Powder coating wheels | The Garage Journal

86turbodsl

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• Apr 1,

• #1

I have 8 wheels to powder coat for a trailer.

I have no gun yet, and don't want to pay anyone to do it. I want to learn on something like these wheels.

So i need a gun, and need to figure out how much powder to buy.

Does anyone have recommendations on a good starter gun and how much powder to buy? To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

nefarmboy

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• Apr 1,

• #3

I have the Eastwood dual voltage one that I have had for 10 years or more. Don’t use it a lot but it always gets the job done. I haven’t tried wheels but someday I have some that I need to try coating. There isn’t much to the powder guns. Main thing is keeping the powder and air dry.

Edit to add that the powder goes pretty far. I would take a guess that you could do 8 wheels with about 2-3 lbs powder.

Crow Horse

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• Apr 1,

• #4

steel or aluminum wheels?
The most important steps in a successful powder coat job is prep/wash/phosphatizing and proper bake times and temps.

The phosphatizing process (zinc or iron) creates a conversion coating (crystaline structure)) which not only provides tooth for the powder coat but also corrosion resistance. This is something that you might not be able to do at home.

Obviously you'll need an oven large enough to accommodate the wheels and capable of reaching the temp that the powder mfg. specs so that the powder can correctly cross link.

I don't mean to sound discouraging but I worked in the pc dept of a large fabrication shop for 11 years. To try to do this at home properly is iffy at best when you're trying to create a surface finish that not only looks good but is durable. It might look good now but in a year and it starts to peel, you've created a much larger project to correct. I've seen it happen on a large scale projects caused by someone taking shortcuts in the prep and wash phase. Last edited: Apr 1,

Crow Horse

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• Apr 1,

• #5

Obviously, the link below for Gema powder coating guns isn't affordable for the home DIYer, but it does showcase the complexity of a good pc gun. We had 10 or more of these bad boys.....

86turbodsl

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• Apr 1,

• #6

Steel wheels. 16" dually wheels from an old trailer. I need to powder coat them before i put the tires on.

Crow Horse

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• Apr 1,

• #7

What's your game plan for an oven?

harley jim

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• Apr 1,

• #8

I just called my powder coater he said one coat for 8 rims would be two lbs. He recommends two coats on trailer rims. He has a high dollar set up so maybe get an extra lb. just to be safe. The typical heat is 400 degrees. I have known several people that have used kitchen ovens to PC and had good success. A buddy of mine built an insulated steel box and put the oven element and controller in it so he could hang things. Good luck.

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Crow Horse

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• Apr 1,

• #9

I just called my powder coater he said one coat for 8 rims would be two lbs. He recommends two coats on trailer rims. He has a high dollar set up so maybe get an extra lb. just to be safe. The typical heat is 400 degrees. I have known several people that have used kitchen ovens to PC and had good success. A buddy of mine built an insulated steel box and put the oven element and controller in it so he could hang things. Good luck.

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2 coats? You must explain that. The general rule of thumb is you can't go more than 3 "coats" which means 1 original and 2 reworks. After that, it's scrapped.
Mil thickness is the true measure.

harley jim

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• Apr 1,

• #10

Everything is stripped to bare metal and heated to around 300 degrees then first coat applied heat cycled through to 400 then he typically puts a second coat and runs another heat cycle. And yes mil thickness is important and imperative with a couple of his commercial accounts.

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MushCreek

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• Apr 2,

• #11

Slightly OT- Anyone know how much a typical shop charges to prep and powder coat a wheel? Assume dirty, old paint, etc. Nothing fancy; stock 16" steel wheels.

86turbodsl

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• Apr 2,

• #12

What's your game plan for an oven?

I have a dedicated electric house oven. Just big enough for the wheels to fit.

86turbodsl

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• Apr 2,

• #13

Slightly OT- Anyone know how much a typical shop charges to prep and powder coat a wheel? Assume dirty, old paint, etc. Nothing fancy; stock 16" steel wheels.

I had my wheels sandblasted by a local guy. He charged 200 for that. The powder coating quote took my breath away. Thus the DIY attitude. It's not a cadillac trailer. It's just an old gooseneck that needs to haul scrap cars in to clean the yard. I could just paint the wheels, but that wouldn't last long i think in this climate. the original finish was powder coat.

californiamilleghia

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• Apr 2,

• #14

Any truth to the problem of lug nuts coming loose because the powdercoat around the lug holes breaks off when you tighten the lug nuts ?

Crow Horse

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• Apr 2,

• #15

I had my wheels sandblasted by a local guy. He charged 200 for that. The powder coating quote took my breath away. Thus the DIY attitude. It's not a cadillac trailer. It's just an old gooseneck that needs to haul scrap cars in to clean the yard. I could just paint the wheels, but that wouldn't last long i think in this climate. the original finish was powder coat.

Just curious, what was the quote? Even though I was working in the pc dept., I have no idea what the prices shops are charging.

There is a member on the forum, Cudachick IIRC, that does amazing custom PC work. I wonder if she's still around and hopefully chime in. Last edited: Apr 2,

86turbodsl

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• Apr 2,

• #16

Around 800.

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Crow Horse

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• Apr 2,

• #17

Being that the wheels have been blasted, you might want to also consider "priming" them with a zinc primer pc prior to the top coat. Doing so will provided the best corrosion protection.

Powder coating is a very deep rabbit hole to go down. My feeling is that if you are going to do it, you'll still want to see great results 5 or more years down the road. Sometimes a little extra effort in the beginning produces huge dividends down the road.

I do recognize that there are budgetary restrictions and sometimes one has no choice but to take some shortcuts.

Crow Horse

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seagull369

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• Apr 2,

• #19

Are you dead set on PC? Epoxy primer with a urethane top coat is no slouch when it comes to corrosion and wear resistance.

Crow Horse

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• Apr 2,

• #20

Are you dead set on PC? Epoxy primer with a urethane top coat is no slouch when it comes to corrosion and wear resistance.

X2. I had 2 bumper guards/bull bars finished with Bullet Liner (poly urea ?). That stuff is tough as nails. It is serious armor..... To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

The Cobbler

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• Apr 2,

• #21

I'm thinking you could have almost bought new wheels for what it cost you to sandblast them.
If it were me, I would experiment with powder coat on something smaller, and prime & paint these the traditional way . (primer & urethane paint)

MushCreek

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• Apr 3,

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The wheels I have are way less new than those PC prices. Looks like I'll just spray them with whatever I use on the bumpers and grille.

joey

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• Apr 3,

• #23

I have an older Craftsman powder coating kit that I bought years ago that does great work.

I have seen results from the Harbor Freight kits and the Eastwood ones and they have all been good.

Any one of those kits would do the job.

86turbodsl

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• Apr 3,

• #24

Any truth to the problem of lug nuts coming loose because the powdercoat around the lug holes breaks off when you tighten the lug nuts ?

Mine has washers under nuts, so not that i noticed.

86turbodsl

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Are you dead set on PC? Epoxy primer with a urethane top coat is no slouch when it comes to corrosion and wear resistance.

Well, if i'm getting into epoxy primer and urethane topcoats i think i'm up into big money territory from my experience. Painting anything isn't cheap either!

86turbodsl

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• Apr 3,

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I'm thinking you could have almost bought new wheels for what it cost you to sandblast them.
If it were me, I would experiment with powder coat on something smaller, and prime & paint these the traditional way . (primer & urethane paint)

If i had paid for the pc then yes, i think that statement would have been true. Remember these are dually wheels though, and they are not that common to run across.

Crow Horse

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• Apr 3,

• #27

I contacted the powder coater that I formerly worked with and here is his reply copy/pasted.

"100 dollars per wheel seems like a lot

I am sure it could be done for 50 a wheel

The person charging that much thinks that your friend is an ill informed consumer

Even if the wheels were 19 inch, I would only use about 6 lbs of primer and 4 lbs of paint. Primer is $7 per pound and paint is about the same. Between washing, painting and curing, it would be about 1.5 hours

Even at $35 per hour, plus paint propane and cleansing agent, it would add up to about 300 bucks.

Which is why I said 50 per wheel would be fair, as that is 400 total"

86turbodsl

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• Apr 3,

• #28

maybe we're just high around here. to be honest, i didn't find much interest in even doing the job from the local guys.

tarbellb

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• Apr 3,

• #29

$50-100/wheel for blast and paint is what ive been quoted

variables are complexity of wheel (dually ^ $), special powders, and how busy they are.

seagull369

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• Apr 4,

• #30

Well, if i'm getting into epoxy primer and urethane topcoats i think i'm up into big money territory from my experience. Painting anything isn't cheap either!

I didn't catch how big your rims are but I doubt using the combo would run anywhere near $50 a wheel. If you don't have the spraying equipment, Spray Max (and a few other brands) sell 2k rattle cans in both. Forgoing the epoxy and using just a 1k etch on the primer would save some $ and probably give some good results, too. Just a thought...

86turbodsl

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• Apr 5,

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i have spraying equipment. I just spent a lot of money on paint last time i did it, and i can't imagine cost went down any. Do you have recommendations on a brand of durable paint that a normal mortal can purchase somewhere? The pc idea was more about not having to redo the job in 5 years because the wheels were rusty again.j

paredown

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I also had my Toyota truck wheels power coated--local guy with a backyard shop, I think I found him because he was highly recommended on a car forum.

He had a real nice backyard shop and powder coat setup, and was doing lots of manifolds and valve covers for the kids fixing up their cars. I think I paid around $75/wheel for alloy--blast and coat. They came back perfect, and still look (almost) too nice for the truck a few years on...

gungatim

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LGR Last edited: Nov 14,

86turbodsl

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Well, the trailer isn't scrap, but it could get fixed up into a pretty valuable trailer. 25+5 ft tandem dual wheel, 20K GVW, gooseneck that i want to add a hydraulic dovetail to. About a 10K value trailer i bought for 3K.

gungatim

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86turbodsl

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No worries. I have about a dozen scrap cars I need to haul in to clean the yard up.

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Jagmandave

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• Apr 5,

• #37

$75 a wheel is the usual quote around here in KC - for 8 wheels that would be $600

PCMusicGuy

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• Apr 5,

• #38

Powdercoating in the Houston area is pretty close to $100 a wheel as well.

Steve in SoCal

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I have a friend in Bay City/Saginaw that uses a local guy, wheels 40~50 each.

Steve