Can i have my appliance wire wheels powdered coated , Let me rephrase that , will it work over chrome?Got them on trade ,not a big fan of chrome wire wheels.
Yes, absolutely.... The coater will blast the wheels before coating (or should), that will ensure good adhesion.
Bump. Gonna try powder coating. A friend recommended www.powderbythepound.com for powder. I was going to try a silver, actually they call it steel, not as shiny, more of a gold tint, but it says it needs to be clear coated. I don't see that for the blacks. Is that the case? Are there different powders with different qualities (similar to paint)?
I had an axle powercoated silver. I didn't like it. It looks like it was just painted with silver Krylon. I should have gone with the aluminum color shade, it looked more evenly hued.
Yes, absolutely. If ultimate durability is your goal, stick with solid colors. Most metallics have very fragile surfaces and mar easily if unprotected by a clear coat. And the clear coat will tend to change the appearence, not to mention issues with the clear 'yellowing' over time. To a lesser degree you can have similar issues with the translucent ('Candy') colors. Powdercoat is wonderful stuff as long as you recognize it's limitations, but unfortunately the industry tends to minimize those limits much more than it should IMO. I personally would never use it on any body panels. It is a plastic coating, so can tend to 'dull' over time from handling/cleaning and can show 'micro scratches' rather easily. Unlike paint, these can't be buffed out. There's a local coater I occasionally use who coats motorcycle fenders/tanks, but he applies a urethane clear coat over the powder to prevent the dulling and scratches. But that will chip....
A great looking alternative to the "shiny silver" look commonly seen on headers, etc is a powder labeled titanium, a bit more green/gold/grayish much softer. This is the go-to shop in the Portland area, they have "titanium" powder. http://finishlinecoatings.com
Has anyone had magnesium (not aluminum) wheels powder coated successfully? I've heard that, due to micro-porosity, gases get baked out of the magnesium during baking, and blistering is likely. Can anyone recommend some other coating system (colored) that protects the metal and is durable? Any good clear coat that will preserve the shine on a polished wheel?
In a word, no. You can clear coat a machined wheel without degrading the finish, but any coating over a polished surface will dull it. Worse yet, if you do get any flaw in the coating that lets moisture under it, you'll have to strip the item to fix it. As to castings, I always 'pre-bake' them to cook any 'stuff' in the casting out before coating, sometimes more than once to be sure.
Yes, that is the look I'm after exactly. Wonder how that holds up to the things Steve mentioned, solvents etc.. I don't see where they sell powder though.
It appears they do ceramic coating, which isn't the same as powdercoat. Generally more money, but much more durable.
When I worked for General Electric, they powder coated things all of the time. They baked things first and then dipped them into a "cloud" of material, mixed with air. The stuff melted on and was very durable. But some of that stuff was also quite toxic, and had to be done by people wearing the right sort of breathing gear. Now what happens later, if you decide to remove it? Obviously they didn't have that problem, but car parts do tend to need freshening sooner or later. I have had wheels that were coated from the factory. And after a few years, the stuff did chip and peal, and rust would then form. Not so good right? Paint over chrome, perhaps is a better option? I have painted over it before, and the stuff was a bitch to get off after the fact. So it can and will stick to chrome.
Look at prismaticpowders.com they have a crazy selection of powders in every color imaginable. And there prices are good. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well now that I'm a powder coating expert (har har) fresh off my first experience, I have a couple of things to share that I learned. It turned out the college I attend that has the powder coating apparatus also has an assortment of powders that are free for us to pilfer, er I mean learn with. There was a 'steel' color that was close enough for this frame I wanted to do. First, there were a couple of dings in this frame. I chose to fill them with brazing and file it down. I didn't get carried away with the finish since first of all they won't show and second I thought the powder being thick would do a good job of filling any imperfections. Well that wasn't so. I'm still a rookie at this but I don't think it is like paint where you can lay it on thick in specific areas to help fill. And speaking of laying it on, as much as I thought I had covered the entire part before cooking, when it came out there were areas that were rough and dry, like not enough powder. The stuff goes on flat and it's hard to tell, especially going over bare steel with 'steel' colored powder. Which leads me to my last comment, the second coat. Some told me it wasn't even possible, some it works sometimes. Well I had not trouble, seemed like it went on as much as the first coat. And it took care of the previously dry areas. I probably should have started off with a simple air cleaner lid or something for my first attempt, but I got through it and it'll do for this project. Thanks for all the tips guys.
I like the fact that you jumped in head first! but I tend to learn up on things first. It does take some time to learn how to coat consistent. I try to put a thin coat on and then try a consistent 2nd coat. Careful inspection for thin spots or to thick. I have powder from 3 different manufacture. Eastwood is an excellent source for small amounts of powder, Peridium has a 50# min. My newest folly was to restore steering wheels. Epoxy, JB weld...… and then I POWDER COATED them!! yes I did 3 wheels.
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