What's the difference between painting and powdercoating your wheels?

 

Powder coating is a type of dry coating, which is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin." The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint. Powder coating is mainly used for coating of metals, such as "whiteware", aluminium extrusions, and automobile and motorcycle parts. Newer technologies allow other materials, such as MDF (medium-density fibreboard), to be powder coated using different methods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating

 

This is the bottom line - PC is very tough and heat resistant. I've had a number of wheels, calipers, manifolds, coil brackets, etc., PC'ed and they [better] resist extremes (like tracking).

Paint can potentially produce a richer, glossier look and can be touched up, but modern PC looks pretty nice and like I said above, is very durable.

I think shops tend to charge a little more for PC, but last time I checked it was ~$50/wheel more (so not a huge difference).

I'm getting my GR-A's refinished, and I'll _probably_ do a painted finish.

 

What are the odds that conventional paint will peel off of wheels after a short period of time, say 2-3 years?

 

It's more likely that paint will be chipped off by road debris. Powder coating will be far more resistant to chipping...

 

yes and no, oem wheel are painted and they don't chip easy.


the problem of painting is the process itself, how much people actually willing to stripe do to bare metal, etch primer, base coat and clear coat it properly?

a show car finish/proper finish painting(wheels) will cost way more than conventional PC, you get what you pay for and there's a place for both application.