powder coating
 

has anyone powder coated their stock wheels? if so can you please post pics or post/neg comments of the process.

thank you in advance.

A few years back I had a set of after-market wheels (Sportec) powder coated. My experience was, although in theory powder coating is suppose to create a more durable, longer lasting finish than traditional paint, achieving excellent coverage was a problem. In fact, I noticed this to be the case with a number of wheel sets apart from my own. I guess it all comes down to the individual who is doing the work. Nevertheless, I can say from experience when it comes to painting wheels, I've had nothing but excellent results when using traditional painting methods.

Hello Dear,
Ya, I had tried it .Powder coating is good for your wheels. Powder Coating provides our wheel customers with a durable finish which resists cracking, peeling, fading, or marring. Powder Coating offers excellent uniformity without sags, drips, or other surface irregularities.

Not to belabor the topic, however, I've owned a few sets of wheels over the past few years ( Sportec, HRE, Champion ect...), and in each case the manufacturer recommended "paint" over powder coating in order to achieve perfect coverage and uniformity. I agree that powder coating has its virtues, however, when it comes to certain parts and objects such as wheels that have differing surfaces and sharp angles , it can be extremely difficult to get excellent coverage. Virtually every wheel set that I have seen over the years that was powder coated evidenced this problem. Specifically, signs of poor coverage in the area of the lug bolts, spokes, logos ect... In addition, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that one is limited by the choice of colors when it comes to powder coating as well. For example, black is black, red is red and so forth. I don't believe that factory paint codes, custom colors or subsequent shades thereof are available.

I had my stock 17in. "S" wheels powdercoated black about 7 months ago. I'm very happy with the results, completely transformed the look from the bland silver factory color. The only real downsides were the cost and the down time. Had to be without my baby for a week!

The biggest issue with powdercoating is losing the temper of the alloy when the wheel is baked to melt and flow the powder.

This can be downright DANGEROUS if your wheel fails from metal fatigue while under way.

It can be done, but only under strict conditions, conditions not likely found in a commercial operation.

The temp must be precisely controlled, meaning that the oven has to be in top shape so it keeps the temp steady in a narrow range. Also, the wheel must be slowly lowered to room temp. Many shops, due to time pressure, bake too hot and pull the wheels as soon as they have flowed the powder so they can run the next set through and this is what can hurt them.

:cheers: