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I had / have bed rails made for my truck from aluminum stock , I then had them powder coated. The rails are very durable and show very little wear and tear after two year of use .
I had these wheels ($80 for the set off CL with no damage) below powder coated a few years back and they still look new. Here is what I was told and if what I'm sharing is wrong, then someone will correct me before the ink can dry. I went with a matte black finish versus a gloss black finish on the wheels. I was told that the matte black finish can be repaired from a scratch (without redoing the entire wheel) such that you couldn't tell it had been repaired unless you got up on it, if then. On the gloss finish, it would be harder to hide that scratch repair. Therefore, you'd most likely need to have the wheel completely redone if the gloss finish wheel got scratched. Is that true? I don't know because I've never had to take the provider up on it. My shop did provide a lifetime warranty against defects, but I've not had to take them up on that guarantee either. I put black lug nut covers on there until I could swap out with black Gorilla lug nuts. May end up selling those Gorilla lug nuts because I like the covers just fine and I don't have to be concerned about corrosion. Swollen lug nuts can potentially be an issue. So, I guess we'll see on that front. Hope this helps.
I had these wheels ($80 for the set off CL with no damage) below powder coated a few years back and they still look new. Here is what I was told and if what I'm sharing is wrong, then someone will correct me before the ink can dry. I went with a matte black finish versus a gloss black finish on the wheels. I was told that the matte black finish can be repaired from a scratch (without redoing the entire wheel) such that you couldn't tell it had been repaired unless you got up on it, if then. On the gloss finish, it would be harder to hide that scratch repair. Therefore, you'd most likely need to have the wheel completely redone if the gloss finish wheel got scratched. Is that true? I don't know because I've never had to take the provider up on it. My shop did provide a lifetime warranty against defects, but I've not had to take them up on that guarantee either. I put black lug nut covers on there until I could swap out with black Gorilla lug nuts. May end up selling those Gorilla lug nuts because I like the covers just fine and I don't have to be concerned about corrosion. Swollen lug nuts can potentially be an issue. So, I guess we'll see on that front. Hope this helps.
I have no reason to doubt what your powder coater told you about the scratch repair, I just hate matte black wheels. They always look dirty. I had some matte black wheels on my last F150. I have these wheels on my current F150, just stock color. I think they're a great looking wheel no matter the color.
I had / have bed rails made for my truck from aluminum stock , I then had them powder coated. The rails are very durable and show very little wear and tear after two year of use .Attachment 563844
Another reason I went with the matte black finish is because there are several exterior trim pieces and other items with a similar matte black finish. I like the contrast between gloss and matte on my almost totally black exterior. So, some of my decisions were predicated upon a blacked out look. Though, doubt I would've gone a different direction, regardless of truck color, given the amount of matte black exterior pieces. It's all in the eye of the beholder, so choose what you like. Fortunately, there is no shortage of stock wheels to choose from, dating back to 2004 IIRC.
I had a set of Raptor wheels powdercoated gloss black. Cost me $300 total. They were done back in 2017 and I ran them on my 2013 for 3 years.
I then swapped them to my 2018 when I bought it in well, 2018.
I ran them on my 2018 until earlier this year when I replaced with Methods and larger tires. Powdercoat held up great for the 5 years I ran the wheels. They made it through the Pittsburgh winters and numerous car washes just fine. Couple of scratches from lug nuts, but nothing serious enough to worry about for me.
