Painting/Powder coating wheels

[stevan]

hey all,

I have some Regemaster Evo wheels that are in need of refinishing and i was just keen to hear some opinions on powdercoaing of forged wheels? i am aware that powder coating could potentially undo the heat treatment during manufacture but i couldnt find the metullurgy details of the regemasters to see what temp and duration they were cured at.

Only reason i ask is because i am being stuffed aroud by wheel painters trying to rip me off for a very basic job (got quoted $600 at one place for plain gloss white....)

What do you guys think, and does anyone reccomend wheel painters in sydney they were happy with?

thanks guys

[l__i__l]

forget powdercoating

are you wanting the same colour?

just get the front face painted

the rest is only going to turn black

[ChargeR]

^ As above. And it doesn't just apply to forged wheels either, many cast wheels or rolled rims would also be heat treated so I see no reason to put any aluminium wheel in an oven.

[etherealfall]

forget powdercoating

are you wanting the same colour?

just get the front face painted

the rest is only going to turn black

That's a good point. And wouldn't be terribly time consuming either.

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[stevan]

forget powdercoating

are you wanting the same colour?

just get the front face painted

the rest is only going to turn black

^ As above. And it doesn't just apply to forged wheels either, many cast wheels or rolled rims would also be heat treated so I see no reason to put any aluminium wheel in an oven.

Yeh thanks for the input guys i won't be throwing them in an oven i just wanted another opinion on the matter

I am just looking around for the right people to paint them without charging me and arm and a leg

[cordz]

Is it really that much of an issue for wheels?

I know they effectively absorb energy and thus do heat up, but i can't see them being "compromised" from oven baking.

But i do second that you find and compare paint curing temperature against initial heat cure temp, maybe just to be "safe".

I got my wheels powder coated at North Shore Powder Coating. Good blokes, but not very transparent with pricing as i wanted. Cost me $440 with sandblasting (outsourced) to get my wheels done in Gloss black.

[TOU93]

Powder coast is usually ~180-200 degreesC usually, i don't think that will worry a properly heat forged rim. If you track your car the heat soak from the brakes/rotors will be way hotter than powder coating.

[stevan]

Is it really that much of an issue for wheels?

I know they effectively absorb energy and thus do heat up, but i can't see them being "compromised" from oven baking.

But i do second that you find and compare paint curing temperature against initial heat cure temp, maybe just to be "safe".

I got my wheels powder coated at North Shore Powder Coating. Good blokes, but not very transparent with pricing as i wanted. Cost me $440 with sandblasting (outsourced) to get my wheels done in Gloss black.

For forged wheels from an engineering perspective yes it is, the wheels are exposed for hours to these high temperatures so there is a risk that the metal grain can be altered and cause the wheel to become brittle. Its just a case of the actual mathematics behind it, ie the magnitude and duration of the temps of the oven and annealing of the metal itself which was my original query.

Lot of debate on other forums about this topic

TBH with the price of these wheels i don't want to risk any possibility of weakening the metal, just need to find a good place to have them painted!!

[munkaii]

Or how about be beast and sand it back to metal and polish!

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[stevan]

Kevin i could not ever be bothered with maintaining a polished wheel, it will just get tar thrown all over it from my roads, White will be much easier to keep clean >.< haha

[cordz]

Powder coast is usually ~180-200 degreesC usually, i don't think that will worry a properly heat forged rim. If you track your car the heat soak from the brakes/rotors will be way hotter than powder coating.

this!!

[stevan]

Email i received from craved coatings...

"Hi Stevan, mate the 200 degrees is not enough to damage a cast metal, your brakes will transmit similar temps into the wheels under heavy use so I dont see how it could cause any problems."

[l__i__l]

ah the age old response...fatigue results?

ask him what chemicals and materials he uses in the prep/cleaning stages

[ChargeR]

Agree with that guy ^. Would you ask a homeless person in the street about the effects of putting a heat treated aluminium alloy wheel in an oven for a few hours? Because their opinion would be about as relevant as some random powdercoating guy.

[andrew84tran]

Hey mate, saw your other thread and noticed you got the wheels repainted. Lookin good. Outta curiosity, which method did you end up using to paint the wheels?