Powder Coat Color for Wheels

[Neville Sonner]

Does anybody know what powder coat color matches the original painted wheel color? If so, could a manufacturer and color code/name be provided? Any opinions of whether powder coating or wet painting would provide a better finish? Thanks for the help.

[Barry Brisco]

Powder coating is certainly a more durable finish for wheels, but I've never seen a powder coat color that matches the original 356 factory finish. So it really depends on what you value more: durability or authenticity. There's certainly nothing wrong with going for a fine grain silver metallic powdercoat for the sake of longevity, if you don't mind the difference from the original appearance. The difficulty is that there are many shades of metallic silver, with different flake sizes.

It will be good to have a topic on the new Forum where people can post what they used for silver metallic wheel paint, as this question is often asked.

One of the many great features of the Forum is that searching it is so easy, just click the "Search" link at the top of any page. Over time this Forum will grow into being a valuable resource of 356 information.

Thanks,

[Tim Phillips]

Neville,
I value durability more than originality and had mine done. The color that I found matched best was Camaro Silver, and I would challenge any of the experts to spot them as not kosher with even a few mile of road grime on them. If I clean them to spotless, and another 356 with factory painted steel wheels is parked next, you can see a slight difference. Barry is entirely correct as to authenticity and I'd consider this a permanent change. I know that powder coat can be stripped, but it would be a significant effort. This stuff is tough.

[Tim Phillips]

Just realized... The new forum allows photos. Technology is a wonderful thing when taken in moderation.

The grime down in the cracks would spray out with a good wash. Everything is still frozen in Wisconsin. There is still a foot of snow in my yard. I envy you guys who are driving already.

[Tim Phillips]

By the way, and as a point of comparison. The lug nuts were done with rattle can paint at the same time as the wheels were powder coated. I think this was about 2000 or 2001.