That is entirely up to you.

 

Has anyone yet seen a decent looking silver powdercoating? ( I haven't...but I've dealt with industrial companies. Maybe in bigger markets there are ones that are specialized to wheels. ) BUT, it's definitely better than paint for any other colour. You get better finish if you get them coated after colour layer with clear, both of course gloss. Unfortunately all powdercoaters do not stock gloss powders, only matte or semi gloss ones. Still IMO matte black is pure p0rn for track wheels...
One suggestion, get your wheels stripped, polished and then coated with clear powdercoat. Should give quite nice finish.

 

Paint is actually fine......if done correctly by a good shop.....which I guess I'm fortunate to have.

I've had centers for 3-piece HREs, Fikse's, and mono Techarts painted for several Pcars over the years. Usually I go low luster+clear for the centers.....often times the outer barrel is simply polished.

Only time I have ever used powder was on bling HRE 19s that I spec'ed a 'brushed' outer barrel (deep lip) and we had a time getting good adhesion with paint clear......clear powder did the trick.....look fantastic.

 

I purchased some wheel paint in satin black that I had been considering for my track wheels. It is specific to the wheel and the instructions read exactly the same as the company's brake caliper paint, so it is epoxy based stuff, probably tough as stink.

Heavy's commments make me wonder, is this a bad idea....it was for track wheels....

Anyone use this stuff?

(what I really want is brake dust grey.... )

 

I also say powdercoat them.. Paint tends to fade and look " scratchy " after a couple washes.

 

Brake dust grey....

Here's reg twist hollows painted light grey & cleared......several seasons on these....all OK.....holding up fine.
But we all brake (and track) differently.....and maybe hollows just dissapate heat better....don't know.

 

Powder coating is far more durable than paint especially on aluminum which expands/contracts more than steel with temperature.

There are plenty of metallic silvers which look great with clear powder as a top coat.

One word of warning about the care of powder coated wheels:
Never use "brake-kleen" or similar brake cleaning products on powder coated parts. This is the only thing that I have found that wrecks powder coating.

 

I got my OEM GT2 wheels powdercoated recently and they turned out to be better than I've expected. I've selected the semi-gloss option. I'm also told the resistance to scratch is better than painting.

 

^Nice!

 

Never thought oe wheels would look this good either. Impressive!

 

what kind of powder coat is that??

 

Anyone know a reputable shop where I can get something lie this done in the Los Angeles area (Prefer San Fernando Valley)?

Do they polish the outside of the wheel to get this look?

 

BTW I read somewhere that you can get yoru lug bolts (at least the heads) powder coated to match?

 

Had my factories powdercoated down here for something like $45 per wheel. GREAT result. Just make sure they don't do the inside hub of the wheel or it won't go back on! The shop that did mine had a bunch of samples in black from flat up to high gloss to pick from.

 

Contact Bryan or Mike over at RSS in Costa Mesa. They can definitely take care of you.

Overall, powdercoat is a much better option. The only cases in which we've used paint on wheels is when the customer requests an exact color-match to a particular color.