Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[///Lyubm]

So its time to refinish my silver gloss HREs, obvious choice would be black, but for some odd reason i never liked black, it blends the wheels with tires and all you see is big black void holes, looks like car glides in the air without wheels.
What i like is Brushed finish, but HRE charges $1000 for that plus shipping cost.

Curious to hear different opinions on this.

Thanks to everyone who contributed! since i already refinished my wheels here is Before and After pictures

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by ///Lyubm

So its time to refinish my silver gloss HREs, obvious choice would be black, but for some odd reason i never liked black, it blends the wheels with tires and all you see is big black void holes, looks like car glides in the air without wheels.
What i like is Brushed finish, but HRE charges $1000 for that plus shipping cost.

Curious to hear different opinions on this.

Brushed tinted or gloss charcoal would look nice. I personally like the brushed look (a little biased since mine are brushed). Gotta pay to play!!!

[///Lyubm]

Brushed finish on white M3, i think it looks classy. If only i could find local wheel shop that could do it.

[808MGuy]

Or you can do a custom finish like mine. Brushed face with black inner barrels. I haven't seen it on a white car but I have seen it on black, interlagos blue and silverstone.

[slicer]

I would go with charcoal satin finish. You really only have three color options (black, silver, charcoal) unless you are willing to go wild.... red, orange, blue, green... I personally don't like brushed finish and I can see why you wouldn't want to pay a huge up-charge for it.

[Active 2]

My friend paint matched his P43's in white and they came out sick! Not sure if this is your style or not?

[THE TECH]

The brushed finish is the current fad. Some sort of gunmetal/graphite would look good.

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

Brushed tinted or gloss charcoal would look nice. I personally like the brushed look (a little biased since mine are brushed). Gotta pay to play!!!

I would do gloss charcoal

[dvpouldar26]

Gloss or satin Charcoal or some sort of shot-peened finish such as offered by ccw would look great. Bushed would also look nice for a more subtle finish. I had Satin charcoal on my C20's and I think it looked great.

[///Lyubm]

Thanks for suggestions guys appreciate it

[sin911]

Charcoal! Those wheels are gorgeous btw

[Ryan@IND]

Gloss or satin charcoal

[GOLFFRR]

^^+1 i like those colors as well.

[///Lyubm]

any advice on powder coating? i heard aluminum wheels should be baked at below 300 but most powder coating places say its 375-400 degrees is what they use.

[HRE_Mickey]

Originally Posted by ///Lyubm

any advice on powder coating? i heard aluminum wheels should be baked at below 300 but most powder coating places say its 375-400 degrees is what they use.

I recommend you have HRE Wheels refinished through HRE directly. Any warranty would be void if refinished by a 3rd party.

Any improper refinishing can cause degradation of the forged aluminum and will result in a cracked wheel. It is extremely important that the wheels are properly refinished. Most powder coating companies do not handle forged aluminum and often just want to bake the powder at much higher temperatures so they can move the product out faster, which will cause the wheels to eventually crack.

[Endless619]

I like the white on the E93. That looks really good. Powder coating will work just fine. Keep in mind that a lot of wheels shops will say they will crack. That may be true but not overnight. I have had wheels refinished and colored since 1990 and never had any issues. The wheels may crack or be more susceptible in 5, 10, or after 20 years of ownership. Not once in 22 years have I seen with my buddies or my wheels cracking from improper powder coating. Just my observation and 22 years in the industry.

[Denk]

Whatever you do, don't go cheap on those nice wheels. I just put on some
P43SC's in Brushed Tinted, you're welcome to check them out in person if you'd like.

[///Lyubm]

I wish HRE would at least respond to my emails, been waiting for a week.

Denk, yea i've seen pictures of your HREs, is what got me thinking of refinishing my wheels .

[Denk]

Originally Posted by ///Lyubm

I wish HRE would at least respond to my emails, been waiting for a week.

Denk, yea i've seen pictures of your HREs, is what got me thinking of refinishing my wheels .

I'd give HRE a call, the times I called I always rcvd great service. I gotta tell you, my pics really don't do them justice. I'll have some pro pics done sometime next month after I put my Dinan suspension on...rolling shots, different lighting, etc...

[HRE_Mickey]

Originally Posted by ///Lyubm

I wish HRE would at least respond to my emails, been waiting for a week.

Denk, yea i've seen pictures of your HREs, is what got me thinking of refinishing my wheels .

Please call us directly at 760-598-1960 and ask for Vince (vinceB@hrewheels.com). Or feel free to call or email me directly at LonM@hrewheels.com. Alternatively, please Private Message me here and I can assist you.

Originally Posted by Heckler&Koch

I like the white on the E93. That looks really good. Powder coating will work just fine. Keep in mind that a lot of wheels shops will say they will crack. That may be true but not overnight. I have had wheels refinished and colored since 1990 and never had any issues. The wheels may crack or be more susceptible in 5, 10, or after 20 years of ownership. Not once in 22 years have I seen with my buddies or my wheels cracking from improper powder coating. Just my observation and 22 years in the industry.

I'm not sure which wheels you have powder coated, but any forged aluminum is sensitive to heat treatment. Cast wheels are less sensitive. It is only a matter of time that a forged wheel will crack from improper powder coating process. It's possible that the 3rd party powder coat company is competent, but from our standpoint we can not guarantee the service/quality of a 3rd party refinishing service. We always recommend that any work on our wheels be handled by HRE directly. That is why it could effect our warranty policy on an HRE Wheel.

Originally Posted by Denk

I'd give HRE a call, the times I called I always rcvd great service. I gotta tell you, my pics really don't do them justice. I'll have some pro pics done sometime next month after I put my Dinan suspension on...rolling shots, different lighting, etc...

Your car turned out beautiful. Our brushed finishes are industry standard. The gentlemen in our facility have been doing it each for over a decade and show great craftsmanship.

Check out these videos showing our facility. Our refinishing is done in-house as well.
www.egarage.com/videos/hre-wheels/
www.vimeo.com/36386945

[walsh]

Originally Posted by Lon@HRE

Please call us directly at 760-598-1960 and ask for Vince (vinceB@hrewheels.com). Or feel free to call or email me directly at LonM@hrewheels.com. Alternatively, please Private Message me here and I can assist you.


I'm not sure which wheels you have powder coated, but any forged aluminum is sensitive to heat treatment. Cast wheels are less sensitive. It is only a matter of time that a forged wheel will crack from improper powder coating process. It's possible that the 3rd party powder coat company is competent, but from our standpoint we can not guarantee the service/quality of a 3rd party refinishing service. We always recommend that any work on our wheels be handled by HRE directly. That is why it could effect our warranty policy on an HRE Wheel.


Your car turned out beautiful. Our brushed finishes are industry standard. The gentlemen in our facility have been doing it each for over a decade and show great craftsmanship.

Check out these videos showing our facility. Our refinishing is done in-house as well.
www.egarage.com/videos/hre-wheels/
www.vimeo.com/36386945

Your PM inbox is full.... so can't message you at the moment.

[///Lyubm]

Small update, after searching low and high and talking to various shops in Portland i decided to send wheels to HRE because no one could could do full brushed finish, best i got is brushed top of the wheel and painted inside for the same price HRE charges...
I will keep updated with progress and will annoy Vince with my calls everyday