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Powder coat or Paint?


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I'm finally having my rebuilt 110 painted this week and at the same time I'm having my steel wolf wheels shot blasted. The bloke who is shot blasting them (his company also does powder coating) says powder coating is best but factory wheels are painted.

Does anyone on here have experience with two pack painted wheels or powder coated wheels and what are your recomendations?

What are the positives and negatives of each - the tyres and wheels are both tubeless if this makes a difference...

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Powder coating is great until the first stone chips it, then the steel will rust away under it, unlike paint which bubbles up and warns you of the progress of the problem powder coat remains looking fine until one day you peel off a sheet and find the extensive rust. Personaly if it were mine I would have them painted, I don't believe powder coating has any place in the motor industry, although plenty of others believe it does.

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I used to work in a bus plant; there was a lot of powder coating because unlike paint, there was no chance of pinholes where solvents evaporate, in fact I read somewhere you need 3 coats to be sure pinholes have all been covered. (Even 2 pack normally has a small amount of thinners). External underneath parts, galvanised or zintec, were dipped in a phospate wash then a chromate wash. The parts were then dried in an oven and immediately powder coated. It was well-nigh impossible to chip off, even with a hammer, or if you bent the steel. Parts like the roof were pre treated and primed. Again they had impressive chip resistance. On the other hand internal parts could be powder coated without the pre-treatment and then were much easier to chip, or it would flake off if it was bent. I'd say if you could be sure of the correct pre-treatment, powder coating is the best, but on a poor base will fall off with the the best of them.

Nigel

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I used to have zinc coated rims on my 109, they never ever rusted again. Just have them sandblasted and (hot) zinc coated like on this image:

Stralen_Scooperen.jpg

You need a suitable primer and can paint them afterwards, much more durable than powder coated finish.

Cheers

Marco

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