Powder Coated Wheel Help/Issue

[Fenrir]

Hey Everyone,

I recently had a set of wheels powder coated for my Mustang. They were finished in a satin gunmetal finish. I took the car to a touchless car wash the other week and when the car came out my wheels had streaks all over them. I spoke to the powder coated and a few people I know who do detailing and they said they have seen this before. It may be from the wheels being hot and then the heavy de-greasers being used on the car since it is touch less. If it sits too long on a hot wheel it will etch it. I tried getting it off with 99% IPA with no success. I also took it to one of their shops where we tried a finishing compound and a slightly more aggressive compound with a drill and no success. It made it shinier possibly. The last thing they tried was using another de-greaser which I think has only stained the wheel more and made the finish look more uniform (darker). I have included some photos of when it came out of the gas station as well as after we tried everything and it's current state today. I have done some research and I am not really sure if this is fixable.

Just wondering if anyone has a solution that might work or if the rims need to be re-powder coated in order to bring them back to life. Hoping for any help you might be able to provide.

FYI, the photos are going to make them look brighter than they actually are. For whatever reason when you look at the car from a distance you can see how dark it is. I have included a side profile photo for reference.

Thanks in advance.

After Car Wash


After Car Wash


After De-greaser


Current State


Side Shot

[Mike Phillips]

Just wondering if anyone has a solution that might work or if the rims need to be re-powder coated in order to bring them back to life.

Hoping for any help you might be able to provide.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I don't know of any way to undo the damage.





Powder coating is a pain to work with in good condition.


Moving forward - avoid that car wash. And because this is your first post to our forum,


Welcome to AutogeekOnline!

[Fenrir]

Thanks Mike! Too bad to hear about the damage. I may try to use some more de-greaser to see if I can even out the color. If don't mind the darker color but I would want it to be consistent. The only other option is to have them re-powder coated. Was trying to avoid that but if that's the only case it is what it is.

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks Mike! Too bad to hear about the damage. I may try to use some more de-greaser to see if I can even out the color. If don't mind the darker color but I would want it to be consistent.

So equally stain the finish?

I like it. At least if you went back to the same car wash the staining effect would just act to "maintain" the color/appearance.

The only other option is to have them re-powder coated. Was trying to avoid that but if that's the only case it is what it is.

If you go this route, ask the owner/manager how long you should wait before doing anything to the new powder coating finish.

Also ask if they have any recommendations for a coating for "their" paint system.

If not, look into the Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armor. It's really the only wheel coating I've used and I was impressed with it's performance and durability.

Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armor, gtech wheel coatings

And here's the deal with wheel coatings. The wheels will still get dirty, that is you will still see a layer of brake dust and road film build-up on the wheels. The benefit is they will CLEAN EASY. Usually just car wash soap, no wheel cleaner. And by only using a car wash soap - the coating will last longer than if you were using a stronger, dedicated wheel cleaner.