tire shop scuffed my powder coated wheels
 

had an OEM set of wheels powder coated, not even a week old, installed today

upon close inspection it seems there are now scuffs in the hub and bolt areas (presumably from the balancer machine and air ratchet)

from what I read, touch up powder coating paint is available

1) should I return to the shop and complain? make the shop pay for this?

2) is the paint sufficient for covering up the metal wheel? didn't want unexpected rust to show up on those spots now

They should never damage the powdercoat. That's careless work. I would complain, but I would have specified when you brought them in that the wheels are powdercoated as powdercoating scrapes off pretty much just like paint does. But they should make it right.

I guess I never would have thought to say "don't scratch" when installing the new wheels. But even if I do get this resolved, is it an issue with powder coating around the lug nuts just taking the wheels off/on? Am I going to be touching up every time? I would have chromed them but I wanted something to withstand road salt better

Had this happen many times, usually by an amateur tire/lube mech..
Yes as long as you have proof that those are newly coated(receipt) The shop is liable for the damage. Take it back asap and speak to the manager, he should file a claim and repair.
In the future, use a thin wall socket for removal and installation.. DO NOT USE AN IMPACT OR IMPACT SOCKET!.. Hand tighten, drop on ground, and use a torque wrench when tightening in a star pattern. (103ft lbs)
http://www.hummerh3.auto-manual.org/.../parsin248.gif
If you dont have 1, torque wrenches are cheap at harbor freight (1/2" drive Torque range: 20-150 ft. lbs on sale right now for $15.99) GL

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_18368.jpg

thanks for the tip on wheel removal for the future

Once I hear back from the powder coater after the holiday weekend i'm going to return to the shop, I first wanted to find out from the shop just how the repair needs to take place. I really don't want to have to go through redo-ing all the wheels, I suppose the tire shop paying for the touch up paint might be sufficient. Most likely outcome, I'll get no relief from the shop unless I took them to small claims court...which I may do just to hammer home a point.

Don't be afraid to approach the manager/owner, and EXPECT them to fix or repair in the same condition as when you brought them there! Shops are insured, and if the damage is substantial they can turn it over to the insurance company for reimbursement. Small amount of damage comes out of the register..
What kind of shop is this? Independant or franchise?
I always take the time to deal with the customer's concern when they state that damage was done to their vehicle while in our possession.
Not good for business to have bad reviews, and most are from careless/incompetent individuals, however if the business makes it right, then most of the time, there is no bad review, sh*t happens kind of thing! GL

I'm hoping the business makes it right. My powder coater emailed me back and can order an exact match touch up pen. My goal is to have the tire shop cover the cost of the pen. To give you an idea of the damage caused, this is the spare tire wheel...you can see all the scuffing in the center:

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps4ca0e451.jpg

That is careless shotty work. If I was the tire shop owner I would not want my shop doing that kind of work and I would make it right with the customer. If I was the customer I would definitely go in and talk to the owner.

update- tire shop agreed to cover the cost of the touch up kit. Still waiting for a cost estimate from my powder coater for said kit. It was confirmed that the balancer machine likely cause the damage

That's great. You'll have to let us know how it turns out. I haven't used any of the touch up kits yet.