Why you never want to buy powder coated wheels

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Refinishing a customer's set of Fuchs, they looked pretty decent overall. But were powder coated and getting it off took forever. That done, I started to refinish and found these cracks. No idea if the cracks were powder coated over or happened after being coated but you couldn't see the cracks when they were black.

Fuchs are getting old. Probably a good idea to inspect once a year and pull them every time before going to the track.

[bigel]

Yikes! That could have been ugly...

[impactbumper]

misleading title. Nothing wrong with powder coating wheels. Also testament to how well powder coating holds up. However, yes point taken. Older wheels, too much stress over the years. i would be leery doing anything on 30 years old wheels to begin with.

[KTL]

15 inch wheels?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Hey Kevin, it's a 7x16. It was in otherwise great shape with no curbing.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by impactbumper

misleading title. Nothing wrong with powder coating wheels. Also testament to how well powder coating holds up. However, yes point taken. Older wheels, too much stress over the years. i would be leery doing anything on 30 years old wheels to begin with.

I don't think the title is misleading at all

This advice goes all the way back to the first days of powder coating technology
It is absolutely brilliant how powder coating masks what is going on underneath it without the powder coating cracking at all. It certainly does not cause it but it sure does hide:

Cracks in aluminum wheels
Cracks forming in chromoly racing frames on formula cars go carts and formula race bikes

Frames rusting away from the inside out under an otherwise perfect finish

Again, not the cause but certainly encapsulates the material so you can't see the failure forming

[gliding_serpent]

If a wheel is poweder coated, and the cracks, will the poweder coat also crack?

[JohnJL]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

If a wheel is poweder coated, and the cracks, will the poweder coat also crack?

Not if the crack happens slowly or while the surface is warm...powdercoat is plastic and pliable.

[eastbay]

Those look like wheel balancer cone over tightening cracks to me, lots of mechanics hammer those tight.

[Cory M]

That surface shouldn't be coated or painted either way. It's meant to interface with the hub.

[carwash]

Paint will mask flaws as much as powder coating will.

[stownsen914]

I have to agree with the OP on this one. On my racecars I do not powder coat wheels or suspension pieces. I use rattle can pan, which is very thin, so I have a better chance at seeing cracks early. Powder coating is great stuff - I just don't like the idea of not seeing cracks at the earliest opportunity in crack-prone parts.

Scott

[tobluforu]

Unless one is taking off ones wheels, then stripping the paint, I'm guessing 95% of all owners on here with painted wheels would not notice this. I'm not talking people who race cars. Cracks are easily hidden by all sorts of paints, it's not just PC. If I put enough coats on with reg paint, I can mask issues just as well as PC, it just will not last as long.
And then there is...... Plastidip

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by impactbumper

misleading title. Nothing wrong with powder coating wheels. Also testament to how well powder coating holds up. However, yes point taken. Older wheels, too much stress over the years. i would be leery doing anything on 30 years old wheels to begin with.

I was talking with the guy that I had straighten some wheels.
he said not to powder coat wheels because powder coating will fade in sunlight.


walmart sells some paint stripper that will remove powder coating.
I am in the process of rebuilding my zero turn mower and I am having it re-powder coated. I stripped most of the old powder coating to reduce time and cost for sand blasting. the stripper worked extremely well.
strange thing is, the spray can stuff worked better than the gallon can I bought, but the spray can would have cost more in the long run.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by carwash

Paint will mask flaws as much as powder coating will.

That's pretty subjective

Paint will easily crack and peal. Powder coating is a whole other animal.

Now, if we are talking buying used rims, a freshly painted set might hide some flaws as well ( but they will soon show up)

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Powder coating is typically fairly thick and doesn't look right which is why I use Cerakote for most things. Or paint. Powder coating makes everything look like a 1998 Ford Taurus.

Besides aesthetics, the thickness and hard candy shell also hides more, that was my original point.

[stephen1070]

Originally Posted by impactbumper

misleading title. Nothing wrong with powder coating wheels. Also testament to how well powder coating holds up. However, yes point taken. Older wheels, too much stress over the years. i would be leery doing anything on 30 years old wheels to begin with.

and my 30 year old non-powder coated restored fuchs are doing great.

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by stephen1070

and my 30 year old non-powder coated restored fuchs are doing great.

Good for you

[dad911]

Originally Posted by stephen1070

and my 30 year old non-powder coated restored fuchs are doing great.

We were finding cracks on track-driven fuchs(and other wheels) 20 years ago..... Don't think powder coating accelerates cracks, OP pointed out that it can mask them.

All metal fatigues eventually. Hot/cold expansion, stress from cornering, potholes, etc.

[KTL]

Reason I asked if they were 15 inch Fuchs is because they've been around the longest. Now the 16 inch are starting to show their age too. Nothing lasts forever. Not even the almighty gold standard forged Fuchs.