Hi all
Thinking of getting my wrx alloys refurbed but don't know wether to go powder coated or get them sprayed, which is the toughest, which is best. If I get them sprayed what the inside and the face done. Thinking gunmetal grey. Anyone have any comments and pics
Cheers nardoblue

 

A few horror stories about wheels failing after powdercoating, but my PFF7's have been powdercoated a couple of times and I'm not dead yet.

My track wheels however, will get sprayed when I can be bothered - as they go bouncing off of curbs etc. (OEM STI Wheels)

I think it's cheap rep wheels you need to watch with the powdercoating, and different coaters use different temps I think.

My Pics of gunmetal grey though:

 

powder all day long.
tougher finish , have had loads of sets done , 3 years later no stone chips or any deterioriation in finish or colour.
never had a set crack either.

only downside on powder is colours are more limited than paint.

 

Had mine powdercoated and it's a great finish,there are a lot of stories about cracking. As said above,the cheaper makes don't do well with the temps.

 

I have a set of speedline turini's and recently emailed speedline about paint codes and wheel finishes as I was considering a colour change and possible powder coating.
They told me under no circumstances should I powder coat the wheel as the process changes the properties of the alloy and compromises the strength and reliability of the wheel.
I have had other wheels that were powder coated without issue but will only refinish in paint from now on.

Siv.

 

https://www.scoobynet.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=24

https://www.scoobynet.com/wheels-tyr...l#post10487362

 

Been having wheels powder coated for years on my rally cars , never had an issue , it's a lot harder wearing than painting them , if you have them sprayed they stone chip really easy

 

I really do wonder how much of that is actually true and to what extent? When they say that it can 'compromise the reliability and strength' are they suggesting that powder coating could cause the wheel to fail/collapse/crack/bend under fast driving? Seems extremely unlikely to me...

 

Bronze powder coated

 

I have had wheels powder coated and only problem I have encountered is coating peeling off when wheel balancing weights are taken off when having new tyres fitted,pros and cons with both I would say-cost v longevity v choice of colour

 

Powder coated in black chrome. Although thinking of going back to standard.

 

Like i said in my post I've had plenty of powder coated wheels without any issues other than a bit of flaking here and there.
My point is that a wheel company with the size and reputation of speedline don't recommend powder coating and that's enough for me to just stick to painted wheels from now on.

Siv.

 

See the pics in the thread i linked - seems wrx wheels just dont react well to powdercoat

 

I think the problem occurs with powder coating due to the temperatures used which does affect some alloy wheels.

 

When we powder coat calipers , they are done at 180 degrees , so can't see these temps affecting wheels , maybe some have been done at much higher temps which have caused issues .

Compomotive and revolution Motorsport wheels are powder coated not painted , I'm sure if it made them weak it would show up on a rally car.

 

My powder coater said to me, they use 180 degrees, about the same as a chicken haha. Just don't buy Chinese replica wheels

 

My wheels are still intact after being powder coated

 

I love how people are saying powdercoat even though OP wrote 'wrx wheels' - refer to post 6 - paint them only

 

Iv power coated loads and loads of sets of wheels now including standard WRX wheels and never had any problems with any of them but I always look for cracks or damage before they go to the coaters ,, iv always liked white wheels on mine but there a bugger to keep clean lol

 

as said by others it all comes down to how hot they get them. The obove statement is correct if got hot enough it will change the properties of the alloy and make it soft, if got hot enough you are anealing the alloy. i aneal alloy when im doing my fabrication work to help bend it and shape it. so the answer is yes if got hot enough its dangerous for an alloy but if they keep the temps down lower it will be fine. i sprayed mine and love the finish on them, seem to be holding up great too.

 

why ? because one person has had a problem with a wheel , which was probably heated up to much , there's a lot more saying they haven't had problems if done correctly me included

 

I have seen powdercoated OE STI alloys (Widetrack) crack. I would guess that the coating process, if too hot, tempers the alloy and makes it brittle. I would rather be safe than sorry.

 

A friend had his rota gra's powder coated after being heated and they cracked a spoke on track

 

FWIW: Some powder coating companies remove the existing coating by burning it off in an oven. So dependant on temperature of the burn oven, and time spent in it, it could influence the structure of the wheel. There are other methods to remove existing coatings, but these tend to take longer i.e. shotblasting/beadblasting, and therefore influence the finished price.
Addtionally, there are other factors as mentioned in some of the threads above - existing cracks or damage to the wheels which may not be immediately visible.
I looked into powder coating a while back, and of course you always find the horror stories. So this is just based on a bit of research that I did, but in my opinion a reputable company should be fine.

 

Thanks for all the info lads, looks like going with a specialist company that know what there doing and give a quality service looks the way to go :-)