A quick side note. I don't care for satin or flat finish on wheels unless its part of the overall design of the car.
Having said that, I bought a used set of Apex 18 x 11 EC-7's in satin black. The same satin black I'm not fond of on my 19" set. So, I brought them to a powder coating shop that's in the area of my work. Asked about a price for gloss black, was quoted $200 for the set and off I went.
Now from what I know about the process of powder coating, you are supposed to strip the wheel via chemical or sandblasting 1st before you start. Often times, they do what is referred to as out gassing and then they apply the powder.
So I got the call they were done, picked them up and opened one box (original wheel boxes) and was really disappointed at the result. Sure, from a distance they look fine. But up close, there is a ton of dirt in the powder and irregular surfaces throughout some of the wheel. It was pretty obvious to me they coated right over the satin paint that Apex puts on the wheel. Stickers still present on the outside of the barrel and while I expect the outside to not be perfect (they have to hang them somehow), the sticker revealed to me that they never removed the old material 1st.
Does anyone have experience with powder and what kind of finish should I be expecting? I'll add a couple photos.
Having said that, I bought a used set of Apex 18 x 11 EC-7's in satin black. The same satin black I'm not fond of on my 19" set. So, I brought them to a powder coating shop that's in the area of my work. Asked about a price for gloss black, was quoted $200 for the set and off I went.
Now from what I know about the process of powder coating, you are supposed to strip the wheel via chemical or sandblasting 1st before you start. Often times, they do what is referred to as out gassing and then they apply the powder.
So I got the call they were done, picked them up and opened one box (original wheel boxes) and was really disappointed at the result. Sure, from a distance they look fine. But up close, there is a ton of dirt in the powder and irregular surfaces throughout some of the wheel. It was pretty obvious to me they coated right over the satin paint that Apex puts on the wheel. Stickers still present on the outside of the barrel and while I expect the outside to not be perfect (they have to hang them somehow), the sticker revealed to me that they never removed the old material 1st.
Does anyone have experience with powder and what kind of finish should I be expecting? I'll add a couple photos.
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