Powder coating wheels... two colors? General advice.

[UrineMachine]

Hey guys. Here's the deal. I have this great set of rims on my car but the previous owner of the wheels curbed them up. I wanted to mirror polish the lips, coat the centers silver, and then clear the whole wheel, however, to fix the curbage I don't think I'd be able to polish it after. Here are my options, tell me what you think:


1) strip the rims, have someone aluminum weld the curbage and turn it on a lathe to bring the welds down to make the geometry right, then polish the lips by means of using the lathe at higher speed and simply wet sanding, then mask the lips, powder coat the centers silver (what color is recommended?) and then clearing the whole ordeal.

BUT I don't know how well the welded rim would polish out. I think the aluminum would have to match right?

so

2) strip the rims, JB weld the curbed parts and sand it down to match the geometry right, mask the lip off, powder coat the center silver (what color is just a normal wheel "silver"), remove the mask and mask the center, powdercoat the lip "chrome" or "xtreme" chrome, remove the mask, and clear coat the whole wheel.

3) strip the rims, JB weld the curbed parts and sand it down to match, powdercoat the entire wheel a nice silver that is nice and shiny that will look good on a deep dish rim.


What are some general recommendations for PC'ing wheels? These are 17x10" aluminum rims. Thanks guys. I will post pics of the actual wheels soon.

[nuttyman]

powder won't stick to jb. @ least in my experience!

[UrineMachine]

Originally Posted by nuttyman

powder won't stick to jb. @ least in my experience!

****, so what do I do?

[nuttyman]

1st scenario will work or you can use a lab metal suitable for coating instead of j&b. can u post a pic of the wheels?

[UrineMachine]

Originally Posted by nuttyman

1st scenario will work or you can use a lab metal suitable for coating instead of j&b. can u post a pic of the wheels?

I will post a pic of the wheels now - I am going down to check the tire out now, bringing digital camera to snap a pic. Granted it is 11 pm but you will see it in the flash what I speak of.

[UrineMachine]

Here is an image of the worst rim. You can't see MUCH material missing, but believe me its there.

[jrow]

UrineMachine,

From the look of you wheel, it looks like the clear coat is flaking off. Have the wheels media blasted, preferably with Aluminum Oxide or Black Beauty,(coal slag). If you really have deep curb rash, take it to a good welder and have it welded. Use a die grinder and some cartridge rolls to smooth out the weld(s). If its welded and sanded right you won't be able to tell where the welds are! Polish the lip and finish the rest of the wheel as you desire! Remember when you put clear powder over your polished lip it will dull some what. Before you powder coat the rims sand out all the scratches and nicks the better you do this the better the powder coat will come out. Powder will cover some minor imperfections, but the better the rim looks the better it will coat. If you need to fill the rims other than where you are going to polish it use Arvin's Lab Metal. That stuff is hard to work but does a good job. Buy the thinner with the Lab Metal.

John

[UrineMachine]

jrow,

Thanks very much for the input. the clear coat is definitely cracking - it's probaly due to the curbed marks lifting it after elements get under it. Can this "lab metal" (where do you get it?) be polished? I'd like to weld the rims but I don't know anyone around here that can do aluminum well enough without costing me a bajillion dollars (Wheel collision is near me, in Bath PA but they're astronomical with prices). I know, you have to pay to play, but I like the do it yourself style where I can PC stuff for like $20 Is there anyone from PA that you know that can weld them if needed? I kind of think that this lab metal stuff, if it is what I am imagining, would work.

Ok found the lab metal on Caswell

Like I said, is the lab metal polish-able? Can you tell? It says it can only be exposed to 420F for 20 mins, but when powdercoating I might have to bake it longer! What do you recommend? Thanks for the input so far.

Oh also - my buddy who is gracious enough to let me use his ovens/gun/blasting setup runs a plastic/rubber injection company - I dunno if I'd be able to put aluminum oxide in their blaster, its a huge commercial thing and they have it loaded with glass beads because thats what they use on their products for really specific stuff. I use the beads, can I bead blast the wheels? Or is aluminum oxide a must?

[nuttyman]

glass bead won't remove the clear coat that is on there. there are good welders everywhere in the world! surely you can find someone in your area. I don't realle see where the rim is damaged other than an apparent dent @ ~ 7 to 8 o'clock on the wheel. maybe i just can;t tell from the pic but it looks like just superficial damage to the clear-coat. remember AL is very soft & very easy to polish well!

[jrow]

Originally Posted by UrineMachine

jrow,

Thanks very much for the input. the clear coat is definitely cracking - it's probaly due to the curbed marks lifting it after elements get under it. Can this "lab metal" (where do you get it?) be polished? I'd like to weld the rims but I don't know anyone around here that can do aluminum well enough without costing me a bajillion dollars (Wheel collision is near me, in Bath PA but they're astronomical with prices). I know, you have to pay to play, but I like the do it yourself style where I can PC stuff for like $20 Is there anyone from PA that you know that can weld them if needed? I kind of think that this lab metal stuff, if it is what I am imagining, would work.

Get into the yellow pages of your phone book and look for welders there should be some there.

Ok found the lab metal on Caswell

Like I said, is the lab metal polish-able? Can you tell? It says it can only be exposed to 420F for 20 mins, but when powdercoating I might have to bake it longer! What do you recommend? Thanks for the input so far.

Yes Lab Metal can be polished BUT it will not equal the shine that raw aluminum will give you when you polish it. Not worth the effort! They make a high temperature Lab Metal but you shouldn't need it.

Oh also - my buddy who is gracious enough to let me use his ovens/gun/blasting setup runs a plastic/rubber injection company - I dunno if I'd be able to put aluminum oxide in their blaster, its a huge commercial thing and they have it loaded with glass beads because thats what they use on their products for really specific stuff. I use the beads, can I bead blast the wheels? Or is aluminum oxide a must?

Glass bead can be used BUT it will leave minute nicks in the aluminum that must be sanded out before you powder coat. You will have to out-gas the wheel before you powder coat regardless of which media you use. Then recheck the surface to make sure its smooth and clean. The better you prep the surface the better the powder will come out! Clean Clean Clean!

John