Powder coating wheels

[saleen367]

A quick side note. I don't care for satin or flat finish on wheels unless its part of the overall design of the car.

Having said that, I bought a used set of Apex 18 x 11 EC-7's in satin black. The same satin black I'm not fond of on my 19" set. So, I brought them to a powder coating shop that's in the area of my work. Asked about a price for gloss black, was quoted $200 for the set and off I went.

Now from what I know about the process of powder coating, you are supposed to strip the wheel via chemical or sandblasting 1st before you start. Often times, they do what is referred to as out gassing and then they apply the powder.

So I got the call they were done, picked them up and opened one box (original wheel boxes) and was really disappointed at the result. Sure, from a distance they look fine. But up close, there is a ton of dirt in the powder and irregular surfaces throughout some of the wheel. It was pretty obvious to me they coated right over the satin paint that Apex puts on the wheel. Stickers still present on the outside of the barrel and while I expect the outside to not be perfect (they have to hang them somehow), the sticker revealed to me that they never removed the old material 1st.

Does anyone have experience with powder and what kind of finish should I be expecting? I'll add a couple photos.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Prep is everything whether it's painting or powder coating. The wheels that I've seen powder coated look much better than that. IMO, if they are on a track car, just go run them and don't worry. I'm not trying to be negative here, but I'd bet that coating starts to peel off in a year. At that point, take them to a reputable guy.

 

[EF1]

Prep is everything whether it's painting or powder coating. The wheels that I've seen powder coated look much better than that. IMO, if they are on a track car, just go run them and don't worry. I'm not trying to be negative here, but I'd bet that coating starts to peel off in a year. At that point, take them to a reputable guy.

I agree. The wheels that I have seen from a local powder coater look close to perfect. They strip everything before coating, but are closer to $300 for a set. I am waiting for warmer weather to have my factory Brembo wheels recoated. They are pretty beat up at this point and I would like to keep them for the street.

 

[TMSBOSS]

I had a set of Enkei wheels powdercoated. They did not offer black when I bought. The powder coater did blast the wheels. There were a few spots he didn't like so he did them over. Each wheel had a half dozen white spots, looked like pin holes, from the powder used. He blasted these and re did them.
From the photos you have, I would suspect a scuff and coat happened, no blasting.

 

[PatrickStapler]

I would agree. They appear to have some trash in them. However, I think it’s hard to tell with internet pics.

Case in point, pics of my car look pretty good online. However, in person I can see every flaw.

 

[saleen367]

Yeah, the pictures don't show the true story. Lighting, angle and camera quality all effect it. I would agree Blacksheep ... these will start peeling by the end of the season.

I even told the coater, I could have gotten the same results myself in my garage with a rattle can. I'm still waiting to hear if he plans to fix them or shrug it off.

Thanks for chiming in guys.

 

[TMSBOSS]

My guy did good work. I would have settled for a few bucks off but he had already started blasting to recoat before I knew the issues with first attempt. 6 years later, still solid work.

 

[blacksheep-1]

1 more thing, next time you have them coated, mask the bead area and leave that part sandblasted. It will help prevent tire rotation on the wheel, as well as keeping the tire on at low temperatures

 

[TymeSlayer]

Anyone with interest in marketing their brand will do the right prep work and make sure the finish is great. You will be charged accordingly. Anything else is a crapshoot.

 

[Hye Power]

200 is cheap most quotes ive received are 400-500 but include all the prep work you mentuioned and some shops include dismount trie and remoount and balance after.

 

[saleen367]

200 is cheap most quotes ive received are 400-500 but include all the prep work you mentuioned and some shops include dismount trie and remoount and balance after.

I would agree it was cheap, but as a consumer asking for a price, I didn't consider that there were levels of quality and none were offered. Last I knew to properly powdercoat, there are steps to the process. And yes, its pretty obvious those steps were not followed.

 

[TMSBOSS]

I had mine done for $48 a wheel. Great results.

 

[saleen367]

trying to post a short video but not having luck

 

[PatrickStapler]

Did you try posting it to YouTube and pasting the link here? Remove the s from https:

 

[Jbrad]

Glad to know there is other people running powder coated wheels. Its the old debate on the heat from powder coating making the wheels brittle or not. I talked to my guy and he said they coat the wheels with less than 400 degrees so it gave me piece of mind.

Anyone seen any wheel failure due to powdercoated wheels?

 

[saleen367]

Update;

I was finally able to get the wheels back to the coater so he could see the poor quality first hand. He wholeheartedly agreed that the wheels did not turn out as he was told by his employee.

So he agreed to media blast everything bare and re-coat them in the next week or so. He was very understanding in person, so perhaps he was being told one thing by an employee and not understanding why I was unhappy.

I will come back and post a picture once they are done.

 

[saleen367]

Glad to know there is other people running powder coated wheels. Its the old debate on the heat from powder coating making the wheels brittle or not. I talked to my guy and he said they coat the wheels with less than 400 degrees so it gave me piece of mind.

Anyone seen any wheel failure due to powdercoated wheels?

I was told by Apex that the process of powder coating voids the warranty on the wheel. Having said that, since I am not the orginal purchaser, I had no warranty to begin with, so I took a chance. Apex said the baking process stresses the metal, but I've never heard of a failure due to being powder coated. I'm sure they are out there.

 

[PatrickStapler]

I believe it is more of a stress reliever. That being said, the stress releiveing process could in fact uncover or create possible problems with the castings which in turn could lead to a failure.

 

[Tonymustang302]

My guy did good work. I would have settled for a few bucks off but he had already started blasting to recoat before I knew the issues with first attempt. 6 years later, still solid work.

who did you use?

 

[TMSBOSS]

A guy in Malta. Yep, only industrial building in the town.