How Wheels Are Professionally Powder-Coated _ Cars Insider

This is powder coating , a process where coloured powder is applied electro statically onto alloy wheels .

It's far more resistant to weather damage and wear and tear compared to traditional painting .

Hi , I'm Eddie from the wheel specialist .

We specialise in professional wheel repair and powder coating .

Today , I'm gonna talk you through the step by step process we use to transform wheels using powder Colton .

First thing we do is take the wheel off the car .

The next step is to check .

The tas are alright .

Once we've removed the tyre , the wheel will be put on a wheel balancer to check if the wheel is buckled .

If the wheel is straight , we take it straight to the strip tank .

We dip the wheel in the strip tank , and it removes the old finish and takes it down to the bare metal .

The wheels usually stay in the tank for between two and four hours .

Then afterwards they're removed and then power washed off .

Due to the chemicals , the the gunk and the pain , the old pain and the old powder coin comes off fairly easily .

Uh , when it's power washed , once fully cleaned , the wheels are ready for their repair process .

Then the wheel is taken to the Shop blaster .

Once the wheel's been blasted , we send out any damage .

It's important to keep the D a flat when you're working with it .

Otherwise , you could create steps in the wheel .

When the wheel has been fully prepared , it gets sent off to the powder coats .

The wheels are then hung up and then placed in the oven for 32 minutes for preheat .

While the wheels are preheating , we check the powder gun and any paint gun ready for powder coating .

Once ready , the wheels are removed from the oven powder .

Coating works by applying dry powder Electro statically .

This is done by applying an electrode on the rail to create a negative charge , although in our system it's integrated , the powder coat is applied with a positive charge .

This causes the dry powder to stick to the surface of the wheel .

Once completed , the wheel is placed back in the oven for an additional 16 minutes .

While we wait , we prepare the metallic paint , which is then lightly applied over the powder coat to produce the finish .

Typically , the wheel goes in the oven three times and receives two cots of powder and one cot of wet paint .

Then we apply a powder coat Lacker to finish the wheel .

This ensures the best possible finish .

Once the wheel is finished , it's killed naturally on a rail , and then the final quality inspection is carried out .

On average , powder coating can range from 400 to $700 .

But freshly powder coated wheels can maintain their finish for 15 to 20 years , and for car fanatics looking to preserve their ride , it's worth the price of admission .