Curb rash repair - powder all wheels on new Rogue?

[DTASFAB]

Exactly six weeks after I picked up my 2013 Rogue from the dealer, I got my first curb rash on the rear left wheel. It's not really bad and limited to only about 1/4 - 3/8 of an inch on the lip of the wheel, on the edge near the tire.

But then I got to thinking, the factory wheels are a bit plain. They're painted metallic silver, but the metallic is so light that it's hard to see, and the wheels look almost like plastic. Here's a good illustration of a factory wheel being offered on ebay. link

So I was thinking of getting all four wheels powdered to a more interesting color. I definitely don't want anything flashy that will attract attention, but I'd rather have wheels that are distinctive and unique compared to what everyone else who bought the same Rogue has from the factory.

Since my Rogue is Frosted Steel, I think I'd like a heavier metallic silver with a light but unmistakable blue tinge. Here's my Rogue when it was about a week old:



Would the wheels look good if I get them powdered with something like this "Canfield Blue" I found on columbia coatings?



There are a ton of other colors, but they all seem to be heavier on the blue and lighter on the silver. I want mostly silver with a heavy metallic and just a little blue, which is why I was drawn to this particular color. There are lots of metallic choices here http://www.columbiacoatings.com/store/c ... spx?ps=140

Opinions?

[darylzero]

I think you should go with a more contrasting color. If you use the canfield blue you posted your car would look all one color.

From your other link I would go with something like the Autumn Black or Autumn Bronze. Or the Cashmere Gold. Something that will make the Frosted Steel look even better IMO

[dolbydj]

You can try plasti dip? Silver, Gunmetal, custom? I want to try the gold:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U32It5-muS ... 32It5-muSc

[DTASFAB]

I was thinking of the same idea - mostly metallic silver, but with a tinge of red instead of light blue, so the whole car wouldn't look all one color. The problem I'm afraid of is that a weak red could look pink. I don't want something too dark, because I want to maintain at least some of the original factory look. I'm not a fan of gold/bronze type colors either, especially on this vehicle with chrome trim on the doors, chrome grill in front, and chrome trim above the rear license plate. I don't want ultra reflective chrome wheels because I don't want anything flashy that will attract attention, and I don't want dull/matte chrome wheels, because I think metallic silver would look way better. So really, it boils down to what kind of silver, mixed with what (if anything), and is it worth it to powder instead of paint?

I've seen several plasti dip videos, but I'm not really familiar with the actual material. How does it hold up over time to ordinary wear and heat? Is it as resistant to scratches and dings as powder?

[ImStricken06]

no pic of the rash?

[DTASFAB]

no pic of the rash?

It's really minor and easy for any professional to fix. When it first happened, I was more concerned about knocking out the alignment than repairing the wheel, but I don't think there's anything to worry about there. I was waiting to turn left at a red light in the far left lane where both the left lane and second lane are left-turn only lanes. The guy to my right, who was turning left in the second lane, made too tight of a turn and pinched me. As I was navigating around the center island, the rear left wheel smacked into the side of the curb and slid forward as my car continued moving. I couldn't have been going more than 10-15 mph tops, and the wheel never got elevated onto the top of the curb, it just slid across the side. So my alignment is probably fine, and the damage to the wheel is minimal, but it's bad enough that I want to get it fixed. Even after over six weeks, it's the only scratch on the car. It's still otherwise perfect.

I really like this anodized matte red, but it probably wouldn't look good on my Frosted Steel Rogue.
http://0.static.wix.com/media/269a2d_e4 ... 8.jpg_1024
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/581 ... e140_b.jpg

Maybe I should forget about mixing a tinge of another color and just go with a darker, more metallic silver than came from the factory. This Johnny 5 looks like it might do the trick.
http://www.columbiacoatings.com/store/p ... ilver.aspx

[DTASFAB]

I got around to getting the wheels powder coated in October. All the silver-blue colors were too blue and not enough silver. Plus, I preferred a matte finish, but using any of the metallic blue choices that were easily and quickly available would have required a base coat with a glossy top coat for durability.

So then I asked about getting something with a grainier texture, and I was going for a gun metal color. I looked at a couple samples, and I thought the color would be like a dark gray that would be significantly lighter than the tires and significantly darker than the body paint.

When the work was finished, the texture came out fantastic, and I couldn't be happier with it. The color turned out a lot darker than I expected, almost black, and not significantly lighter than the tires. But the color has been growing on me, and I'm basically happy with the wheels as they are. They sparkle really nice in the sun. Kind of dull at night and when it's cloudy, but that's ok.

[ImStricken06]

looks good bro. nice work. makes me miss the plasti-dip on my wheels. i like the look.

[DTASFAB]

Oh I forgot I have a question... since I paid a good $500 to have the wheels powdered, I'm planning on only letting mechanics I trust to loosen and tighten the lug nuts by hand to remove the wheels.

When I was at the dealer yesterday for a new free battery under original BTB warranty, they did a full 30-something-point inspection that I did not ask for, nor would I have wanted them to bother if they'd asked before they did it.

The printout said they inspected the brakes, and all pads had over 7mm of pad remaining, which I would expect, since the vehicle only has 4400 miles right now. I asked them if they had to remove the wheels to measure the remaining depth on the pads, and they said no, and confirmed the wheels had not been removed. Is this plausible?

I'm afraid they removed and replaced the lug nuts with an air gun. The powder coating still looks perfect, so there's no damage from the air gun if they used one. But I'm still concerned that the lug nuts will be too tight and cause the rotors to warp prematurely. I can easily take it this week to my regular mechanic who I'm sure would be happy to loosen the lugs and tighten them by hand with a torque wrench if I throw him a few bucks. If there's any chance the dealer used an air gun and lied to me about it, I'd want to do this sooner rather than later to minimize damage to the rotors.

[ImStricken06]

all pads had over 7mm of pad remaining, which I would expect, since the vehicle only has 4400 miles right now. I asked them if they had to remove the wheels to measure the remaining depth on the pads, and they said no, and confirmed the wheels had not been removed. Is this plausible?

either they never checked your pads and are lying, hoping you wear out your rotors with bad pads.
or they are lying and did in fact remove your wheels.
-there is NO WAY to not remove the wheel, to check the pads

I'm still concerned that the lug nuts will be too tight and cause the rotors to warp prematurely.

that doesnt happen. lug-nuts that are on tight, wont warp the rotors at all. your brakes are floating. lugnuts that are too tight will damage the studs/cause them to snap off.

[followingnfront]

I dont like when dealerships do that crap (not taking off wheels and making up a measurement)....

Thise rims look good!

I will say that I am very happy with the way the rims/tires complement each other on the Rogue. I dont know if its an SUV thing or wwhat, but Im coming from sedans/coupes and this is my first SUV, and in the 12 months Ive had it, im happy to report not 1 scratch on any of my rims! The all around camera system helps too, but ive rubbed a sidewalk or 2 parking on the street and the rims just dont touch. The tires stick out ever so slightly and prevent that (at least with the 18" rims)... With a sedan (or a vehicle with rim faces that are more flush with the tires), if you even get close to a curb, youll have curbrash like crazy.

This comment was in no way towards you OP... Im just expressing how good it feels to not have new curb rash everytime I park... however, I think the SV rims are more flush than the SL rims which dont poke out so much from the tires.

[darylzero]

Nice choice on color! I think that looks damn good! You may want to plasti-dip the Nissan emblem in the middle.