Powdercoating V Spraying

[carbers205 1]

Hi guys, had a good look round this afternoon and there doesnt seem to be a thread that discusses the benefits of powder coat over spraying (or vice versa!)

Ive got a set of 18s for my 635csi project which need a good seeing to! Am getting them blasted tomorrow but am unsure where to go after that. Ive done a few sets of wheels with cans myself and Ive been pleased with them but Im aware this is a different level of car altogether and that they need to be perfect!

My local spray guy has said powdercoat can chip and leave big bits missing, while the blast guy is promoting powdercoat as being less prone to scratching up. I suspect the powdercoat will be quite a bit more expensive but Im also aware of its ability to coat complex surfaces more easily.

So, what do we all think, spray or powder?

 

Cheers

Andy

[ham149 0]

when i had my last set of alloys on my old astra done they were acid dipped then powder coated and finally sprayed the right colour i could not flaw them at all. need to do my main car now lol

[pugpete1108 62 1 Cars]

i am looking to have a set of 17's for my xsara done in black and was also wondering the same.

 

i would assume the powdercoating would be tougher but appearance wise i'm not so sure as sometimes powdercoating can look quite dimply and not very smooth (does it depend on layers applied?)

 

it would be interesting to see.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I've seen mixed results with powdercoating, one problem which I suffered from with a set of wheels done by a well known and expensive Midlands company was the lacquer coming off in big sheets. Said company did not want to know when I complained. A good friend of mine had a set of wheels done at the same place at the same time I did, he also had the same problem.

 

I did my own wheels for my car, prepped them, acid etch primer which bonds properly to the alloy meaning it hopefully will not come off, then 2 pack silver and then 2 pack lacquer, lots of coats. I'm pleased with them, and 12 months later they seem to be holding up well, and still come up like new.

 

[mickie 3]

2k paint out of a spray gun will always have a better finish and last longer than paint out of a can..

 

i'd rather paint wheels

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Yes I'd definitely agree with you on that one. The ones in the pic above were done with my spraygun.

[hcmini1989 16]

i was always lead to beleive that powder coating was harder wearing than spray paint thats why it is used on things like motorbike frames ,wheels etc

 

have you thought about anodizing rather than the above might be worth a look

[matthewm 1]

I sprayed a pile of wheels white 2pac with my spray gun, looked great to start with, but got ruined by brake dust very quickly. On evidence of friends' wheels decided to have 2 wheels blasted and powder coated white - under the impression that I could just blast them with a jet wash and rub with a rag and they'd come up like new, however after two events they are a swine to clean up and the powder coating is cracking off, so personally I'm not impressed at all.

Apparently some places heat the wheels, apply powder, then bake, which is a lot better than applying powder to cold wheels and then baking..

[swordfish210 20]

I had my speedlines powdercoated about 4 years ago now and they're still looking good. I would allways choose powdercoating over spraying if i had the choice as i prefer the finish and the resistance to wear and corrosive substances.

[SurGie 54]

The thing with powder coating is the area where the wheel bolts up to the hub can crack and peel, which can then make the bolts loose and wheels have been known to have fallen off. So make sure the flat part of the alloy bolt holes area is free of coating.

 

Alloy wheel protector wax will sort out the brake dust problem as long as each wheel has had 4 coats. When i did mine it took me ages to do, but very worth

it.

Edited February 15, 2010 by SurGie

[Mongo 0]

As long as you get all the imperfections taken out of the wheel, and the wheel is absolutely spotless with nothing left over on it and no corrosive areas left, powdercoating will probably outlast painting. I say probably because as soon as you get your wheels chipped with powdercoating, it will get underneath and start to peel and flake off. You cant really touch powdercoated materials up as well as painted, this is why i said if you dont get the wheel perfect in prep, go for painting.

 

I have had numerous alloys and motorbike wheels done. Painting has always lasted longer for me on bike wheels, because its really difficult to get into alot of the centres, powdercoating starts to go there then spreads quite rapidly. So i always paint mine:

 

[carbers205 1]

Wow this has provoked a great response, thanks guys!

Again its revealed pros and cons for both methods, I know the prep is very important hence why Im getting them blasted tomorrow.

At the moment having read all this Im erring on the side of going with what I know, and that is paint. I may still even do them myself depending on my sprayers timescales.

Either way I feel happier I can make a decision now.

Watch this space, Ill update shortly.

[GeorgeXS 32]

i was always lead to beleive that powder coating was harder wearing than spray paint thats why it is used on things like motorbike frames ,wheels etc

 

have you thought about anodizing rather than the above might be worth a look

 

I thought you couldn't really anodize cast aluminium, something about the porousity (sp?) of the surface doesnt agree with it?

[dcc 855]

I used to own a paintball gun which i had annodized. It costs a f*cking fortune.

[DRTDVL 4 1 Cars]

did you guys get your wheels etched before the powdercoating was applied?

[swordfish210 20]

did you guys get your wheels etched before the powdercoating was applied?

 

No idea, just dropped them off at the shop, picked them up the next day.

[Lewis205mi 1]

I read a thread over on scooby net were owners were complaining that there wheels had cracked after being powder coated, some thing to do with the heat changing the alloys propertys.

 

I suppose speedlines are fairly beefy in construction compared to light weight wheels such as Oz superleggeras etc, so maybe this wouldn affect them as much.

 

 

 

Lewis

[carbers205 1]

I had a really interesting conversation with a guy who does both professionally this morning and, though a wet sprayer by trade, he would go powdercoat every time.

The reason for this is its so much more hardwearing. He actually uses a combination of powder and paint to get the finish perfect - powder base, 2k over then a powder clear to seal.

Apparently the main reason for powdercoat cracking is if its been applied too thick. If it goes on thinly and in a controlled manner then the finish should last for a long time.

[hcmini1989 16]

I thought you couldn't really anodize cast aluminium, something about the porousity (sp?) of the surface doesnt agree with it?

im unsure about this mate you might be right i have only ever seen bike wheels done rather than car wheels.there is a company that do the bike wheels and there not that dear probably about the same price as having it powdercoated just they rob you on relacing the wheel

[Rippthrough 98]

It's the silicon content and crap left over in the surface of the alloy from the casting, without some serious preperation work the colour just goes a blotchy brown/grey. Bike wheels are usually forged these days, or a damn sight better casting than our old car wheels so they can save a bit more weight.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Rippthrough

[2-Pugs 57]

The other issue with anodising is that the hardness and quality of the anodised layer that you end up with is very dependant upon the particulars of the anodising process being just right, and also the quality of the base material you are anodising. If you have microscopically crappy aluminium alloy which is too soft, and/or the anodising process has not been optimised, then you can end up with a somewhat soft anodised layer which can also look pretty poor. Neither of which are the desired result!

[Paintguy 0]

You probably won't be surprised to see me recommending paint.

 

Both methods have pro's and con's, and neither will last long unless done properly (with the prep work being particularly important), but the finish left by a 'wet' paint system is generally better than a powder one, and resistance to flaking once chipped is much better too. If you really want to go the extra mile, I'd suggest a 2 step approach similar to the one in carbers post. Powder coating the primer ensures perfect coverage, then wet finishing gives the best looks.

 

If you're doing everything with paint, the bare metal needs to be cleaned thoroughly immediately before priming (ally is a funny old thing), and use an etch primer like Tom mentions.

 

Oh, and the wheels on my Audi A8 were anodised - as hard as nails and still looked nigh on perfect after more than 10 years on the road!

[GeorgeXS 32]

You probably won't be surprised to see me recommending paint.

 

Both methods have pro's and con's, and neither will last long unless done properly (with the prep work being particularly important), but the finish left by a 'wet' paint system is generally better than a powder one, and resistance to flaking once chipped is much better too. If you really want to go the extra mile, I'd suggest a 2 step approach similar to the one in carbers post. Powder coating the primer ensures perfect coverage, then wet finishing gives the best looks.

 

If you're doing everything with paint, the bare metal needs to be cleaned thoroughly immediately before priming (ally is a funny old thing), and use an etch primer like Tom mentions.

 

Oh, and the wheels on my Audi A8 were anodised - as hard as nails and still looked nigh on perfect after more than 10 years on the road!

 

Nice to hear it can be done then, bet that the casting on the audi alloys is far superior to our old peugeot ones mind.

Any pictures of them? Quite interested to see what they look like

[Paintguy 0]

No pictures really, but they were the standard 5 spokes fitted to all A8 quattros around 95-99 (not the multi spoke sport ones). Plenty of them listed on your favourite auction site so there might be a decent pic on there

[flipperthebushkangaroo 2]

So at the risk of looking stupid what is on the wheels to start with? is it paint or powder?

 

Since most of our cars are 20 or so years old surely repeating the origional method should last another 10+ years if done well.

 

Or am i being particularly dull even by my standards?