Aluminum wheel refinishing. Best method?

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

It think the upshot here is powder coating can/ does weaken cast aluminum wheels and that may manifest itself at the extreme end of wheel abuse.

My bigger concern was that the process would warp the rim or, cause catastrophic failure under normal use.

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[Silversport23]

I do a lot of cerakote projects and have had great success with maintaining detail. The coating is well adhered with a little bit of blasting or bristle blasting. Cerakote cures at lower temperatures and less time heat soaking traditionally.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

I do a lot of cerakote projects and have had great success with maintaining detail. The coating is well adhered with a little bit of blasting or bristle blasting. Cerakote cures at lower temperatures and less time heat soaking traditionally.

Do you have any pics?

 

[Silversport23]

I hope none of these pics violate any rules as some include 2A items, but they reference different colors and finishes of cerakote. Unfortunately it’s what I have on my phone currently. Branson cerakote on the web has pretty good gallery

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Whose would you say is wearing/ looks better?

I bought my truck in Horsham and came very close to doing Rauch Creek straight from the dealer, lol.
This was before I came to find out there was only 2.5" of uptravel on factory suspension. Dodged a bullet there.

One thing you can do is ask a powder coater for references, how many forged wheels, how many cast wheels, have they done, and ask what temperature their powders require. There are low temp powders these days.

Also - any tough coating, powder maybe especially, but even PAINT, will take the edge off lettering and any raised or depressed features made into the wheels.
It's one reason when we prep cars for painting, we tape off the edges of panels and block in such a way to preserve the edges of fenders and other panels. It took me a full weekend to do my Eagle's hood priming and blocking so I could keep the nice crisp edges in place. So even paint that's got any body to it will do that, but yea, powder can, too, especially with the shoot to waste method which is the general rule.
(except for me - I'm OCD and don't like the waste LOL)

On the other hand, powder doesn't have to - but generally speaking they shoot to waste, meaning get it on thick until it doesn't stick any more.

You can preserve features as in the starters I powder coated - the stampings and even the motor frame irregularities are still very apparent -

 

[Rusty PW]

Whose would you say is wearing/ looks better?

I bought my truck in Horsham and came very close to doing Rauch Creek straight from the dealer, lol.
This was before I came to find out there was only 2.5" of uptravel on factory suspension. Dodged a bullet there.

Hard question to answer. I don't keep track on how the different coating are holding up. Almost everyone has scratches and gouges in them.

First time at Rausch Creek last year. I did most of it bone stock. Let's just say that made me to do the lift before trying it again. Made it easier to keep up with the Power Wagons with 24+ inches of wheel travel on some of them.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Also - any tough coating, powder maybe especially, but even PAINT, will take the edge off lettering and any raised or depressed features made into the wheels.

I'm familiar with this problem. It's why I switched from laquer to toner when refinishing cabinets- it preserves the grain and edges.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

I hope none of these pics violate any rules as some include 2A items, but they reference different colors and finishes of cerakote. Unfortunately it’s what I have on my phone currently. Branson cerakote on the web has pretty good gallery

You naughty boy.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It will be interesting to see what your investigation turns up, which way you go, and the results.
Who knows, it's possible that in the future my wife will want purple wheels on her purple Wrangler. Even if not, what you find out and your results will still be interesting.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Still not decided.
Powder coat is my first choice.

I'll be sure to crow about it if they turn out nice.

If I screw it up you won't hear a thing!

 

[legacy_etu]

Still not decided.
Powder coat is my first choice.

I'll be sure to crow about it if they turn out nice.

If I screw it up you won't hear a thing!

Just wanted to say, those salsas are one of the best looking wheels out there today IMO. Tagged to see the end result……..hopefully


personally I’d paint due to the potential for impacting the strength of the wheels but would most likely take away some of the detail of the etching.

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