To powder coat wheels or not

I have some aging 15x7" steel wheels. Gave painting them a go but didn't like the result. Now I'm looking into powder coating, but its pretty pricey.

I found some new wheels for less than it would cost to coat my existing ones, though. My question is: what's more durable, the factory paint job on the wheels or a new powder coat?

Do you have a compressor and a dryer in your garage?

New ones are cheaper? There's a lot of prep work to be done prior to power coating. How much is your time worth?

I'd say just buy new wheels, and move on....

Yeah, to be clear, I don't have the time or equipment to do the powder coating myself. I'm looking to have it professionally done, but only if it would somehow be more durable than new ones.

FWIW my opinion on powder coating things like wheels is, I'd rather rattle can them. The reason being, if you scratch the powder coat you'll have to take it back to the powder coater to have them touched up properly. If you just rattle can them you can scuff around the scratch with some red scotchbrite and re spray that area. Perfect match and its done in a few minutes. Probably don't even have to take the wheel off. I feel the same way about bumpers and skid plates. It just doesn't seem worth the cost for powder coat.

Tried that first. Couldn't get a smooth finish (Duplicolor wheel paints), and I don't have a garage, so it was a pain to keep even remotely clean.

If they are silver steel wheels, I've found that Eastwood rallye wheel paint is way better.

The biggest issue with repainting wheels is getting the rust off, I like an e-tank, but then you have to pay to have the tires dismounted and remounted/balanced. If you have a buddy with a tire machine that is what I would do though.

I have the HF powder coating system and it works awesome. I found an old oven for $10 and set it up next to the dryer in my garage so I could plug it in when needed.

That being said, it does take a lot of time and prep work. If you don't have a place to work (garage) then it's definitely out of the question. Like others have said, the powder coat is prone to chipping, but the likelihood of that happening is low if it's prepped properly.

It hasn't been said yet, but I have tried plasti-dip on a few sets of wheels... the results weren't too great. I wouldn't bother.

Some wheel paints can work well with good results, but it's also a lot of prep work. You really have to start with a smooth surface to end up with a smooth surface. I painted a set of aluminum rims for one of my cars and I have been surprised at how resistant they are to scratches and chips. I used the Duplicolor gunmetal with their wheel gloss.

I would bet the new, cheaper OEM wheels are powdered coated. Very little in the new OEM automotive world is not powder coated now for parts like wheels. The VOC air emissions treatment costs favor powder technology. And it is way more durable than solvent based paint.

Ecomike said:

I would bet the new, cheaper OEM wheels are powdered coated. Very little in the new OEM automotive world is not powder coated now for parts like wheels. The VOC air emissions treatment costs favor powder technology. And it is way more durable than solvent based paint.

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Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

I had my stock wheels powder coated satin black. I always powder coat what I can. Far more durable that paint and pretty much eliminates rust when prepped properly.