 | Home > Wheels & Tyres > powdercoat vs painting |
 
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| defender9 Member Since: 12 Mar 2016 Location: Fylde Coast Posts: 1629   
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I would stick with painting wheels especially if it’s a working Land Rover as they are easier to touch up. As with all coatings, powder coating relies on good preparation of the substrate (wheels in this case). If derusting and media blasting is not done to an approved method then problems can occur with the coating locally delaminating. Powder coating can be more brittle than paint and if it does fail then the only proper way to repair it is to remove the whole of the coating by pyrolysis media blast again and re-coat. If done well it is a good process and gives a nice finish but once the edges of the rim get scraped / damaged it’s more difficult to repair than with paint. On a show vehicle powder coated wheels can look really good and even though I was the Technical Manager of the Powder Coating arm of our business, for a Defender with steel wheels I would use paint but again with good surface preparation.
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27th Jul 2020 8:01am |
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| windy81 Member Since: 14 Mar 2018 Location: North Wales Posts: 311  
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powder coating in almost every application I've seen comes off in sheets as the rust creeps under it after it been punctured.
Begs the question why people use it. |
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27th Jul 2020 8:16am |
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| waxrover Member Since: 18 Jun 2020 Location: straya Posts: 14 
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thanks and agreed. i really dont know what the benefit of powder coating is but everyone i talk to seems to be all about powder coating the rims.
is it that its harder to damage? What about balancing new tyres on painted rims? do you just place the weights on the inside? my main gripe is that the colour selection is limited and wont match the car properly, even though its white. ha. you can always see a slight difference! |
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27th Jul 2020 9:08am |
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| Shroppy Member Since: 25 Feb 2016 Location: Shropshire Posts: 866 
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I think a lot of the preference for powder coating comes from the fact it is a relatively easy and quick process which, often makes it cheaper than paint. That's why so much machinery etc. is powder coated not painted these days.
As with paint, poor prep and application will yield poor results. I'm told powder coating is more prone to peeling/flaking where there a sharp edges and, smoothing them with emery cloth can help prevent this. I personally am looking into having my Blindos painted as this way I'll be able to specify high quality epoxy primers and top coats to limit bubbling etc. 1985 127 V8 Build Thread Series 2 109" Series 1 80" |
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27th Jul 2020 9:43am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20444
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I really don’t like powder coat at all.
The problem is it’s applied over mild steel, slightest ingress and it’s had it corrosion wise. It’s a pain in the backside to remove and if you want to repair damage or flaked PC you’ll end up having to remove it all. There is no repair as sick without us ring loads if primers and fillers purely to level the surface for paint if some PC is still present. Even if you do over paint the chances are it’ll lift or peel again, the PC substrate and not the paint. Paintwork is hard work, PC is more so and is only designed did factory use to draw down costs as low as possible to push the items out looking good. Genuine LR items commonly have the same issue, headlight guards many people regretted fitting for example. Personally if I could and these things were avails I’d rather pay for SS or Galv any day. Even if it’s PC over the top as at least corrosion will be kept a lid on. I don’t mind paint refinishing, but I don’t want under surface corrosion at all. Not to mention the work and time involved with removal and replacement etc. No Guts, No Glory. 🇬🇧🏴🏴🏴🇮🇪🇺🇸⛽️🛢️⚙️🧰💪 |
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27th Jul 2020 10:52am |
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| CDN38 Member Since: 14 Nov 2014 Location: Courtenay, BC Posts: 729  
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Biggest problem with powder coating is the lack of surface preparation, poor application and no process control. As a finish, it's more durable than paint, and the coating it's self is thicker. However, it's also every easy to do a bad job of it (that looks like a nice job when it's new).
For a small investment it's possible to buy the equipment and do it yourself (small pieces, remember it's got to go into an oven of some sort). Good powder coating requires a very large production facility with good quality powder (which are actually available in just about any color you can think of) Very strict prep and cleaning, application temperature and "baking", it's a very large infrastructure investment when done right. Getting a good job done is difficult as there are so many companies that are coating aluminum railings and such (low end product). So when it comes to steel, especially something that needs a previous finish removed (best to have it burnt off, then blasted) they fall short and you get a sub standard job. Perfect example is my Hannibal rack, the front has started peeling, the black in some spots looks bronze. The powder coating company I use measured the coating thickness, it's half of what it should be in some areas. (lack of quality control) it's a Landrover thing... my renovation thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic40792.html |
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27th Jul 2020 3:42pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4216 
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Ive had a few alloys powder coated over the years and have had no issues with the finish (used a national company called The Wheel Specialist). And they tend to coat the back of the wheel which OEMs often don't. I think generally the reputable alloy wheel refurbers do the job properly, dipping, blasting degreasing etc which doesn't always happen with some of the more general steel fab accessory type firms. I don't know how that translates to steel wheels though, as I guess there is more scope for untreated rust to linger in the joint between the rim and and hub parts. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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27th Jul 2020 4:22pm |
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| Joe the Plumber Member Since: 18 Dec 2013 Location: Midlands Posts: 907 
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When I had my Wolfs (wolves?!) done last year, the powder coaters couldn't match Fuji white so had to paint them instead. It seems jolly good to me, but does chip if I'm not careful.
I shouldn't worry about balancing them incidentally. I've got Michelins on mine, unbalanced (the firm simply couldn't get them to balance), and there's no wobbling up to, er, 70mph. |
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27th Jul 2020 6:16pm |
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