Re: [DML] Re: Powder coated wheels "Gassing Out"

["Don Ekhoff" <ekhoff@xxxx>]

With all the talk about powdercoating I thought I would share my experience
with Chrome Plating of DeLorean rims.

My first attempt was with polish and paint only. This looked really great
but was a hassle. These wheels are on my daily driver and polishing them is
the one job I hate. The polish gets onto the black paint that is between
the spokes. By the way, the polished parts are the outer bead, the radial
spokes and the inner hub area. I paint the little section in the middle of
the spoke. There is some porosity in the castings and it varies by vintage.
These rims cost me ~$600.00 to polish and paint and they said they went thru
a fortune in buffing wheels. I guess all the spoke edges cut the buffing
wheels to shreds.

My next three experiences were with CICC Company in Pomona, Calif. (909
595-0144). The first try several years ago showed some of the same porosity
thru the chrome. I felt this was unavoidable and otherwise the quality was
quite decent. After all NO MORE POLISHING.

Recently I had the other two sets done and they are fabulous! I can not
believe the over all quality. The paint is flawless and the buffing
precise. At the risk of being wordy the quality of the buffing work was the
best I have ever seen. The only real stress the plating has taken was the
tire mounting but I see no pealing or flaking. This was not true of some
rims I recently had Victoria Wheel do at their chrome shop.

All this comes with a price but I (obviously) thought it was worth it: The
DeLorean looks GREAT with the chromes. Looking at one of my unchromed cars
by comparison was motivation to get them "finished ASAP". Anyway a set of
four including Calif. tax and shipping back to No. Calif. was $489.00.
The only odd thing was they insisted on a cashiers check of money order
before starting the work.

I have just ordered a new digital camera so may be able to post pictures
soon.

Don, #1325 etc.

By the way I put aftermarket rims on my fifth car just to get the rim
diameter to current tastes. They also look great but I feel like a bit of a
traitor. With the chromes I do not have this problem.


----- Original Message -----
From: <deloreanernst@xxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2000 8:38 AM
Subject: [DML] Re: Powder coated wheels "Gassing Out"


> In a message dated 10/1/00 9:43:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> billschaferabn@xxxx writes:
>
> << the owner mentioned he thought the wheels were "Gassing Out". Being
new
> to powder coating I played it cool and decided to listen instead of
guessing
> what that meant. He explained to me that my alloy wheels must have taken
on
> some impurities during the time the paint had peeled off the wheels. This
> then required the wheels be baked at least 6 hours to insure the
impurities
> (now a gas product) could be cooked off. As it turned out they cooked
them
> for about 16 hours and the wheels still had a very small amount of
"Gassing
> out". But I can live with the 98% perfect job. >>
> I had the same experience. Only one wheel was a noticable problem.
Standing
> up and looking at them, they look great. Get down on your knees and you
see
> some "orange peel" but let's face it, the original wheels aren't mirror
> smooth to begin with. I'm still delighted with the way they look, and I
> think the powder coat will stick on and last much longer than the
original.
> My wheels had some minor flaking, with just a little whitish oxidation.
> Inside they were like new, once the NCTs were off. Even the valve stems.
I
> matched the original gray, and I'm glad I did since I now think chrome
would
> look worse on a less-than-mirror smooth finish.
>
> -Wayne
> vin 11174
> The New DeLorean Manuals Project
>
>
>
> Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at:
> www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html
>
> To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
> moderator@xxxx
>
>