TR6 Powdercoating TR6 wheels

I don't know if this is the approriate place for this topic, but I need some help. I decided to powdercoat my wheels. I sandblasted each wheel with fine abrasive. I used a bright light and maginifying lens to check for rust. Once I was satisfied the wheel was free of any rust, I preheated my wheels. I then coated them with two coats of powder paint. I sanded with 400 grit paper in between coats. I was quite happy at the time with the way they turned out. The problem? There are four areas on my wheels (the TR6 wheels are similar to TR3, 4 and 250) where the center is attached to the outside section. I thought I had powdercoated these wheel areas well. When my new tires were put on the wheels, they submerged the wheels in water. After a few days of sitting in my house, I notice some small tell-tale areas of rust where the two parts join. I'm pretty sick about this. What could I have done different to ensure this area was covered better? Any tips would greatly be appreciated.
Kevin

hydrocloric acid bath prior to powder coat could have helped some.

Phosphoric works well on rust but I've been cautioned not to use it after blasting because of the all the minute pores caused by blasting can trap the acid. I do it anyway and wash it well with brake cleaner then soap and water after blasting, blow it off with air. Then a drying cycle in the oven or sun.

It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. At this point I would use some phosphoric in the cracks, then clean off with brake cleaner and touch up with a detail brush with matching paint. After you don't see it for a while, you'll forget about it.

I would consider two possibilities.

1. did you touch the surface of the metal with your bare hands after you cleaned the metal? The oils in your skin can cause poor adhesion. don't ask me how I know.

2. you should use a good quality metal cleaning prep. like metal wash. These are weak phosphoric acid solutions.

also, pre-heat won't hurt but is usually not necessary unless you are coating a poreous metal like a casting.

I wear latex gloves under my leather gloves so that my skin never touches the metal wheel, even when I am taking off my leather gloves to move them. The area I am talking about would not be an area I would normally come into contact with. After I blasted it the first time, I flowed some phosphoric acid into this area. I then blasted the outside of this area again after it dried. The real problem was getting powder paint into this area. I spoke with a tech at Eastwood today, and he said I should have sprayed the powder while the wheel was still hot from preheating -especially because of these hard to reach areas. I am not so sure this would have helped, but I am going to try it on my spare wheel I have still not blasted yet. In the meantime, I dripped phosphoric acid back into these areas on the wheels I already completed. Eastwood has matching conventional paint (not sure if it is acrylic laquer or enamel) that I can use a small brush to flow the paint in with.

I'm sure that they will be fine. You did a great job in the prep, so don't let it bug you.

These cars have away of getting you to forget the truly minor stuff after a while.

Don't ask me how I know that to be true........