivers here in Denver (so, winter driving, mag chloride, sand/gravel - not able to wash the wheels well for several weeks, etc..)

All of the wheels were brand new when I had them done. All of them failed. One set was around the valve stems - the small scratch that happened when new stems were installed turned into a mess a year later. Deep recesses of the wheel spokes started to crack and pop on the second set of wheels.

That was really not the frustrating part. All daily driver wheels are put through hell. We all expect chips here and there - maybe even some curb rash. It is what it is. On a painted wheel , you sand it down, and re-spray it. Can be as cheap as a rattle can or as much as taking them to a body shop.

When I went in to have my powder coated wheels touched up, I was told the existing finish had to be completely stripped off. It would cost twice as much as I initially paid to have them done.

Discount tire ruined my last set of wheels (set them down on their faces). It was far cheaper for them to replace them than to refinish them.

I'll stick with my note cards, masking tape and paint.

Ill never powdercoat another set of wheels ever.
i got a set done and after that the lug holes started to pull through.

aerospace/vibratory drum finishing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JWASVyGbYk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXB0aHjGzss

The diecast wheels will finish differently to forged ones.
Shotpeening diecast surfaces will improve the surface condition.

Chrome-like,outer rims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvtRYZ5EasA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgszS-BmGNU