Anyine ever powder coat their stock wheels?

ive been contemplating new wheels for awhile now and just had an epiphany. I do like my stock z06 wheels but mine are chrome. I can’t stand the chrome and I think that’s what’s pushing me to new wheels.

So I recently thought about getting the wheels powder coated instead of all new wheels. Can you powder coat over the chrome? And what do you think about getting them powder coated a gun metal color

 

i believe the chrome will need to be stripped first

 

I’m no expert on wheel refinishing, but I too think the chrome will have to come off first. Have a feeling that by the time you do that and then have the powder coat applied, you may be close to the price of a new set of wheels (depending on what you choose).

 

Hmmm good point. I guess I can call the local
powdercoater tomorrow to see what he says.

Cant stand this chrome and who ever chose to have them chromed should be kicked in the nuts repeatedly

 

These the stock C5 Z06 wheels, or replicas of?

Why not pick up a used set and resell yours. I see the dark silver ones for sale all the time for reasonably prices and there's plenty of people that want chrome wheels.

 

If they are chrome then they are most likely repros... heavy.

Instead of bothering with them, if you must have powdercoat, get some stock wheels on the cheap as they are readily available, and have those coated.

That's the most logical choice. Factory wheels are lightest, so I'd favor those aside from buying coated repros bought off the 'net.

 

Someone on the C5 ‘buy-sell’ page on Facebook has a set of Speedlines for sale.

 

Yes the chrome would have to come off, it will be done as part of the prep work. Figure about $100 per wheel average.

 

That's what I would estimate, with a window in the ~$20 range either way. You simply need to go to a powder coater, tell them exactly what you want and has to be done, and they can give you a solid quote.

An already bare wheel would be a lot cheaper. You would be looking in the $40-$60 range per wheel bare so in all likelihood you're going to pay double to slightly above the cost to have the work down with already chromed wheels.

 

GM never offered chrome wheels on ANY C5, Z06 or not. If you have chrome they are most likely repros OR someone paid to have GM wheels chromed (not likely too expensive).

Get the stock C5 Z06 wheels (Argent Silver color) and do the powder coating to them. MUCH better option.

Like anything else, the quality of powder coating depends strictly on the ability of the powdercoater. Choose wisely.

HTH

 

Just spoke to the powdercoater I have used a few times. He wont touch chrome. Something about when you media blast it, it puts out a chemical. And if it gets out of the machine into the shop, and osha finds it it becomes a hazmat issue and they get shut down.

So seems like powder coating them isnt going to happen.

 

You mean like me?

 

Exactly!!!

 

Eeee-zackly.

Very, very nice work. Btw, did your chromer give you a little kiss on the cheek after he was done with you?

 

When I first bought my C5 new on 9/23/2000, the first day I went Discount Tire and they had a Chrome swap-out service for C5 thinspokes - for a price they would take your new factory wheels as cores and replace them with a chrome set from another core donor. That is what I did and they still looked like new after 14 years of daily use.

However, they happen to be my favorite wheel for the C5 (thinspokes in chrome) and I was getting fearful of maybe getting one damaged and be up a creek for a replacement and I did not want a set of Chinese repros. So after a couple years of searching, I saw that House of Wheels had one full set of GM Made in Italy Speedline Thinspokes left - just like mine - already 3rd party chromed which he sold me at a fair price. So I installed that new set 3 years ago (pictured above) and kept my 14 year old set as backups, just in case, since they still look like new!

 

I need to pull my wheels off to see if they are speedlines., I would prefer the OE painted/aluminum look Z06 wheels, where as I have the chrome/polished look.

 

Okay, now some advice froma professional coater, because every one here is completely wrong. The chrome does not have to be removed in order to powder coat them. I use a lower pressure on the blaster to "frost" the wheel with out causing any of the chrome to lift. If it's a proper triple plated chrome consisting of copper/nickel/chrome chances are good it can be frosted and then coated. If it's the cheap crap Chinese chrome, where they chrome right over the substrate with out the copper/nickel process, the chances of it coming off or flaking is high. In this case the chrome will need to be removed or a lot of time spend filling and feathering in the damage. But then you still have the chance of it flaking up the road. No way will you be able to get the chrome blasted off for $100. My commercial blaster ($150/hr) charges me $20 to blast a wheel that I have chemically stripped and he is only blasting for cleanup and texture, and not taking the extra time it takes to remove old paint or powder coating. If the wheel is powder coated it runs around $75 to blast it clean. I just had a set of 20's blasted to remove the chrome, took him 1.5hrs per wheel and gave me a deal at $125ea.
I have coated many parts straight over polished chrome with candy colors over the last 9 years and have never had a part returned to me because the powder flaked off. I have a new spray chrome process I use now that is durable and about half the price of plating and a whole lot easier to remove if need be.

 

I feel this way about black wheels...

 

Those are gorgeous!

 

I powder coated OEM C5Z Speedlines and love them!



I think you technically could powder coat over the chrome, as long as there are no defects in the finish. You would still need to media blast them or scuff the surface to give the powder coat something to bite on to. The question then is how long will they last? It's best practice to strip any finish right down to the metal.