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Powder coating

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David_Doan

Jedi Warrior
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Thinking of getting my wheels powder coated. Found one place in Dallas that charges about $50 a wheel.

Anyone done this?

Any locals recommend a powder coater?

As y'all have probably noticed, I'm usually pretty cheap, but this seems worth it to have bullet proof wheels. No issues with brake fluid, etc..

I know some will say to just buy mags, but i love the classic look of the steel wheels.


David
 
I have a friend who wanted to powder coat his wheels ( not a Spridget) and the company said no because they couldn't get deep enough on the joints where the inner and out wheel are connected. Would look nice though.
 
I used Dupli-color wheel paint $ 6 per can. Lets say you need two cans $12. Touch up any time. I love powdercoating. I have a HF unit that works great for any item I can fit in my small oven. But $200 to do the wheels and if I damage the coating, removing a tire or hitting a curb I can touch them up any time. What I wish I could have coated was my heater box. What a pain to paint! 2353120374_16c4ebb278.jpg
 
David
One P.S. if your price includes sandblasting the old rims, it is a really good deal.
 
Yes. That includes blasting.

I tried the duplicolor wheel paint. Was not happy with the finish. It was too hot that day. I'm mostly tired of messing with the wheels. Powder coat would just be done. And I don't have to clean them down to metal again.
 
If the rims are in good shape, go for it! Only 24 hrs in a day and you have plenty of work painting the car yet.
 
David, this is going to sound like a pita, but make VERY sure your wheels are in great shape, round, no run out, etc. before moving ahead. It's an even bigger pita to find out after you spend the money, mount the tires, balance, etc. to discover they are out of round or worse.
Rut
 
Rut said:
David, this is going to sound like a pita, but make VERY sure your wheels are in great shape, round, no run out, etc. before moving ahead. It's an even bigger pita to find out after you spend the money, mount the tires, balance, etc. to discover they are out of round or worse.
Rut
Click to expand...

Wheels are in excellent condition, I have been driving on them for 2 years.
 
David, that's good to hear! In that case I would move forward with your project, either powder coat or paint...I love the look of original wheels. My preference is for paint and Duplicolor has always treated me well. I understand your experience with Duplicolor was not so good, but its the best rattle can paint I've used.
Good luck, Rut
 
I just had 4 Minilites powdercoated. The guy I used does nothing but wheels. He soakes them for 24 hrs. in power steering fluid to remove all paint, grime etc. He also checks them for roundness. His mounting machine never touches the front of the wheel.
Cost, stripped, coated, mounting and balancing, is closer to $135/ea, but the result was worth it.New Wheels.JPG
 
I am not sure if you are still considering it, but I did it myself. It was definitely a lot of work. Besides blasting, I used a brush with phosphoric acid to coat where the pieces come together. I powder coated them with argent silver, and also purchased the matching paint from Eastwood. I sanded in between and then gave it a second coat. I couldn't tell if how well I coated where the two pieces came together, so I used a small brush to coat this area, and wiped out the excess. It is not obvious I did this. It has been 2 years, and my wheels look as good as the day I finished them. I can definitely see why they charge so much.
 
My wheels are powder coated on my BE and I am constantly getting compliments at car shows. I would have it done and enjoy the look.
Charlie
 
Everything in this photo was powder coated by myself in a small oven (sorry it is all TR stuff :devilgrin:) using a HF powder coat system and Eastwood powder coat. It is easier than paint, no primer and dry when cooled out of the oven. Prep is the most important part of the job. 4242136200_c2a3b5369a_z.jpg
 
Prep is the key!!
To do wheels, you need a diptank. The guy I used had a 12: buffing/polishing wheel mounted on an arm over a wheel vise, as well as 4-5 other specialty machines.
I asked about other parts, and he only does wheels.
https://www.firstplacewheels.com/
I don't think you could copy this in your garage.
 
David, I painted the wheels on an older RX7 and the mounted the tires with a machine that did not damage or really touch the wheels. It's been awhile and I think they are fairly common.
Rut
 
David,
When I bought my '69 about 10 years ago, the original steel wheels looked shabby. As part of my work to fix up the car, I pulled the wheels and inspected them for flaws. They had a couple of flat spots on them from obvious 'chug' hole episodes. Not terrible, but noticeable.
As part of the clear up, I washed them down (multiple times) in Simple Green/water, then sprayed them with brake cleaner, then Simple Green again to get rid of all the leaked brake fluid/road grime/gunk/etc that was on them. After this, I used a handy-dandy Harbor Freight blast cabinet and did a media blasting on them to remove all traces of old original paint that was on them. I then cleaned them again and put them in an electric oven to insure that they were good and dry. I then used my little Eastwood powder coat kit with the silver/chrome powder and redid them myself. All this really only took me a day (maybe part of the next) to do all of the rims and to let them cure.

I have been really happy with the refinished originals and polished up hubcaps, even though I would like to get a set of minilites someday.

This wasn't all that hard to do, so if you think you are wanting to go this way, I say 'go for it'!

Larry
 
I appreciate all the input and guidance. I decided just to clean them up again and paint them for now. If I change my mind, its easy to fix later. The $$$ needs to go towards parts to finish up the car.

I had done some experimental painting on them before with mixed results, now I know how/what I want to do. I used a few iterations of paint remover and pressure washing to get most of the paint off, then finished with a wire wheel. Here’s one that is ready for paint:

DSC_1374.JPG
 
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