MTFCA Forum

Hi Everyone - From Winter in Iowa! I need your help & advise on whether I should powder coat my wire wheels? I am thinking of having my wire wheels powder coated for looks & durability! I was on A T tour years ago where one of the Ts spun the stems off of two tier tubes (30x3 1/2). The rims had been powder coated. What is your experience with this? I know others have used this system with good luck, but is there any trick to ensure success? I would rather not spin off a stem in Canada next summer? Thanks In Advance for your Valued feedback - John

One of my regular customers bought a set of McClaren wire wheels and decided to power coat then. They have held up well and look really good.

I have p.c.'d rims on both my Racer & the '19 Centerdoor and have locked the brakes on both and never had a tire roll.

Trouble with p.c. on wires - if the spokes touch each other anywhere, there won't be any powder on them - ask your p.c. guy about that.

I have two sets of wire wheels that I had powder coated and both look nice and are holding up well. The first set are Hayes and I took them to the les Schwab tire dealer. They truck the wheels to their facility in Oregon where a machine blasts and powdercoats them at a cost of under $35 each delivered back. That is hard to beat. You might do some research and find a similar service. I had our local shop do my McLarens and those look perfect and cost $100 ea. My son had his 27 Ford wires done at scwabs and they also look good. The local shop has more color choices and might use a better product - time will tell.

My understanding on this topic has nothing to do with the actual paint, and everything to do with the prep process. Many powder coasters are used to painting fences and architectural items, and are not equipped to paint delicate items like tuneable wire wheels. Many shops use aggressive blast medias to create “tooth” for the paint to adhere to. This “tooth” is actually tiny knicks and gouges in the surfaces, that are essentially stress risers that could lead to spoke breakage. I advise my wheel customers to use conventional paint on their new/respoked wheels, or have a conversation with their local powder coater about the different blast media/prep options.

As for tire slippage... the harder you pull on the tire, the more likely it is to slip. A stock T, with stock T brakes... I wouldn’t worry much. However... a hopped up speedster with 4 wheel disk brakes and a loose nut behind the wheel... I swap my wheels from side to side on occasion to slip the tires back and keep the valve stems from shearing off

I have also found that there are a bunch of reproduction clincher rims out there that were made in the 70’s to 90’s that are not the right bead profile to match the tires. These rims seem to slip more than originals or current correct profile reproductions

IMO, the biggest drawback is, once PCed, you can't do anything with the spokes. You can touch up paint easier.
You need to make darn sure they are true before the finish.
I did the pair on my cousin's 29 Harley and they turned out nice. The rear was pitted pretty bad, and that is better smoothed out by filling, primer and paint. You can see the pits still after PC...

I have had several sets of welded spoke wire wheels (including 26-7 T wires) powder coated. They look good and it is durable. I have not had any adjustable ones done, but I am thinking about it. We have a very experienced local supplier of this service and they have done lots of odd car related jobs for me
I think you want to visit the shop and satisfy yourself as to their competence.

In regards to the guy traveling to Canada for a tour, my experience is this;
IF you have a flat tire driving you will likely rip out the valve stem
Valve stems can be installed in a inner tube by a competent tire repair shop that deals with truckers. Perhaps pick up a spare valve stem and carry it with you!!

My wheels were powder coated when I got my 26 Roadster 5 years ago. I’ve had no problems and love how easy they are to maintain.

When we get our wheels back from powder coating, we take a tapered ream and clean the lug nut holes down to bare metal where the lug nuts ride. That way it will not form chips and cracks so the water does not get under, rust and lift the coating.

I just had these wheels powder coated. I am very pleased at how they turned out.

It would be difficult to sandblast, prep, and paint the wheels for the price I paid to have them done.

I had the wire wheels powder coated on my MGB about five years ago.
With only 27 lbs of air in the front and 30 in the rears I have never noticed any tube stem movement.
Besides the much lower tire pressure I also have much better brakes and 100 horse power.
Be aware that the items to be powder coated are heated to 400 degrees.

I had all 5 of the wheels powder coated on my ’27 Touring around 20 years ago. These are probably the ones that came on the car when it was new. The only problem that I had was with the rear wheels. After mounting those wheels, I found them very difficult to remove. To fix this, I had to sand some of the material from the wheels where they mate to the hubs.

Hi From Iowa: Thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to my powder coat ? This is an awesome group to help each other out! Many Thanks John

Powder coat. Ed I agree as for slipping the tire I'm with kevin it depends on the loose nut behind the wheel. I think even painted wheels can slip . When I bought my 23 touring under the back seat was a spare tube in a ziplock bag and powdered up . Guess even in old days they had problems with the tubes . After I drove the touring I figured out why he had the tub under the seat. These are just 26 wire wheels now I've got pharis wheels on