Powder Coating Question

[Cramer]

There are a few factors in the process that depends on how long they will last, and how well they will turn out.

If the chrome is completely blasted to the (assumed) aluminum, the wheel will have to be either cleaned with acetone or iso alcohol, then washed with a iron phosphate, dried, then heated in the oven prior to coating.

If the wheels are are blasted to roughen up the surface and remove the pitting the wheels will have to be cleaned like above and then washed with iron phosphate, then coated.

If the coater is just going to light blast the wheels, blow them off with compressed air, and coat them, you can have some problems in the long run and or defects in the finish. The aluminum wheel has pores that open up and expel aluminum oxide. This will cause the chrome plating that is already on the wheel to peel away under the coating thus allowing the coating to weaken. This is why getting the wheel to bare aluminum and properly cleaning and washing with iron phosphate and putting them in the oven (outgassing) and shooting the wheel while still warm is a very good way to coat them. The powder will flow into the open pores from the heating of the wheel and not allow the gasses from the wheel to expel itself behind the coating. The Iron phosphate also aids in the process as it is more of a primer and allows better electrical and bonding properties than aluminum.

Find out from the coater the process that he uses and go from there on it. It is not easy or fast to properly coat over any existing coating, but if done right will last a very long time and look great.

[jddmj]

thanks for the info. Its hard to make up my mind now. Im sort of scared lol. Tempting just to order some Repz and go on