Powedercoat vs Painted Wheels

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pingable

New member
Alrighty....I have not done a AB comparison on powdercoating vs. painted wheels but IS powdercoating THAT MUCH MORE DURABLE ?



If you are a wheel nut, and get metallurgy....similar to the concept of what happens when you chrome a wheel, it is often advised to not powdercoat wheels due to the bake process and actually it making the metal less strong.



I'm inclined to just have this particular set of wheels painted.



Let's hear your thoughts - opinions...
 
I think it's more durable. I have a lot of powdercoated parts on my bike and they don't scratch or chip as easy as the painted items.



As for the heat. I've seen wheels get red hot on a race track and never seen one fail. I can't imagine powdercoating a wheel will make it weaker. I've never seen a powdercoated wheel go flying off a car going down the road. LOL Maybe if you have a 900hp drag car you'd want to look into it more but you don't have anything to worry about.
 
Bob -



All the TOP forged wheel manuf. I know of specifically don't recommend having their wheels repowdercoated. Again, heat cycle is probably key and 350 degrees at 30 min max would be recommended comfort point if I had to have these wheels powdercoated...



Everyone does things differently. Some sandblast to prep, others bake to ~melt~..
 
They say you can bang together 2 pieces of metal that are powdercoated. Don't think you can do that with conventional paint.
 
chefwong said:
Bob -



All the TOP forged wheel manuf. I know of specifically don't recommend having their wheels repowdercoated. Again, heat cycle is probably key and 350 degrees at 30 min max would be recommended comfort point if I had to have these wheels powdercoated...



Everyone does things differently. Some sandblast to prep, others bake to ~melt~..
Click to expand...

Check out tjis thread on another forum about powdercoated wheels:



alloy wheel repair - Professional Auto Detailing Forums
 
I had 3 piece HRE rims powder coated and I was putting about 800+ RWHP... I think if there was any sign of weakness I would have seen it.
 
Hmmm...interesting info.



David Fermani- If you don't mind my asking, who would *you* send OE aluminum wheels to for cosmetic reconditioning?



I've had inconsistent results with the people I've used, and wouldn't mind finding somebody better.
 
HRE wheels are beautiful. I've had my fair share.



Right now, I am all about true forged wheels......pressed on a 8K lb forge press. Only 3-4 factories in the world can do a true 8K forged press.



HRE's (older styles) may have forged centers but their outers (3 piece) are just spun. There is no strength in them. They may work fine on great smooth roads like CA or FL, but NYC roads are not nice to $$ wheels.



There are tradeoffs in wheel design, and looks....



But for me moving forwards, I have been going the 8K lb pressed forged wheels. Cost a god awful mighty penny but there benefits to reap...





On one ride, I was sending at least 2 wheels back to HRE for repair every season...
 
Great Link David. Didn't even know Ron was on other boards posting.....



Alot of people just powdercoat wheels just ~cause~.



I'd like to walk into the situation as ~informed~ as possible. And yes, I have had wheels powdercoated in the past but these were wheels where I did not care as much about or were just winter wheels in which I wanted to switch up colors on them...



BBS, Volk, etc u name it. The same top dogs who uses the same factories that do the 8K press forge, do not recommend powdercoating at all....
 
I think it weakens some wheels based on the process. There's one set of base 350Z wheels that snaps pretty often after powdercoating, while I've never seen a case of the Rays(Volks) wheels that come with the upgraded package snap, and I know people who drag, track, and run over potholes with their powdercoated wheels.



I think it's dependent on the wheel, and it may not be a question of "if" powdercoating weakens it, just "how much" it does. Maybe on one wheel you'll lose 3% strength, while on another you'll lose 40%. Not sure. If you are going to do it, take it to a reputable shop and ask around about temperatures. I've heard of shops using anywhere from low 300's to mid 400's.
 
While temps and time do play a crucial role.......metallurgy will differ among manuf.



Awww f'it. I'm not going to play poker on this one.

Paint it is.
 
Accumulator said:
Hmmm...interesting info.



David Fermani- If you don't mind my asking, who would *you* send OE aluminum wheels to for cosmetic reconditioning?



I've had inconsistent results with the people I've used, and wouldn't mind finding somebody better.
Click to expand...



Wheels America



Out of the 4 places I've tried, Wheels America seem to be able to return wheels to OEM specs the best. They do both powdercoating and standard finishes and offer a lifetime guarantee. I've seen them do amazing repairs for $109. :up



chefwong said:
Great Link David. Didn't even know Ron was on other boards posting.....



Alot of people just powdercoat wheels just ~cause~.



I'd like to walk into the situation as ~informed~ as possible. And yes, I have had wheels powdercoated in the past but these were wheels where I did not care as much about or were just winter wheels in which I wanted to switch up colors on them...



BBS, Volk, etc u name it. The same top dogs who uses the same factories that do the 8K press forge, do not recommend powdercoating at all....
Click to expand...





I thought you'd enjoy that one. :chuckle:



Ron was the main reason why I visited that forum. He dropped of the face of the internet shortly after that thread and I stopped going there.
 
I dont have much to add about the powdercoating, but I did take a factory VW BBS wheel that got banged up pretty good in an accident and Wheels America repaired the wheel perfectly. Couldnt even tell which wheel got hit.
 
GeorgesBlazah said:
I dont have much to add about the powdercoating, but I did take a factory VW BBS wheel that got banged up pretty good in an accident and Wheels America repaired the wheel perfectly. Couldnt even tell which wheel got hit.
Click to expand...



Good to know! :clap:
 
the problem when dealing with structural integrity...and I'm not a pro but just a enthusiast is that each wheel will need a different temp (350-450) in order to get the powdercoat on right. Basically I'll be at the mercy of the guy doing the powdercoating....as much as I am picky/choosy about shops I use, I don't think I would risk underlying the sheer benefits of why I am running 8K lb forged wheels.



GRUMPY is the man......



And tires and wheels are a really bad obsession for me........
 
Yes and no....



"These wheels are powder-coated immediately after they are forged to protect the 'raw' exposed metal from any surface corrosion. This is also done to insure that the intense heat that is applied during powder-coating process does not affect the temper or strength of the wheel. (heat-treating a wheel outside of this small manufacturing window causes embrittlement and weakening of the aluminum alloy) Some companies farm this powder-coating phase out (to god knows where) weeks after the raw wheels have been made. (because it's a cheaper $$$ route) The quality control is usually very suspect from wheel-to-wheel by going this route."
 
The 20 inch wheels on my Mustang are powder coated...they dont seem to chip as easy as conventional paint. There is aguy in Ct who just does powder coating. It is very strong once done.
 
I had some 20 year old BBS wheels straightened and refinished. They were powder coated and look great. Cannot comment much on strength other than they have held up fine to bumps and potholes.



On a detailing note though, these wheels stay way cleaner that the old painted finish. It could just be the fresh finish, but nothing really sticks to theses wheels. I love it.
 
Wheels are one of those unkanny things I must know about and sure wish I had the time to source a metallurgist to field a scientific response.



This embrittlement that they speak of, as powder requires heat to melt....and the fact that on the molecular level, alum. gets brittle with age if not *reheat* are the primary causes for me to just consider paint.



It's my understanding that there are true *pros* out that use the the newer *tech* powdercoat that take more of a cold bake but I have let my fingers call all the top notch powdercoaters and in my ~interview~ , I've yet to find one that is telling me they have powder that will do a cold bake.



And yes, I have plenty of friends who have PC wheels at various pricepoint levels and they look the same as they did when they picked it up. On the scientific level, I can't allow myself to do it.



It's amazing the varying price range. The best guy in my area runs about $240 a wheel. Then there's a couple at $150-130 and, and others which range from $90 - $70. While price doesn't = quality.....I was amazed at the price spread out there...
 
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