Last Updated on March 16, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev
Powder coating is one of the most popular types of the paint application process. Powder coating is a technique that helps to improve the look of your wheels. It can greatly improve the aesthetics of your wheel while saving you lots of money. Instead of buying a new custom rim, we can powder coat the old rim and can make it look brand new.
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Pros and cons of Powder Coating Wheels
Wheels treated with powder coating process are called powder coated wheels. Powder coating got its name as it applies paint to the surface in powdered form /dry form. In this process, ground particles made of color pigment and resin are electrically charged and sprayed onto a metal surface. The electrostatic charge on color pigment allows them to stick to the metal surface and gives a uniform coating.
Powder coating is a heat-treated alternative to the traditional paint application process that means you can only paint those things which can sustain high heat. Powder coating provides a thicker, uniform layer of paint and provides resistance to many forms of casual damage. Powder coating can be used to change the color of wheels, body panels, and trim pieces more efficiently than traditional methods.
Powder coating is a great alternative to traditional paint as it provides unique and better looks and has numerous other advantages. Here are some of the pros and cons of powered coated wheels:
Pros of Powder Coated Wheels
1. Durability
One of the major advantages of powder coating wheels is that powder coating makes rims/wheels much more durable. In the process, a thick coating layer is applied to the rims and heat treatment during the process makes rims highly resistant to outside forces.
Powder coating is usually thicker and can last as long as three times that of ordinary coatings. Uniform, perfectly blended, and thicker surface coverage ultimately gives longer life.
2. High Resistance
Powder coating wheels makes the rims highly resistant against various external conditions. As ordinary paint coating usually suffers from rain/mud or other extreme weather conditions, however, powder coating is proved to be more resistant and hence protect rims.
Depending on the season, wheels have to deal with chipping or corrosion issues which damage the rim and could sometimes cost you to change the rim. Since applying powder coating creates a non-porous surface/layer on the wheel/rim, which protects the wheel from external damage.
3. Environment Friendly
If you apply powder coating to your wheels then you are saving the environment. The reason behind it is, powder coating does not contain significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like conventional paint does which are harmful to the environment and ozone layer.
It has serious adverse health effects on humans too. As power coating doesn’t contain any chemicals that are harmful to the environment as well as living beings, hence it is a much safer option for the environment.
4. Better Aesthetics
Powder coating wheels gives better looks to the wheels and this is the main reason behind its immense popularity. In the case of conventional paint, the color on the rims usually fades or gets damaged due to various external influences and which eventually degrades the aesthetics of your wheel which in turn lessens the beauty of the whole vehicle.
Powder coating is a great alternative to ordinary paint because it provides a unique look to the wheel and preserves the beauty for a longer period.
5. Cost Effective
Instead of buying rim every time they start looking old/poor, you can apply powder coating to them and they will look brand new. Using powder coating on old rims could be much cheaper than buying new rims.
Though it will cost a bit more in the beginning in the long run, powder coating wheels will eventually help to save you lots of money. It also aids you to saves money in the long term because the elegant finish lasts longer than ordinary paint and is more durable as well.
6. Quick Process
The application and curing time of powder coating is much lower than traditional painting. Traditional painting requires several hours to have your rims ready but applying the powder coatings makes your rim ready in less than minutes. It can save you a lot of time as well and you can get a brand new look within minutes.
Cons of Powder Coated Wheels
1. Thick Layering
As the powder coating process is perfect at making a thick and uniform coat, however, it can’t make a thin coating with that perfection. Sometimes we need a fine coating for a specific look and powder coating fails to show its magic at it.
Because a thick layer on the metal surface can hide some of the principle details of the wheel that directly affects its beauty. The powder coating can’t make a coating that needs to be less than 6mm, for that you have to go for other available options. It means powder coating is not so good at achieving a smooth finish.
2. High up-front Costs
In the long-term, powder coating wheels may prove to be cost-effective but the initial powder coating cost and the investment in coating equipment could be expensive than that of liquid coating.
The liquid coating process only requires a spray gun and spray area. In addition to the spray gun and spray area, powder coating also requires a curing oven. The addition of the curing oven could substantially increase the startup cost.
3. Unbalanced Color
While powder coating wheels, it usually gives a coating of uniform thickness however after curing some section becomes thinner than rest. These thinner sections may give a slightly different color than thicker sections.
Since over spray is usually collected and recycled for future powder coating use, which gives a risk of cross-contamination. The baking process creates a consistent result, but sometimes the recycled product can give you problems
4. Not Applicable to Every Surface
Powder coating is primarily used for metal materials or alloys, such as steel, aluminum, and brass. It can be also used for various non-metals like glass. Since the powder coating process involves a heating process so only those materials which sustain high heat without melting or deforming can be coated.
5. Does Not do Any Magic
People believe that powder coating the rims/wheels makes it brand new. Powder coating can make your wheels look nice but can’t make it look brand new. It is better not to expect powder coating to work like a magic pill so that you will not be disappointed by the result from it.
Conclusion
While powder coating is a great alternative to conventional liquid coating methods and has numerous benefits too. Powder coating wheels give better aesthetics, durability, and is cost-effective as well.
However, it may not be the best option in every scenario. Above mentioned pros and cons are some of the considerations that must be taken into account before switching to powder-coated wheels.
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