I am wanting to powdercoat my 6ULR's, but I am hesitant to do so because recently a local member had his oem ap2v2's PC'ed and wound up with cracks on not one, but 4 spokes. I've done some searching on the interwebs and, of course, there are tons of varying opinions on whether powdercoating is safe or not. What I've gathered is that most of the margin of error is in the preparation. I have read that some PC'ers use sand on aluminum instead of glass beads like they should, and some try to bake off old material by baking them at 900degrees+. Do you guys have any opinions or suggestions?

 

My under standing is that the issue lies in the heating of the aluminum. Most aluminum alloys are heat-treated at the end of the production process, which increases strength and relieves internal stresses. Unfortunately, exposure to temperatures above 350*, as commonly occurs during powder coating, effectively undoes the treatment, and can even cause new internal stressors to form.

In short, I'd avoid it. Given the corrosive properties of brake dust and the havoc even a minor off track can play with the wheel surface, I'd either avoid coloring the wheels at all (added weight), or rattle-can them and call it good, with the understanding that they will need to be refreshed a few times a year.

 

The statistics of anything happening to your wheels after powder coating are going to be minimal. But with that being said; Dumb and Dumber quote "so you're telling me there's a chance" comes in to play. There are numerous people that track with pc'd wheels, dd with pc'd wheels with out a problem. I've ran a couple sets of pc'd wheels no prob. I'd say do it.

 

My rpf1s were powder coated before I got them. I have cracked 3 of them. One was a BIG ny style pothole. 1 year later after a track weekend I noticed 2 more were cracked. was it the powder coat idk but I wouldnt buy or powder coat rims for the track again.

 

Chances go up after powdercoating, esp if they bake hot.

I'd sand and high temp rattle can them. They're track wheels after all, they're going to get beaten up anyway.

 

I've heard that 949 does not recommend powdercoating their wheels.


Also, I had brake dust get embedded into powder coated wheels I used to have - after a single track day!! The only way to get it out was to use a polishing compound with a Mother's power ball. Yuck

 

If you can be SURE that the process is compatible with heat-treated aluminum wheels, no problem. But too often wheels that get powdercoated are exposed to chemicals and/or temperatures that are NOT compatible with heat-treated aluminum wheels, and the results are not pretty...

I wouldn't do it unless I found out exactly what the entire process was and knew for a fact that every step would not reduce the wheels' strength.

 

From personal experiences the only wheel failures I've ever experienced were from:

1) Powdercoated Wheels
2) Repaired Wheels.

Never again.

 

- http://949racing.com/warrantyandreturninformation.aspx

Powder coating wheels has been a topic of religious debate on this forum. My opinion, based on research online, comments from metallurgists on various forums, and the frequency with which manufacturers revoke their warranties when their wheels are powder coated, is that it's a bad idea. People who disagree typically assert that they powdercoated their wheels and didn't experience any failures, and that powder coating temperatures don't necessary exceed those experienced during track use. Your mileage may vary.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I'm gonna rattle can them! Anyone know any better paint than Grimmspeed's BBS gold? Also is it definitely safe to sandblast aluminum wheels with glass beads?