wheel restoration: paint or powder coat?

[jp5Touring]

DOT 5 brake fluid has a boiling point of 500° .

I would doubt todays wheel manufacturers  would powder coat their rims from the factory if their was even a hint of any problems,because lawyers 

[joebarthlow]

good info in this thread!

[jgerock]

My Ronal wheels were powder coated by the PO.  Yes, the fine details are somewhat blurred, but I like the coating and ease of cleaning.

[Mark92131]

20 hours ago, joebarthlow said:

that's my plan. what tires are you running? 

 

Kuhmo Touring A/S P185-70 R13 tires from TireRack.  Not a lot of options for this rim size, but no rubbing even with the BMW 320i offset.

 

Mark92131

[Conserv]

5 hours ago, Mark92131 said:

 

Kuhmo Touring A/S P185-70 R13 tires from TireRack.  Not a lot of options for this rim size, but no rubbing even with the BMW 320i offset.

 

Mark92131

 

Three fabulous tires in the 185/70/13 size:  Pirelli, Avon, and Michelin.   None cheap, but three great tires:

 

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/tyres/185-70x13.html

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

[AceAndrew]

On 12/11/2017 at 1:24 PM, EuroTech said:

Not to hi-jack but I have same wheels and was contemplating the same thing... powder coat vs paint.... but I was under the impression the turbine e21 wheels you have are aluminum... I was under the understanding that powdercoating aluminum wheels can cause cracked/warped wheels due to the powder coating cure cooking time of usually 400*f for 15mins...does anyone know if that’s true or has anyone had long history with powder coated aluminum wheels? Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My first job out of high-school was working at a powder-coater.  With that experience, and now that of an "elongated" engineering student, this is my experience.

 

Most aluminum powdercoat curing is done around 350-400 degrees between 15-20 minutes (as noted).  This is perfectly fine and will not adversely affect the metallurgy of any healthy alloy wheel.  However, larger pieces (say steel beams, for instance) are done at a higher temperature and for longer.  It is conceivable that an unscrupulous powder coater would stick something requiring those hotter/longer specs and then still slide in some aluminum wheels inside to fill out the furnace (big ones are not cheap to run).  In extreme cases I could expect to see that having a rather negative effect.

 

Long story short, as long as your coater is familiar with doing aluminum wheels, then you will be fine.  If you take your wheels to an big industrial outfit, in order to save a couple bucks, all bets are off.

Edited December 12, 2017 by AceAndrew