Painting rims advice

[JetDriver05]

My Long Range Model 3 should arrive by May and my plan is to paint the rims black. I’ve had the rims painted on two other cars (Toyota and Honda) but I’m worried that there may be some “gotchas” with having someone paint the Tesla rims…just because it’s a Tesla and a completely new and different kind of vehicle.

Does anyone have any advice for or against having the rims painted? Any pitfalls to look for? Does Tesla have to recalibrate the wheels or anything else?

Does anyone have any recommendations for providers in the Houston area that can do a great job?

Thank you!

 

[Lindenwood]

No gotchas that I can imagine if you do what you did before.

 

[father_of_6]

In my M3LR 2021, the rims are already black. I keep the aeros on though because... it's a Tesla.

 

[RuffRidinNole]

I would powder coat them rather paint. I have powder coated rims on cars before and it looks great! You can do gloss or matte but personally the matte black powder coat look I find the best!

 

[JetDriver05]

Thank for the replies.

I was thinking powder coat instead of paint as well. I’ve never had anything powder coated so I don’t know much about it.

I’m just not too excited about leaving my brand new Tesla with a tire shop right now!

 

[Lindenwood]

Powder coating is certainly a better long-term solution, but even good paint (which won’t chip during normal use) might cost dozens of dollars with good paint can still be undone with a sandblaster. Therefore, it is a good method for seeing if you like a color (Glock vs matte black…bronze..gunmetal…etc) before spending hundreds on powder coating.

 

[MLXXXp]

Any pitfalls to look for?

The wheels on picture of your car on the touchscreen and in the app will still show the original color!
(You can customize the color of the exterior body paint but not the wheels.)