SpaceNeedle
Banned
paint's going to show chips in no time. powdercoat them.
Blacking out FJ Wheels (Lots of Pics)
- Thread starter BlairB
- Start date
BlairB
New member
SpaceNeedle said:
I am going to disagree with you on that one, lots of guys on the FJ forum have been using the exact process for literally years with amazing result. The only thing that would really tear up the paint would be my off roading, and it would be just as likely to damage the powdercoating as well since most of that will come from deep rock gouges, which actually go into the metal. No way powdercoating would save that. Plus as I previously said, this would be a lot easier to touch up than powdercoating.
SportRunner
New member
HB 4X4 said:
Josh- He's right they will chip but only while offroad like Blair said....I already have a chip off one of my rims but it happened while offroad.....and I sanded the sh*t out of them and did plenty off coats, did everything correct....I don't remember hitting anything but it was there in the morning....Powdercoating is a lot more durable but I didn't have the money or the down time for that....
HB 4X4
New member
SportRunner said:
Yeah, I just meant it on the same context that Blair mentioned. The rocks we play with while off-roading don't differentiate between how they became black. I have some gnarly gouges in mine. Even rims that are black from the manufacturer don't hold up well off-road.
Sure they will get scratched/chipped, but why pay 10 times more to still get them scratched/chipped? You're going to have to rattle can them either way.
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Thai
Elite Member
Powdercoating will be more durable and will withstand more punishment before showing signs of damage. Paint will never be close to this under any circumstance. I don't think that you need any reviews/evidence/etc. to figure this part out.
Yes, you can spray paint after every off-roading trip...and you will need to for sure because the paint will easily chip with any debris hitting it. As SportRunner said, the paint will come off with just minor trauma...you don't really need to actually have a rock hit the rim directly for the paint to flake. Reapplying it may make the paint look uneven on the rims. (BlairB was concerned about this earlier, right?) I think that painting is good for someone who does not care too much about how their rims look, but is after a quick inexpensive fix.
Can powdercoated rims show damage from rocks? Sure, but it will take more of a direct hit from a sharp rock before you see anything IF the powdercoating was done correctly by professionals. A brush against a rock should not cause much of anything on a powdercoated rim. And powdercoating does not chip in chunks like paint do. I know that my rocksliders are powdercoated. Even after rubbing on the rocks, the powdercoating still holds extremely well! And these are in direct contact with rocks all the time! With the small scratches on a powdercoat rim, you can just brush the scratches with paint and no one will know the difference...on the other hand, if you spray paint your rims, the damage will likely be more extensive and will need more extensive rattle can repair. This comes back to the uneven look of repeatedly spraying your rims, which is OK if you don't mind the uneven look.
It really comes down to what you want to do, how much you want to spend, and how anal are you about how your wheels appear. If BlairB is using these FJ rims as his off-roading rims, then spray painting it is the best thing. If he is using this rim as his permanent rim, then i think that powdercoating is the better route.
Yes, you can spray paint after every off-roading trip...and you will need to for sure because the paint will easily chip with any debris hitting it. As SportRunner said, the paint will come off with just minor trauma...you don't really need to actually have a rock hit the rim directly for the paint to flake. Reapplying it may make the paint look uneven on the rims. (BlairB was concerned about this earlier, right?) I think that painting is good for someone who does not care too much about how their rims look, but is after a quick inexpensive fix.
Can powdercoated rims show damage from rocks? Sure, but it will take more of a direct hit from a sharp rock before you see anything IF the powdercoating was done correctly by professionals. A brush against a rock should not cause much of anything on a powdercoated rim. And powdercoating does not chip in chunks like paint do. I know that my rocksliders are powdercoated. Even after rubbing on the rocks, the powdercoating still holds extremely well! And these are in direct contact with rocks all the time! With the small scratches on a powdercoat rim, you can just brush the scratches with paint and no one will know the difference...on the other hand, if you spray paint your rims, the damage will likely be more extensive and will need more extensive rattle can repair. This comes back to the uneven look of repeatedly spraying your rims, which is OK if you don't mind the uneven look.
It really comes down to what you want to do, how much you want to spend, and how anal are you about how your wheels appear. If BlairB is using these FJ rims as his off-roading rims, then spray painting it is the best thing. If he is using this rim as his permanent rim, then i think that powdercoating is the better route.
BlairB
New member
What I am about to say may be totally wrong, and if that is the case I am sorry :awais: I am not trying to argue that spray paint is better than powdercoating, that is clearly not the case. I just think for my purposes it is better. I may powdercoat these later down the line, but right now I think these will work great.
Thai is exactly right, they powdercoat sliders and they hold up well. Spray paint wouldn't stand up to one big hit, or a small one for that matter. The big difference in my mind between sliders and these wheels in the strength/hardness of the metal. I can personally attest to how soft these wheels are. They were very messed up when I got them, but were extremely easy to smooth out. Both good and bad, easy for me but it also showed these were more likely to be damaged. Yes powdercoating may be much stronger, but if the metal underneath is that soft it will not matter. A glance against a rock by a slider may result in a small scratch, maybe not even that, but if that same hit was taken by my wheel it would have a pretty deep gouge, and if it is hard enough a hit to gouge into the metal, clearly paint (be it powdercoated or rattle canned) will be coming off as well.
Hopefully that makes sense, it did in my head- but it is early so I am not firing on all cylinders yet..
Thai is exactly right, they powdercoat sliders and they hold up well. Spray paint wouldn't stand up to one big hit, or a small one for that matter. The big difference in my mind between sliders and these wheels in the strength/hardness of the metal. I can personally attest to how soft these wheels are. They were very messed up when I got them, but were extremely easy to smooth out. Both good and bad, easy for me but it also showed these were more likely to be damaged. Yes powdercoating may be much stronger, but if the metal underneath is that soft it will not matter. A glance against a rock by a slider may result in a small scratch, maybe not even that, but if that same hit was taken by my wheel it would have a pretty deep gouge, and if it is hard enough a hit to gouge into the metal, clearly paint (be it powdercoated or rattle canned) will be coming off as well.
Hopefully that makes sense, it did in my head- but it is early so I am not firing on all cylinders yet..
SpaceNeedle
Banned
rook said:
it's a clear coat, which is also much more durable than a painted finish, though i have no idea if they have a clear painted finish... other than you could just paint it silver which logically so makes the wheels susceptible (again) to chipping.
it doesn't take off-roading to chip wheels, fellas. driving it on the freeway, you get a lot of debris at 70mph+ hitting your wheels spinning around much faster than in any offroading situation.
painted wheels show wear/tear very quickly especially when compared to powdercoating. if you're an offroad 4R owner, then who really cares? your car's going to show wear/tear overall anyways since it's beating on the car.
for those of us who use the 4R as a commuter vehicle or more for a pavement bruiser (downtown driving, parking, all around utility car), we can maintain the clean look much better so in essence, it's better to have a strong finish that can keep up with the rest of the car.
let's say that you don't ever get any chips because your 4R wheels have this impervious force field around it. but then you do wash your car. imagine your car paint after 6 months of washing it every other week. will your car paint show swirls? esp if you have a darker color? now imagine that paint without any clearcoat. washing it. again and again. will it dull? how's it holding up? not a good look for my pavement bruiser. the wheels will look beat. i care enough for it to bug me.
you get what you pay for with many things in life and this is one of these scenarios. it's not to clown on anyone's painting efforts here, it's nothing personal. it's simply to tell it like it is (i.e. level setting expectations). powdercoating is superior to painting cost notwithstanding.
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rook
New member
SpaceNeedle said:
Blair mentioned how "soft" the wheels felt when working on them. What he was actually referring to is the clear topcoat. The metal underneath is aluminum alloy and is not "soft" but not as "hard" as steel.
Clearcoats come in many different varieties, including rattle can, catalyzed urethane and powdercoat.
When I painted mine, I chose to use professional materials, having a background in the trade and a proper shop helps. Plus the cost of pc'ing was not worth it. A good catalyzed urethane is very hard when cured. I believe it adheres better than powder with proper surface prep.
What Blair has accomplished is a good looking wheel that will hold up fairly well under most conditions. If necessary, a new coat of paint can be applied after a quick sanding job and will look as good as new.
HB 4X4
New member
To correct any confusion, powdercoating does not hold up very well on sliders, so it wouldn't be any different on wheels. It's a lot softer than you think, and will scratch in the blink of an eye. Now, this may be more limited to scratching, rather than flaking, but you will still see it fast.
While I agree with you that someone who never takes their truck off pavement would probably benefit from powdercoating, I think it's unnecessary for a rig being used off-road. Since the large majority of people on here do not ever see dirt, powdercoating would be logical for most of them, just not in this case.
While I agree with you that someone who never takes their truck off pavement would probably benefit from powdercoating, I think it's unnecessary for a rig being used off-road. Since the large majority of people on here do not ever see dirt, powdercoating would be logical for most of them, just not in this case.
Thai
Elite Member
HB 4X4 said:
I wonder if this could be an example of quality of powdercoating?? All i do is rock crawling when i off-road...and i can tell you that my powdercoating on my sliders are pretty strong. I was reading up on powdercoating this morning out of interest and read that it all depends on the person doing it...some do it well (properly), some do not.
Do you and BlairB have the same rockslider from the same company?
SpaceNeedle
Banned
HB 4X4 said:
Cost notwithstanding, powdercoating wins. Heck, it's not even that much costlier especially given the time you need to spend to do this, but then you're talking to a guy who doesn't have much spare time on his hands and even if he did wouldn't want to do this kind of work because it isn't fun for him.
My powdercoated gloss black wheels have no scratches/chips to speak of and it gleams as brightly as from day one.
But for off-road use, yea, who freakin' cares. Your car's gonna look trashed all over anyways. Guess I roll pretty boy style?
rook
New member
eskimochaos said:
You should not have a problem provided you allow enough time for the paint to cure. If left in the sun on a warm day, it would be 90% cured.
Mounting truck tires is relatively easy compared to mounting low profile (35-45 aspect ratio) tires. There is no reason for the tire donkey to mess up the rims.
HB 4X4
New member
Thai said:
Could be, but it seems to be pretty normal. Whether it's Shrockworks, Demello, Hannah, Stubbs, or any of the other brands, they still scratch, then the metal underneath rusts. Even black steelies scratch, and those things are tough. This is why Icon isn't powdercoating their armor (lower arms, panhard bar, skids, etc) that they are just coming out with.
I have Demello, which dominates the FJ community on a wider scale than SW dominates the 4Runner community. Blair ordered his from Shrockworks and has yet to receive them. Hopefully they come soon so we can compare them more directly.
All in all, I think for offroad needs practicality should come before anything. No matter what you do, it won't hold up perfectly. Skid plates will get bashed, sliders and wheels will be beaten and scratched; it just comes with the hobby. Having projects to do on your own is also part of the fun, so doing it yourself is more rewarding than dropping it off at a shop to do it for you.
Thai
Elite Member
Has anyone tried Line-X or those bedliner spray on stuff on rims?? Those spray on things are tough as nails...indestructible or something like that! I am not sure how much the Line-X will affect wheel balance...also, it is kinda grainy looking, so appearance is not all that great, but if it works, then it should give you a lifetime of protection!
While you're at it, might as well line-x your whole 4runner!!
Once my G gets really old, that is my plan!
While you're at it, might as well line-x your whole 4runner!!
Once my G gets really old, that is my plan!
HB 4X4
New member
Thai said:Has anyone tried Line-X or those bedliner spray on stuff on rims?? Those spray on things are tough as nails...indestructible or something like that! I am not sure how much the Line-X will affect wheel balance...also, it is kinda grainy looking, so appearance is not all that great, but if it works, then it should give you a lifetime of protection!
While you're at it, might as well line-x your whole 4runner!!
Those are most often textured finishes, which helps them not become slippery. Your first obstacle when using something like that is trying to find a decent non-textured one because I think a textured finish on a set of wheels would look really bad. Even then, it seems that most people prefer gloss-black over flat-black finishes.
