did they use the "touchless" tire machine??? i believe that nothing actually touches the front of the rim when this machine is used correctly. i could be wrong , i guess part of the tire will have to touch it , but nothing else. if you take some liquid car wash to them next time , and ask them to use it for lube , it may help. it may not , but i think it will probably be better than the watered down stuff that most places use. i cannot believe that they charge $15-$30 dollars now per tire to mount/balance. i wish i had 1/4 of that for all that i have done. when i used to change tires , we barely made a little above min wage.

 

man we only charge 10 a tire mount and balance

 

nope it wasn't touchless at all. it was discount tire

 

Getting paint to take on a aluminum wheel is hard to do with no primer under it. Even then it can still take a hit.

When we painted my winter wheels we used a Enamal PPG and baked them on. Even then I was worried but they went on with no issues.

If the mounting does not get you often the heat and the stones from driving will. Powder coating is a good idea if you want it to last on aluminm.

 

Is powder coating better on Aluminum then it is on steel?

The reason I ask is that over the years I have bought many powder coated accessories (steel) for my Jeep and ALL of them rusted horribly!
Think about any trailer hitch and how they rust under the powder coat

Since my SS wheels have seen 2 winters already I am afraid that they will eventually get the peeling clear coat then the dreaded "white" powdery corrosion. I like the style of the wheels, so would like to "paint" them, but I keep hearing about having them powder coated.

 

The prime factors are one the quality prep of the powder coat.

Also many off road jeep and truck parts are also done with cheap steel.

Aluminum usally holds up better due to the fact it is less likely to corrode vs the cheap steel that rust from within.

The home kits work well on small parts but the pro powder coaters are the best to deal with on things like wheels and the like. They have the proper oven to bake it on that most of us lack for larger items.

 

update? pics?

 

Had the aluminum rims on one of my Mustangs powdercoated at a speciality wheel company and was no problem. It's an occassional driver and seven years later they still look near perfect:

 

How are the painted wheel holding up. Is the paint still adhering to the wheels?