[jayooo]

Hi all,

So I have a wheel refurb booked in next week due to slight kerbing on the NSF wheel, but in the back of my mind is the thought of getting the whole set done in OEM ferric grey instead (mine are silver)...

What are other peoples thoughts? Obviously getting the whole lot done ferric will cost a fair bit more, is ferric powder coated or painted?

If the consensus is to go ferric grey, I would appreciate recommendations of where to get this done in the Warrington or North West area please as all I keep reading about is nightmare after nightmare with trying to match the OEM colour/paint code. I definitely do not want them too dark/anthracite.

This is what the car looks like now...

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

Thanks

James

[Rich_D]

Ferric grey MV3's always look better than silver IMO and in particular I think they look great on a black car.

As for recommendations, I have my E39 M5 wheels done by this place >>> http://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/...ns/manchester/

Superb job, had them done on the OEM shadow chrome, would use them again.

[jayooo]

Thanks Rich, submitted my details on their website for a quote, came back instantly at £384 and that's silver, I couldn't specify ferric grey in the automated quote system.

More than I want to spend really but if that's the going rate I may just keep them silver!

[Rich_D]

That's expensive, I only paid £330 for the M5 wheels and shadow chrome is more work!

[jayooo]

Might give them a call in that case and see if there is any "haggle" room..!

[MAN15H]

Defo nice to get a colour change on these wheels.

Here's a pic of mine.

[mr_mason]

ima big fan of the ferric grey... look amazing when clean.

heres mine:




my issue is that its paint and not powder coat, and all 4 of my wheels have paint peel which gets worse evertime i pressure wash the wheels. bad times.

[MattOz]

I believ there are 2 versions of Ferric Grey. I think mine were done in A80, which is Ferric Grey 1, from what I remember. It's much more bronze in appearance than the usual grey. Suited Sapphire Black very well IMO

[mr_mason]

^^^ learn something new everyday.

believe mine are A80 from the factory, will try to get another pic tomorrow, defo dont look at bronze are yours tho mate.

[pmmcbl]

Here is mine.
I used a colour from the current Range Rover exterior colours.

[jayooo]

Some great looking cars there gents, thanks all for the responses.

MattOz - I actually spotted your car during my searches for pics of Sapphire Black with Ferric grey, I agree it does look quite bronze and does suit the car well, although I was under the impression A80 was the code for the OEM sport plus ferric grey, evidently not..!

Just need to find a place that can do an OEM equivalent job at a reasonable cost...

Open to more suggestions of a place that can do this around my area (North West).

[Aragorn30d]

My 2p.

Dont mess around with powdercoat.

Get the wheels properly painted in the color you want, and a decent robust 2k clear applied on top. Factory wheels are painted. If the paints peeling off then the painter has done a crappy job.

My brothers car has its wheels painted in BMW Sepang Bronze which looks amazing. I've just painted my winter wheels in Land Rover Nara Bronze which also looks really smart, and is a bit different to the usual greys people use. Not on the car yet though, so no pics of them.

Pick a car color you like, and go with that. Speak to a few local bodyshops, if they cant do it themselves, they'll be able to suggest places that can, and expect to pay around £200-250 for the set.

[jayooo]

Thanks Aragorn,

I am in agreement that I have a preference of 2k rather than powder coat, I was just unsure if the factory ferric grey was still paint, or whether it was a powder coat finish, so that clears that up.

£200-250 is also far more reasonable than the 1 quote I have had, and if I can find a place at this price I will probably get them done. Will enquire with bodyshops locally over the next few days.

On another note - Is A80 100% the correct paint code for the OEM ferric? I seem to be getting quite varied colours in pictures despite all posts stating they gave A80 as the code to the bodyshop/refurb place.

Is there a specific process that needs to be followed with this colour, different undercoat colour with A80 on top to get the factory colour for example, or is it just a case of give A80 and take your chances with the end colour?

[Aragorn30d]

Ferric Grey is A80
Ferric Grey 2 is B55.

If you find your local Auto Paint supplier, they should have a book of paint chips which will show you the color. Your local bodyshops might have the chips too.

I got a set of wheels done by a place in preston a few years ago.

I gave them the color code, and the bloke said that because it was powder, it wouldnt be metallic, and would be a flat version of the color. He did warn me that it may or may not look like i expect as the metallic flake really changes how a color looks.

Perhaps that explains the differences, the flatter grey colors are perhaps wheels people have had powdercoated rather than painted?

[jayooo]

That does explain the differences thank you, hadn't thought of the possibilities of people powdercoating A80 (if its possible) which would, I assume, give a different colour finish...

Will ask for the chips when I visit a few places over this week and compare.

Time to do some Googling for differences between A80 and B55, although I think B55 was a 2012 colour so in the aim of keeping it OEM an E90 probably never left the factory with B55?

[MattOz]

jayoo,

Mine (above) were painted and not powdercoated. Finish was very good.

Matt

[ahmedb]

Yep, watch out for the Ferric Grey and Ferric Grey II as the 2nd generation ferric grey is more grey/anthracite.

These were powdercoated ferric grey (bronzier version):



and these I bought off Matt and of course they were painted



They both looked equally as good when they were cleaned up. I got a bargain on my powdercoated set which only cost me £120 to refurb the set. It was a place in the Midlands however. I think they usually charge around £180 for the set which is still reasonable.

[AlanYoro35i]

bloody hell, i got charge £280 for a set in london, and that was the cheapest i've found in a 30 radius!

[david in germany]

Awesome thread guys. I was pondering having my m193s painted on my Saphire Black e90. this thread helps a lot!

[thesanchez]

Originally Posted by ahmedb

Yep, watch out for the Ferric Grey and Ferric Grey II as the 2nd generation ferric grey is more grey/anthracite.

These were powdercoated ferric grey (bronzier version):



and these I bought off Matt and of course they were painted



They both looked equally as good when they were cleaned up. I got a bargain on my powdercoated set which only cost me £120 to refurb the set. It was a place in the Midlands however. I think they usually charge around £180 for the set which is still reasonable.

Bit of a thread revival but what was the name of the place that you got your wheels refurbed at?

[ahmedb]

Originally Posted by thesanchez

Bit of a thread revival but what was the name of the place that you got your wheels refurbed at?

Midlands Alloy Wheel Refurbishments Ltd.

They are actually doing a 35% off promotion for January, they e-mailed me on 06/01/16 with that offer which expires 3101/16.

I would have taken advantage of the deal myself but I've got diamond cut 313's at the moment and they wont do the 35% off with diamond cutting.

[mjn77]

Go crazy get them done in green or orange!

Not white though, they only stay clean for 10 mins