Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
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Topic author - Posts: 1122
- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:51 pm
- First Name: Keith
- Last Name: Townsend
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Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
Pros and cons please, for wire wheels:
Paint or powdercoat?
Thanks,
Keith
Paint or powdercoat?
Thanks,
Keith
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- First Name: Walter
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
Powder pros: Durable, covers all surfaces thoroughly without runs, not so prone to chipping, easy since it pretty much guarantees that you have to hire somebody else to do it. Much less labor if you're content with a blast-and-powder end result. Cheaper than equivalent quality paint job.
Powder cons: If you're looking for an exact color match it can be more difficult to get than with custom mixing paint. If you have pits that you don't want to show you need to work them over with a conductive filler like Lab-metal. Powder tends not to cover well (in a mil-thickness sense) on sharp edges.
Paint pros: Easy to get the desired color match and easier to retouch in the future. Paint products are more well suited if you want a glass-smooth finish.
Paint cons: Prone to stone chipping if the finished product isn't ideal. It's a multi-step process of at least blast, etch prime, 2K primer, and paint whereas powder is blast and powder not working out pits in either one. The sky is the limit on labor hours depending on how nice you want them to be and the further you go the more expensive materials you will need (though material cost pales in comparison to labor cost). Much-o labor to rework a wheel if you get runs.
Powder cons: If you're looking for an exact color match it can be more difficult to get than with custom mixing paint. If you have pits that you don't want to show you need to work them over with a conductive filler like Lab-metal. Powder tends not to cover well (in a mil-thickness sense) on sharp edges.
Paint pros: Easy to get the desired color match and easier to retouch in the future. Paint products are more well suited if you want a glass-smooth finish.
Paint cons: Prone to stone chipping if the finished product isn't ideal. It's a multi-step process of at least blast, etch prime, 2K primer, and paint whereas powder is blast and powder not working out pits in either one. The sky is the limit on labor hours depending on how nice you want them to be and the further you go the more expensive materials you will need (though material cost pales in comparison to labor cost). Much-o labor to rework a wheel if you get runs.
Last edited by Walter Higgins on Tue Jun 30, 2020 11:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
I have done both. While powder coat looks great it will chip as spokes flex. Also you can not fill pits before powder coating as the heat will remove the fill. I have
gone back to using paint as the preferred finish.
gone back to using paint as the preferred finish.
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
Laced or Model T style? Might make a difference.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas!
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
I always recommend paint when it comes to tunable wire wheels. The aggressive blast media that is often used prior to powder coating can leave stress risers in the spokes and lead to spoke breakage down the road.
Don’t figure the aggressive media would hurt a welded spoke wheel any... these spokes are typically much heavier
Don’t figure the aggressive media would hurt a welded spoke wheel any... these spokes are typically much heavier
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
A couple more thoughts. Powder coating a wire wheel might make it difficult to turn a spoke nipple to true up a wheel in the future if the coating is too thick. Also, a friend had his Buffalos powder coated and found the coating to be slippery enough that the clincher tires slipped on the rim. He had to dismount the tires and scuff the coating.
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
If your wanting to powder coat T welded wire wheels, then yes. Works great. And advantage is coating is uniform, looks good, and cleans most easy as dirt and dust wipes freely from the polyester surface.
Of course, if the wheel is badly pitted, the 2mil powder coat won't fill. But around here, $65 gets your wheel bead blasted clean, and coated in what color you wish. More comfortable than doing it yourself, for me anyway, seeing enamel paint runs and globs, missing backside of spokes, with the gun while trying to slow spin the wheel is disgusting.
Of course, if the wheel is badly pitted, the 2mil powder coat won't fill. But around here, $65 gets your wheel bead blasted clean, and coated in what color you wish. More comfortable than doing it yourself, for me anyway, seeing enamel paint runs and globs, missing backside of spokes, with the gun while trying to slow spin the wheel is disgusting.
The best way is always the simplest. The attics of the world are cluttered up with complicated failures. Henry Ford
Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain. Henry Ford
Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain. Henry Ford
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Re: Wire wheel recommendation: paint or powdercoat?
The last time I took a wheel in to be powder coated they hung it by a thin wire around the center so of course the powder coat did not stick in that area. I had to paint it. They also coated the part that fits on the hub and I had to sand that down almost back to bare metal so the wheel would fit correctly on the hub. Too bad they really did a beautiful job on the spokes.