Wheel refurbish - paint or powder coat?

[Richard65]

My wheels are pretty badly kerbed and all need straightening from pothole damage. I want to refurb so that they look as original and had considered powdercoating but Alex at AMF advised against. Lepsons now offer a powder coat finish as an alternative to paint and I would be grateful for another comment.

Thanks to anyone who can reply

.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I’m with Alex on this stick with a standard finish most of the wheel is painted and the diamond cut areas are sprayed with silver and then the whole wheel is lacquered so reasonably robust compared to clear lacquer sprayed straight onto diamond cut aluminium

 

[sl500amgsport]

These look like the AMG nightline that were fitted to my SL500 R231.

They are diamond cut powder coated, can be restored by a good wheel refurbisher, I was told that the diamond cutting can only be carried out 3 times on a lifespan but the at a dealership was told that is not true....

I was quoted £85 per wheel from Alloy Art in Essex a few years ago, hope this assists.



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[brandwooddixon]

Diamond cut is a pain, even if you don't curb your wheels, just using your car damages them hence why most places will only guarantee the lacquer coat for between 3 and 6 months.
On my last car I had Lepsons paint my wheels so that they had a base colour and then the diamond cut area was silver. It looked just as good.

 

[sl500amgsport]

Diamond cut is a pain, even if you don't curb your wheels, just using your car damages them hence why most places will only guarantee the lacquer coat for between 3 and 6 months.
On my last car I had Lepsons paint my wheels so that they had a base colour and then the diamond cut area was silver. It looked just as good.

Any pics of the before & after?

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[brandwooddixon]

Any pics of the before & after?

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These were taken after. Base wheel colour is Himalayan Grey, with Silver highlights (basically silver where originally diamond cut). Looked better IRL than in the pictures.

 

[Richard65]

I've treated them badly but will have them done in standard colour and the diamond cut done in silver...and will then take more care !
Thanks for the comments and advice.

 

[Snake Charmer]

I have had 12 wheels done by Lepsons in sparkle silver powder coat, all still good after nearly 3 years. Excellent service, we also use them at work.

 

[DSK]

As above I’ve had a few sets of on my Volvo done, in sparkle silver powder coat finish. Each set has done 80k with with ferodo ds2500 and Carbotech brake dust doing it’s best to destroy everything. Cleaned and protected, weekly and they still perfect some 6 years on.


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[SmartAmg]

Candy Apple Red Metallic.

 

[V6Matty]

Candy Apple Red Metallic.

Hmm wonder what that would look like

 

[DSK]

The colour itself is very nice!

With the right car and colour, residing in a sunny climate, why not! I love some of the USA custom candy red car paint jobs.


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[Frontstep]

In my more casual years I attempted to "diamond cut" my own wheels by mounting them on the front without tyres and running allsorts against them whilst running engine in gear.

Then an aerosol varnish.

Don't try this at home wasn't a thing then.

You can also get your angle grinder going on the brake discs.

Is it any wonder my youth had a spell making rockets from scratch.

 

[SeagullsFan]

I’ve a 2017 SL400 AMG Line R231 and all four wheels have started bubbling up around the centre caps.
I’m told it’s very common and even things as trivial as fitting new tyres or putting the caps in/out can cause minute damage to the laquer which water then gets behind, in time causing the bubbling.

I’ve been quoted £90 per wheel to refurb and powder coat or £120 with diamond cutting. I’m tempted to keep it original but if it’s only going to start to degrade I think p/coat may make more sense if it’s going to last longer.

 

[Frontstep]

My youths VW went from diamond cut to powder coating but he went for a definite change in a "smoke silver" look it worked.

Still a few years later it's showing signs of failure these wheels are a pain.

 

[brandwooddixon]

I’ve a 2017 SL400 AMG Line R231 and all four wheels have started bubbling up around the centre caps.
I’m told it’s very common and even things as trivial as fitting new tyres or putting the caps in/out can cause minute damage to the laquer which water then gets behind, in time causing the bubbling.

I’ve been quoted £90 per wheel to refurb and powder coat or £120 with diamond cutting. I’m tempted to keep it original but if it’s only going to start to degrade I think p/coat may make more sense if it’s going to last longer.

You'll be lucky to get more than 3 months warranty on a diamond cut finish. There's a reason why more and more manufacturers are fitting diamond cut look-a-likes.
It is possible to achieve a finish that looks very similar to diamond cut with paint. Up close (just a few inches) you can tell that its not but its a lot more durable.

 

[SeagullsFan]

I’m being very tempted to go single colour, smoke chrome mainly for longevity over diamond cut.
As a thought, should you notify your insurers as technically this would be classed as a modification??

 

[S500 Pete]

If you go for powder coat make sure the centre caps still fit easily. On my previous car the thickness of the powder coat allowed the clips to go in but not the actual circular face. Since they were just plastic I ended up filing about a mm off the edges.

 

[SeagullsFan]

I’m being very tempted to go single colour, smoke chrome mainly for longevity over diamond cut.
As a thought, should you notify your insurers as technically this would be classed as a modification??

Mmmmmmm, having just seen smoke chrome i think it’s a bit dark for the car.
Mine is Brilliant Blue and with that and the bright work on side panels, door handles etc I’m now more tempted to go for a silvery shade, maybe silver sparkle.

 

[DSK]

All of mine have been a coarse silver sparkle - epic! Especially when clean and the sun hits it!


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