Powder Coating Mishap OR Accidental Awesomeness?

[t04d]

Hi Guys,

I'm relatively new to the forum here and my fiance and I just picked up our first x5 a couple of weeks ago. It will primarily be her car, but mine to tinker with on the weekends. That being said I've already purchased quite a few goodies from our good friend, Ben r33_RGSport.

Shortly after picking up the x5 I realized that darker wheels would look really good on the Glacier Silver Metallic paint job. I used to own a bugeye WRX that was Platinum Silver and had a dark grey/anthracite set of Prodrives on it and to this day I love the way that it looked. The dark wheels really looked like they belonged on the car. So after quite a bit of research I decided that anthracite was the way to go.

Now I'm going to poke some fun at myself here, as I am about as novice as they come when it comes to powder coating wheels. I've never had it done before so I have zero experience with paint/powder coat colors. I figured if I find a reputable shop with excellent reviews and show up with the color I have in mind and examples that we would be set! Unfortunately, that was not the case here and against my better judgement I let my fiance and I go along the wall of colors and find something that appeared to be what I was looking for. For those of you who aren't familiar with how it works, it's like shopping for paint that you want on a wall in your home and of course I'm now very well aware of how many people end up choosing the wrong color their first time around. Also, to shed some additional light my fiance wanted to do black, but I insisted that black would simply hide the 469's which I happen to think are a great looking wheel.

So we chose what this powder coating shop has listed on their wall as anthracite and in my mind I felt that the color on the card looked relatively close to the color in the photos I had and it had the exact same naming convention, so I couldn't possibly go wrong right?! lol. I'll let the pictures do the talking.


At first glance we were like, yeah!! And then I was kind of like, something seems off...Then get her home and I'm like what in the actual $%^&...
And finally I was just like okay I'm out. We've been pranked. Ashton?! Ashtooooooonnnnnnn!? Come out here?! Where is he hiding?!

I don't really know what to say at this point. At first I was pretty irritated. Then the irritation morphed into curiosity and a feeling of, for some reason I can't stop looking at it and I don't know why. I really don't know whether I love it or hate it.

I dropped the car at the dealer this morning to get the MPPK installed and several of the service guys were asking me about it and saying that they really liked it, which definitely made me feel not nearly as crazy for starting to find favor in the color. Let me know what you guys think. All opinions welcome If you hate it, I don't blame you as I hated it at first too. If you love it let me know! Lastly, if you feel that I should never be allowed to choose a color for paint/powder coat whether it be for a car or a wall ever again I completely agree with you!

Best,
Justin

[DuSh]

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[JWK170]

Originally Posted by t04d

Hi Guys,

I'm relatively new to the forum here and my fiance and I just picked up our first x5 a couple of weeks ago. It will primarily be her car, but mine to tinker with on the weekends. That being said I've already purchased quite a few goodies from our good friend, Ben r33_RGSport.

Shortly after picking up the x5 I realized that darker wheels would look really good on the Glacier Silver Metallic paint job. I used to own a bugeye WRX that was Platinum Silver and had a dark grey/anthracite set of Prodrives on it and to this day I love the way that it looked. The dark wheels really looked like they belonged on the car. So after quite a bit of research I decided that anthracite was the way to go.

Now I'm going to poke some fun at myself here, as I am about as novice as they come when it comes to powder coating wheels. I've never had it done before so I have zero experience with paint/powder coat colors. I figured if I find a reputable shop with excellent reviews and show up with the color I have in mind and examples that we would be set! Unfortunately, that was not the case here and against my better judgement I let my fiance and I go along the wall of colors and find something that appeared to be what I was looking for. For those of you who aren't familiar with how it works, it's like shopping for paint that you want on a wall in your home and of course I'm now very well aware of how many people end up choosing the wrong color their first time around. Also, to shed some additional light my fiance wanted to do black, but I insisted that black would simply hide the 469's which I happen to think are a great looking wheel.

So we chose what this powder coating shop has listed on their wall as anthracite and in my mind I felt that the color on the card looked relatively close to the color in the photos I had and it had the exact same naming convention, so I couldn't possibly go wrong right?! lol. I'll let the pictures do the talking.


At first glance we were like, yeah!! And then I was kind of like, something seems off...Then get her home and I'm like what in the actual $%^&...
And finally I was just like okay I'm out. We've been pranked. Ashton?! Ashtooooooonnnnnnn!? Come out here?! Where is he hiding?!

I don't really know what to say at this point. At first I was pretty irritated. Then the irritation morphed into curiosity and a feeling of, for some reason I can't stop looking at it and I don't know why. I really don't know whether I love it or hate it.

I dropped the car at the dealer this morning to get the MPPK installed and several of the service guys were asking me about it and saying that they really liked it, which definitely made me feel not nearly as crazy for starting to find favor in the color. Let me know what you guys think. All opinions welcome If you hate it, I don't blame you as I hated it at first too. If you love it let me know! Lastly, if you feel that I should never be allowed to choose a color for paint/powder coat whether it be for a car or a wall ever again I completely agree with you!

Best,
Justin

I have had a few sets of wheels powder coated over the multiple vehicles I have owned. For the most part I have been lucky. The colors on the chips were pretty accurate to the end result. I have seen though with friends who have done it that even with a few different black options, they can vary significantly, especially when you add options as flat, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss.

I did learn to take the chips into natural light as what you see inside can be night and day compared to in natural light. Hopefully they will grow on you. I like them. Appears to have a little more blueish tone in natural light. I love the black 469's, but I'm glad to see you went with something different.

I did a color called Glimmer on my 469's. I was trying to get something pretty close to my paint color Space Grey. Pretty happy how they turned out. I had the same effect when I went into the dealer. A lot of compliments.

[t04d]

DuSh I think that sums it up pretty well. lol.

JWK170 I saw your post the other day! I remember thinking that I liked your choice of color and that it was nice seeing something other than black. Don't get me wrong black is cool, but it's nice to see some different ideas out there.

Though, I'll admit, my plans were not to be as "different" as we ended up. I'll try to get some better photos in better lighting, but for now I'll try and let them grow on me. Worst case, we just get them redone

Really appreciate the tip on looking at the chips in natural light!

[JWK170]

Originally Posted by t04d

DuSh I think that sums it up pretty well. lol.

JWK170 I saw your post the other day! I remember thinking that I liked your choice of color and that it was nice seeing something other than black. Don't get me wrong black is cool, but it's nice to see some different ideas out there.

Though, I'll admit, my plans were not to be as "different" as we ended up. I'll try to get some better photos in better lighting, but for now I'll try and let them grow on me. Worst case, we just get them redone

Really appreciate the tip on looking at the chips in natural light!

Thanks man.

My first job out of college was for Sherwin Williams Paint Company so I learned pretty quickly that 1 color can look like 10 different colors based upon lighting and sheen.

Also decide what sheen finish you want (flat, satin, semi, or gloss) and see if they have the same color chips displaying the different sheens. It can totally change the way you see the color as well.

[1norseman]

Just tell people that your fiance(preferably when she's not around), selected the color...
If they like it, tell them you are genius for marrying her.
If they don't like it, tell them she has other better qualities... LOL

Anyway, without seeing it in real life, it's hard to judge..
If you don't like it, find out what kind of powder coating was used.
You can always use the powder coat as a solid base for new paint
https://www.pfonline.com/articles/pa...powder-coating

[The Libertine]

Well, on the positive side, they’re not purple.

[turboawd]

How much is it costing you guys to powder coat your rims?

[JWK170]

Originally Posted by turboawd

How much is it costing you guys to powder coat your rims?

I have been going to the same guy for a few years now. He has been getting cheaper the more stuff I have done.

My most recent set was $80 a wheel and then about $90 at a local tire shop to dismount and then remount/balance the tires.

[t04d]

Originally Posted by 1norseman

Just tell people that your fiance(preferably when she's not around), selected the color...
If they like it, tell them you are genius for marrying her.
If they don't like it, tell them she has other better qualities... LOL

Anyway, without seeing it in real life, it's hard to judge..
If you don't like it, find out what kind of powder coating was used.
You can always use the powder coat as a solid base for new paint
https://www.pfonline.com/articles/pa...powder-coating

Hah! I like the suggestion. Will have to keep that one in my back pocket. And thanks for the idea of painting and using the powder coat as a base! I hadn't thought of that.

[The Libertine]

Originally Posted by t04d

Hah! I like the suggestion. Will have to keep that one in my back pocket. And thanks for the idea of painting and using the powder coat as a base! I hadn't thought of that.

That’s actually a good idea. Heck. Leave them as is, move to the North East, and use them as your winter wheels.

[t04d]

Originally Posted by JWK170

I have been going to the same guy for a few years now. He has been getting cheaper the more stuff I have done.

My most recent set was $80 a wheel and then about $90 at a local tire shop to dismount and then remount/balance the tires.

Nice! That's a deal. I paid what I felt was pretty high, but I was willing to pay more for quality. The color may totally not be what I was expecting, but they sure did a good job on them. I paid $220 per wheel which included dismount, remount/balance, and then obviously the powder coat job.