Power coat pros n cons.

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2016: Power coat pros n cons.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian Dowell on Friday, September 23, 2016 - 03:37 pm:

Been threatening to powder coat my 26-27 wire wheels and my 19 clincher rims. Why n why not?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Friday, September 23, 2016 - 04:28 pm:

Someone had powder coated the Model A wire wheels I put on my speedster. When mounting the wheels there was some coating cracking around the mounting holes when the lug nuts were tightened. Just my experience.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Friday, September 23, 2016 - 04:45 pm:

It is recommended you mask the lug hole, or use a stone and take the powered coat off the taper, otherwise you will crack the finish there. This is true of paint too.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Martin Vowell, Sylmar, CA on Friday, September 23, 2016 - 07:58 pm:

I had my Model A wheels done back in 1980...all you had to do was keep them waxed and they always looked good. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Les Gitts - Ferndale, WA on Friday, September 23, 2016 - 08:07 pm:

Pros: They look good and hold up very well.

Cons: If there are rust pits they will still be there and will be very visible.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc Roberts, York, Pennsylvania on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 04:11 am:

Very difficult to remove if you ever have to.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Warren on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 07:54 am:

I had my wire wheels done in red, when I sprayed a little brake clean on a white rag to clean for balance weights, the rag turned way to red for my comfort. I was thinking that this coating was much tougher


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 10:36 am:

Brake Clean shouldn't (AFAIK) have done that to real powder coat--hmmm, maybe it wasn't baked enough??
Any other ideas out there??


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Burger in Spokane on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 10:46 am:

Powder coating is "supposedly" bulletproof. HOWEVER, ... it does fail, and when corrosion gets under it
through cracks or other sources, you will hate your life and decision to ever use powder coat, as there is
no "touch up" option with powder coating like there is with paint. You have to sandblast that rhino skin off
all surfaces and start all over, and sandblasting that rhino skin off is where a person really finds out how
tough powder coating can be. I will never use it again.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Barclay in west Michigan on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 10:56 am:

I agree with Burger, will never use it again.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Walter Higgins on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 11:15 am:

There are different types of powder and some are solvent resistant and some are not. I recently had some non-automotive parts re-powdered (because I used to think it was all bulletproof, too, and was not) and was told the color I wanted was also not solvent resistant in the powder they had available. The solution in this case was they top-coated it with what they called a "graffiti clear" powder and that stuff is as close to indestructible as you can get for such a coating. They use it on equipment that is destined for job sites and will likely get tagged. I've tried everything I have at my disposal and haven't found anything yet that will attack it.

As to how it holds up in the long term, it's just like anything else -- you can have the best coating in the world, but if the prep is no good it isn't going to last. If you do have to remove it at some point in the future, the most economical (and least destructive) way on heavier parts like wheels is to have it baked off. Then it only takes a light blast to start over.

The real advantage with powder on things like wire wheels is, even with light pitting, it will flow out problems that would take multiple primings and labor intensive hand work to prep for paint. You can fill pitting in advance of powder work by using a product like Lab-metal or some other filler that is conductive and will take the heat from baking the powder in the oven.

It's like anything else. All coatings will fail eventually. There is no "one size fits all" coating for every application and throwing the baby out with the bath water because somebody botched the process isn't the answer either.

(Message edited by WMH on September 24, 2016)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Woolf on Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 11:44 am:

I had a set of Model A wheels powder coated 13 - 14 years ago and they still look as good as when first done. As Dave Dewey suggested above, I used a stone and ground the powder coat off of the area the lug nuts contact, then touched-up those areas using a small paintbrush to keep rust from forming. My wheels are black, so that was easy to match.

I also like the fact that you can repair scratches in the powder coating by sanding with 600 grit and buffing the area with rubbing compound. I have scratched the powder coat with a tire iron when mounting a tire and sanding and buffing makes a good repair just as long as the scratch does not go all the way through to the metal.

Dan


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