Powder Coated Wheels - Opinions Needed Please!

Hi All,

Apologies for the length of this post but I would be hugely grateful for your help before I decide what to do about my wheels.

I recently got a set of 19" E46 M3 Wheels Powder Coated Matt Black. I had to look around for a while as I wanted a Flat Matt Black rather than a Satin Finish, which proved more difficult than expected.

My experience with Powder Coating is little to none so I would appreciate anyone's input who has had some experience. From researching I thought Powder Coated Wheels would be more robust against any small knocks or chips in comparison to standard paint.

When I received the wheels by courier I was delighted with the Colour and Finish. However, I encountered the below problems:

1. When I unwrapped them there were small chips on the paint of two of the wheels, admittedly very small and a risk with receiving them by courier.

2. When using a deep socket, to bolt on the wheels the black at the entry to some of the bolt holes came away.

3. I was putting in the bolts and twice a bolt dropped from the centre of the wheel(my fault I know), where the sockets are, down onto the face of the wheel, can't be more than a few inches, and the paint came away and exposed the silver metal underneath both times. I 100% take the blame in that I shouldn't have let the bolt drop in the first place.

I fitted them a week ago and straight away I contacted the place who powder coated them asking did something go wrong given how delicate the Powder Coat on the wheels seemed to be. I got a polite response but absolutely no admission of any fault in the powder coating they did, not saying there should be. It seems they are saying it is a characteristic of the Matt Black(If correct, and had I known I would have stuck to Plasti-Dipping them myself). The response was as follows:

"no its nothing wrong matt black as a colour is not kinetical proof - what does it mean ? That if you drop a socket over it or slide a socket over the edge you might chip the surface or the edge , the good news is that once wheels are fitted they are safe from fitting damage , your matt coating is safe against basics like jet wash and chemical cleaning products bot not undestructable, you need to be cautious while handling and fitting them or especially fitting new tyres. Customers that have fitting wheels or changing tyres out of our garage often chip the alloys slighlty , while during this processes. Also if you chip alloy slightly it's not going to be a chain reaction - the coating is rock solid and will go nowhere unless hit or kerbed or damaged by tyre machine , nothing else can chip the alloy then this. You can use a bit of black paint for metal to touch up exposed aluminium. Hope this info will help. Don't hesitate to contact us if there anything else we can do for you."

So basically, I wanted to know should powder coating be a lot more durable and harder than this? Does it sound like something has been done wrong? And if so, any advice on what to do if anything? I am keeping the guys I used nameless as I am not trying to effect anyone's business. Especially, since I'm not sure whether this has been a botch job or not yet.

Again, I am totally aware I made the mistake of dropping the bolts etc. just wouldn't have expected that to be enough to damage the powder coat.

Also, apologies again for the length of this post and any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

ok, first things first. you cant paint aluminium with metal paint. it doesnt work. secondly i have had various parts powdercoated and it should be much more durable then you have described. it sounds to me like they werent powdered coated at all but infact just painted matt black. something isnt right. if you can scratch them with your nail then its not powder coating.

I have my f10 wheels powder coated and it is certainly more durable than the painted wheels on the e36!

where did you get them done? looking for somewhere to get my own done and would avoid this place

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Originally Posted by fluffmister

where did you get them done? looking for somewhere to get my own done and would avoid this place

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Kg alloys in newcastlewest he does soda blasting and welding too

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Originally Posted by camnhoj

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Originally Posted by fluffmister

where did you get them done? looking for somewhere to get my own done and would avoid this place

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Kg alloys in newcastlewest he does soda blasting and welding too

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Hi Sir!
I have seen his work with Mike Murphy's 19 inch CSL with excellent finish. Is he expensive? Thanks in advance!

Powder coated wheels can be extremely durable, the set I had stood up to regularly being driven over rough terrain with stones pinging off the wheels and coming out without a mark, something like a socket dropping within a bolt hole shouldn't be enough to remove material..that would be an indication that the powder hasn't adhered well to the wheel. Always be cautious of anywhere that insist on a quick turn around like one day, it just doesn't work like that as to fit in prep/powder application and correct oven cure time for 4 wheels isn't really viable and it's the cure time which is usually hurried up just to get them out the door.

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Originally Posted by johnwayne

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Originally Posted by camnhoj

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Originally Posted by fluffmister

where did you get them done? looking for somewhere to get my own done and would avoid this place

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Kg alloys in newcastlewest he does soda blasting and welding too

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Hi Sir!
I have seen his work with Mike Murphy's 19 inch CSL with excellent finish. Is he expensive? Thanks in advance!

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I found him very reasonable for the work he did :happy:

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Originally Posted by PeterK

ok, first things first. you cant paint aluminium with metal paint. it doesnt work. secondly i have had various parts powdercoated and it should be much more durable then you have described. it sounds to me like they werent powdered coated at all but infact just painted matt black. something isnt right. if you can scratch them with your nail then its not powder coating.

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Had a closer look at the chipped parts this evening and I cannot further them with my finger nails, it is too hard for that to be fair. I did have to clear some very small pieces from the chips, it was like very very tiny shatter pieces within the chip.

As much as I dislike and never use them I am tempted go through a machine wash to test the strength of the powder coating on the wheels. Proper Powder Coating should withstand this right? I would rather find out now if these are a terrible job and get them sorted than find out 6 months or so down the line.

This happened to the bbs I got off super 4 he reckons the powder coat was put on to thick


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Originally Posted by fluffmister

This happened to the bbs I got off super 4 he reckons the powder coat was put on to thick

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That could well be it. The powder coat on my wheels is much thicker than paint would be. I did emphasise I wanted a Flat Matt which may have caused them to add extra coats.

Did you do anything with the chips on yours? The powder coat being so thick on mine makes the chips a bit deeper than normal and harder to paint/repair. I am also reluctant to think about repairing anything myself yet as its only week 1 of having the wheels done.

It's only on the lips the centers are fine (2 piece rim) tbh there beyond touch up going to get the lips re furbed as there shocking chips on in lumps


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I am a fan of black wheels and have 2 sets which I swap around on the E39. The first time I went to chose the shade of black, I set my sights on a matt black which I loved. On the advice of the powder coater he advised against the matt black as it marked very easily and wasnt hard wearing. Went with his advice; satin black which I find very hard wearing.