BBS RAs

[Bear]

Anyone have any idea on what the factoy paint finish VW would have used on the ra's ??

Powder coated or sprayed ??

[turbodub]

I would be very interested to know as well. I've seen in the past that people spray them with a metallic silver from the VW range which is meant to be very faithful to the original colour! Can't recall the name of the paint unfortunately. 

[trevg]

touched mine up with vw diamond silver metallic 

[Bear]

Anyone ??

[Thom89]

Wheels from the factory would have been powder coated, If the rim had a machined/polished edge, then this would have been done after the powder coat had hardened.. (saves masking the wheel)  the bare polished alloy surface would then have been given a clearcoat of probably polyurethane lacquer.
If your looking for paint to make repairs with, Mercedes Brilliant Silver(744) is probably the best match I've found, paint has a very "clean" look to it, colour match on TT wheels (and many others) is perfect..ie no need to paint the centre caps its that good.. Halfords can do it in a rattle can
Tom

[Bear]

Thanks Tom

Any idea on the durability of paint sprayed and lacquered DIY style, as opposed to powder ??

[Thom89]

If your prep is good, and you use a good quality etch primer, there is no reason that it shouldnt last 2+yrs, try and get some heat into the wheel before painting, means that you can get the paint on wetter, with less chance of it running
If I refurb a wheel that has polished edges, I never lacquer the bare alloy, far better to autosol every now and then.. when the lacquer chips, you get water and salt off the road trapped under the surface, doing far more damage! protect the polished surface with a smear of vaseline when the weather is bad
Powder coating is obviousley more durable, but it does have its drawbacks, if the wheel gets damaged repair is often more difficult due to the nature of the product, and of course it costs more than haveing ago yourself
Tom

[Bear]

Thanks alot mate