Powder Coating Rally II Rims
 

Anyone have experience with powder coating Rally II rims? I am trying to figure out how much Argent Silver and Charcoal Gray I should pick up for 5 rims. These are 15" rims, and I saw online that each rim would take about 1 lb., but I figured I am only doing the face of each one with the Argent Silver, so 1 lb. seems too much and the Charcoal Gray would be even less. I am trying to see if I can find a closer color to the original for the inside and back side of the rims, so for that I would guess at 1 lb. per rim.

Also, where have people gotten their powder from? I am looking at Eastwood, but now sure how correct their powder colors are. I am going to see if I can get samples from them on Monday.

Thanks,
Karl

Look up powder coating suppliers. I had to do that 20 yrs ago and found one with the 63 motor color.

I personally would PAINT them. Not powder coat. Prepped properly and spray painted and they will hold up and look proper.

Or go get some cerakote pro to mix up some custom cerakote colors if you insist on a more durable and permanent coating. Forget powder coating.

https://www.cerakote.com/shop/cerakote-coating

My experience is that powder coat chips too easily when wheel weights and trim rings are attached. Paint is much more forgiving.

Thanks for all of the replies. I did reach out to a couple powder coaters and a few of them wouldn't do the rims. Some would but was going to be very pricy for doing 3 colors, and/or they didn't have the correct colors. I found one place that was very reasonable as far as pricing. They didn't have the correct colors, but said if I brought in my own colors, they would do them still. Didn't think at the time to ask them how much I should pick up.

I wanted something more durable than just paint, I think paint nowadays with all the regulations/restrictions just isn't as durable as the originals. I will look into the cerakote. I just found 3 places local, so I already submitted one request for more info. I like how it appears to be painted on more, so I am hoping they will be able to replicate the 3 colors and the argent silver overspray onto the inside of the rim.

Well this thread has me second guessing my plan. I have a powder coater who was going to do my Ralley II’s in the offseason. $200 a wheel. So not cheap. Wondering now if that would be a mistake. I don’t mind spending the $800 if they look awesome and last forever.

My concern would be how well they can mask off the spokes and what the line between colors would look like. Power coat has its place for like full frames of 1 color, but not sure how they'd look doing 2 colors on the face that need a good sharp line for the spokes... anyone have PC'd rally wheels to see how that area looks? Another concern is that powder coat doesnt always come out smooth, it can & usually has some orange peel or not smooth like paint when applied properly.

X2 I would use a good quality paint over PC for rally wheels, I did mine almost 15 years ago with common brand spray paint, they look like the day they were painted, masked the spokes by hand instead of the stencil kits they sell. Was about $30 in primer & paint. If/when they get a chip or ding its much easier to touch up paint than thick PC that paint wont color match.

I had my 8 lug rims and drums powder coated and they have held up beautifully. Sand blasting and coating was $50 for each wheel and drum.

Not quite the same when trying to do Rallye Wheels.... Rallye wheels need a professional to apply custom mixed cerakote colors or simply proper spray painting. Not powder coating.

I had the original Rally 2’s to my 74 GTO powder coated. They don’t look 100% correct but I think they’ll look nice on the car. Painting them will always produce the correct look but powder coating looks nice if you aren't concerned with being 100% correct.

So….not to hijack the thread but what paint is recommended if I wanted to spray my wheels myself?

Epoxy paint I believe would be the best choice, etch and primer appropriately.

I've had stuff powder coated before, did a frame, and honestly wish I would have done epoxy.

Powder coating leaves a certain 'sheen' that I particularly don't care for. Even if you buff it, it just never looks 'right'. Not a particular problem for some parts, but think about it, why don't people do that for external body parts? Yeah. There's a reason.

It's difficult to control the thickness of the coating too.

For steel wheels, the 'problem' area would be the surface where the lug nut rides. Once it's chips, it's a downhill ride. Where trim rings contact too.


.

Lots of options for paint on these wheels... epoxy primer/paint is very strong but not sure they make the colors needed in a spray can, would need to source it from a local auto paint supplier and still need to provide a paint code or have it matched with one of the color match guns on original wheels.

The easier lower cost way is to use a good spray can paint designed for wheels, its higher temp and more resistant to brake dust etc, a popular quality brand is from eastwood, they have the silver & charcoal colors that look good, but a little more $$ than some of the local brands.

I used rustoleum wheel paint on mine, colors look very good and goes on smooth & even... going on 12 years now & they look as good as the day they were painted, no peeling, cracking or rusting. I used a "battleship" grey color for the backs. Also normal paint is soft enough that it usually wont chip around lug holes if not applied too thick, never had an issue with that.

Few tips on painting these yourself- they make a stencil kit for the spokes but they dont fit perfect and still need some masking for a good solid line on the edges, I masked mine by hand.
-Blasting to bare metal is best, but if the existing paint is in good shape they can be sanded/scuffed then use a good primer, etching primer is more for bare metal, normal primer worked fine on mine. You want as thin of a primer/paint coat as possible so they dont look too thick or get orange peel, factory was very thin paint that showed the stamping info very good.
-Final little known tip to prevent rust in the grooves of the face to the rest of the outer wheel, is to literally pour some primer into that groove then do the same with the silver after primer is dry and right before spraying the silver... not a lot just enough to get down in the groove, it will seep down & not build up too high to look bad. Just spraying paint doesnt get into that groove & will start to rust eventually. I just sprayed a little into the cans cap then slowly & lightly poured it in the groove. Sorry for the long post, hope that all makes sense, but they are important steps if you want them to stay looking good.

Oh, & I prefer the no trim ring look, they look so much better without rings IMO... maybe I can add that to my signature... "just say no to rally 2 trim rings" ;)

This is amazing info!!! Thank you. And seeing yours I do like the look without the rings. Hmm…

Found some photos showing the paint I used when I restored my original RallyII a couple years ago.
Steps:
1. Clean and bead blast wheels
2. Paint with primer with Rustoleum Automotive Primer - Light Gray #2081830
3. Paint backside of wheels with Seymour Hi-Tech Enamel - Dove Gray #16-112, APE# T124J
4. Paint fronts with Ames Argent Silver Wheel Paint - APE# T121
5. Mask off Argent Silver spokes and rim areas
6. Paint hubs and areas between spokes with Ames Charcoal Gray Wheel Paint - APE# T123
7. Unmask and topcoat with Rustoleum Satin Clear - #285092 (optional for extra protection)

Thanks. I forgot 1 final step kk68 mentioned, I also used a satin clear wheel paint, not the regular type of clear, on the face for an extra layer of protection... when they get dirty or some brake dust, it washes right off.