Powdercoat Questions

[kevinatfms]

I had a set of Fiesta rally wheels powdercoated in white to match my car. Wheels were media blasted before hand and prepped accordingly. So today i went to have them installed and they are telling me they wont fit over the hubs on the car. They also said that the powdercoat is on the face of the hub along with the lug holes and this could cause loosening of the wheel down the road.

I have had powdercoated wheels before but never had an issue with bolting them up. I told them to just fit them and torque to factory specs. I am sitting at work waiting for the car to be done but have been reading a few forums and i have found that i may have issues later on the down the road.

My questions are:
1. Does the hub face need to be cleared of all powdercoat before bolting them up? Could they have runout/cause vibration due to the powdercoat being on the hub face?
2. Do the lug holes need to be free and clear of powdercoat before bolting them up? Will they loosen over time due to heat and vibration?
3. Anyone ever had issues like these?

I feel like im good as i have had a few sets done before and never had an issue but this is the first time a shop has called me to tell me that the wheels dont fit due to the powdercoat. I know factory wheels are powdercoated and cleared and they really never have a problem. So im quite baffled at all of this.

Any and all info is greatly appreciated.

 

[BigPoppa]

The powder coater should have masked the mating surfaces to begin with. The powder coat will need to be removed from them now.

Yes, the hub will be eccentric with the powered coating and the coating will not allow correct locking of the lug nuts.

And, yes, powder coated parts can have their clearances changed from the thickness of the coating.

 

[Jefe]

I had a shop powdercoat my wheel caps onto the wheel once lol. I took one look and asked how the tire shop is going to balance the wheels now? She said they have a special machine that can do it. One call to Discount Tire and they redid the wheels

 

[HillbillyHotRod]

Not with wheels, but I had a set of BPS fuel rails PC and they totally ruined them. Seem they blasted where the injectors sit and also got powder coating on the connector threads. Have to make sure that they mask anything that will mate to something else.

 

[kevinatfms]

Thanks for the replies. Seems the face was masked off, only the bore of the hub which was the issue. Bolted the wheels on and they run true with no vibration.

I will check the lug torque every few days for the first few months to make sure they are not loosening.

 

[Steve@TF]

you should be fine.
ive had many sets of wheels where they didnt mask off the hub bore and got powder in there. the only time its an issue is when the wheel wont go on the hub or its SO tight you cant get the wheel off. we then just hit it with a special sanding paper roll. but if the wheel will go, then not an issue. i finally got them to mask off the hub bore every time though lol.

as for the lug nuts, shouldnt be an issue. they always spray the PC in there. you dont mask off the lug holes. maybe they did it too thick?? but if you can torque the lug nuts to 100 ft lbs then you'll be fine. tq them to 100lbs when you first put them on and check them after 50 miles. i cant imagine that they sprayed the lug holes SO thick that the lug nuts wont seat properly and torque down. if that was the case, then the face of the wheel must look horrible with way too much powder. typically the lug holes get the least amount of powder sprayed in them.

and from what ive seen/heard, factory wheels usually arent powder coated but are actually painted. using special processes.

 

[Sinister04L]

you should be fine.
ive had many sets of wheels where they didnt mask off the hub bore and got powder in there. the only time its an issue is when the wheel wont go on the hub or its SO tight you cant get the wheel off. we then just hit it with a special sanding paper roll. but if the wheel will go, then not an issue. i finally got them to mask off the hub bore every time though lol.

as for the lug nuts, shouldnt be an issue. they always spray the PC in there. you dont mask off the lug holes. maybe they did it too thick?? but if you can torque the lug nuts to 100 ft lbs then you'll be fine. tq them to 100lbs when you first put them on and check them after 50 miles. i cant imagine that they sprayed the lug holes SO thick that the lug nuts wont seat properly and torque down. if that was the case, then the face of the wheel must look horrible with way too much powder. typically the lug holes get the least amount of powder sprayed in them.

and from what ive seen/heard, factory wheels usually arent powder coated but are actually painted. using special processes.

Yeah if they put so much powder coat in the lug holes that you can't torque the nuts down the wheels would look like shiiiiiit lol.

On my latest wheels there was a little extra powder coat where the center caps go in so I had to sand the inner part down a little bit to get them to pop in.

 

[GodStang]

Whats the difference between Media blasting and Powder coating? Thinking of getting some work done at American Stripping Company

Media blasting is what is used to remove the paint/powder coating. Sand Blasting is a type of media blasting along with Walnut shells, Baking Soda, Aluminum Slag and a few others.

Powder Coating it a electrostatic powder that is force onto a metal with static and then baked in an oven.

Now seeing that he only has one post that he may be spam...

 

[03cobra#694]

Media blasting is what is used to remove the paint/powder coating. Sand Blasting is a type of media blasting along with Walnut shells, Baking Soda, Aluminum Slag and a few others.

Powder Coating it a electrostatic powder that is force onto a metal with static and then baked in an oven.

Now seeing that he only has one post that he may be spam...

He's a spammer Josh, or was. I removed his website from your quote.

 

[kevinatfms]

Anyone know how hard powdercoat actually gets? Is it like paint where it chips or does it wear away? So far they have held up great. Even did a few drive-thru car washes to get them clean. No problems.

 

[Steve@TF]

Anyone know how hard powdercoat actually gets? Is it like paint where it chips or does it wear away? So far they have held up great. Even did a few drive-thru car washes to get them clean. No problems.

its like paint but much more durable. it can chip. usually depends on how its prepped. some places only scuff the base material which usually results in chipping. the first shop i used for powder coating wheels did this. then we'd occasionally have a wheel with a chip in the finish 2 or 3 years down the line. i went to another shop and requested they media blast all the parts before PC. after that, no more chipping issues. if its done right, you can drop a tool on a powder coated part and it will simply mar the finish. unlike paint, which will often result in a chip.

just dont use any "safe for all finishes" wheel cleaners. anything you can spray on a wheel and it cleans it with minimal effort has to have to have strong chemicals in it that can damage the finish. regardless of what the bottle says. ive read on detailing forums where guys have damaged their wheels (aftermarket and factory) with meguiars/mothers/etc wheel cleaners. just mild soap (car wash soap) and water to be safe.

 

[kevinatfms]

I used a 1600psi pressure washer on them without issues. Didnt use the soap option on the pressure washer as you said. So far so good! Im quite happy with how durable they are.

Thanks to all who provided info! I look forward to enjoying the white/white Fiesta for a while.

 

[GodStang]

Anyone know how hard powdercoat actually gets? Is it like paint where it chips or does it wear away? So far they have held up great. Even did a few drive-thru car washes to get them clean. No problems.

As said above depends on type of powder used, prep work, thickness of coating and bake time/bake quality. If done correctly it is way more durable than paint, but if done incorrectly it can chip/peel very easily.

 

[HillbillyHotRod]

I had some coil covers done and in the process they did the entire cover. Well these had GT500 script on the so I had to sand down so the script would show. That was one heck of a chore as the PC is extremely hard. Three years later looks like new.