Powdercoating / anodising alloy wheels

Andy Wana · Postby **Andy Wana** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:20 am

Does anyone here know where I can get alloy wheels powdercoated/ anodised in NSW?
And what sort of figure am I looking at to get a set done?

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:23 am

I think you're talking about powdercoating. Anodising I believe is a very expensive process and is not done to wheels.

I've seen figures of around $50 a wheel plus tyre removal and refitting (=rebalancing too).

lil_mike · Postby **lil_mike** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:41 am

no, its not expensive to get things powder coated. anodising is different though.

i have the method for anodising wheels at home, and my friend has the equipment, buts its a very difiicult process, and might not go as planned

get them powder coated, its easier, quicker and much cheaper.

Babalouie · Postby **Babalouie** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:42 am

I had my minilites done at Brookvale Powdercoating, and IIRC the cost was $65 per wheel.

Couple of things to look for when ringing around are: whether they will sandblast the wheels first (gets better adhesion for the powder and a smoother finish) and whether they will coat the back of the spokes as well.

Andy Wana · Postby **Andy Wana** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:36 pm

Thank you for the advice fellas. Much appreciated.

Postby **Boyracer** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:18 pm

I had some stuff powder coated at a place called Mr.Clean in Gow Street Bankstown...they did a very good job and well priced...the do sand blasting as well.

Benny · Postby **Benny** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:27 pm

Anodising is also very soft and will come off if you polish them too keenly.

Artificial Life · Postby **Artificial Life** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:28 pm

Some Volk Wheels are anodized from the factory.

Electromold in Melbourne will also do wheels, cost unknown:

http://www.electromold.com.au/colour_anodizing.shtml

http://www.electromold.com.au/gallery.shtml

Andy Wana · Postby **Andy Wana** » Fri May 04, 2007 3:30 pm

Babalouie wrote:I had my minilites done at Brookvale Powdercoating, and IIRC the cost was $65 per wheel.

Couple of things to look for when ringing around are: whether they will sandblast the wheels first (gets better adhesion for the powder and a smoother finish) and whether they will coat the back of the spokes as well.

Another props to Dean at Brookvale Powdercoating
He did an extremely good job on my wheels, they are practically better than brand new
He cleaned it thoroughly, sandblast it, powdercoat it thinly layer by layer and top it off with a gloss top coat for easy cleaning (same stuff they use on BMW Original Equipment wheels)
The wheels look really awesome inside out, I am stoked ... he didn't cut corners or anything, very very detailed and thorough job
Let's hope I can get pictures up by early next week to showcase his work

fastfreddygassit · Postby **fastfreddygassit** » Fri May 04, 2007 7:33 pm

Artificial Life wrote:Electromold in Melbourne will also do wheels, cost unknown:

It will be interesting to see how much they charge for a car wheel 'cos for bike wheels (nickel plating) it is $850+ for 2 wheels last time I checked.
I think there is a paint system around that "gives" the appearence of an anodised colour.

Give some thought to painting your rims as it is infinitely easier to touch up any gutter rash that you may inadvertantly get.
I sprayed my Momo's and I am more than satisfied with the result.
Get the prep right (file/smooth any burrs, sand wheels flat to remove gloss, etch primer) and apply colour.
easy :mrgreen:

Brad · Postby **Brad** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:31 pm

Benny wrote:Anodising is also very soft and will come off if you polish them too keenly.

Doesn't anodizing change the composition of the metal? If so, then you'd need to be doing some pretty serious polishing to remove the upper layer of metal.

Mr_Q · Postby **Mr_Q** » Fri May 04, 2007 9:20 pm

Andy Wana wrote:...an extremely good job on my wheels, they are practically better than brand new

Pics?

zoomzoom · Postby **zoomzoom** » Fri May 04, 2007 11:34 pm

Brad wrote:
Benny wrote:Anodising is also very soft and will come off if you polish them too keenly.

Doesn't anodizing change the composition of the metal? If so, then you'd need to be doing some pretty serious polishing to remove the upper layer of metal.

If I can remember back to senior chem, it is a oxidation reaction, it leaves a layer of oxidation on the surface which is only a few microns thick, and will polish out if you try hard enough. I am struggling to do this to a set of sparco crmsonics I picked up recently. They are red an I want shiny

Andy Wana · Postby **Andy Wana** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:18 am

Mr_Q wrote:
Andy Wana wrote:...an extremely good job on my wheels, they are practically better than brand new

Pics?

Will have the wheel pictures early next week after I fit the new tires on them this coming Monday
I can put up pictures of the old wheels prior to the powdercoating process

There are gutter marks and minor scuffings from daily wear and tear

This one is especially bad (but get ready for the extreme makeover by Dean

)

Tune in early next week to see the new powdercoated wheels

Andy Wana · Postby **Andy Wana** » Tue May 08, 2007 1:26 pm

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of the new powdercoated wheels. Dean did a stellar job with them and I can't praise him enough for the attention to detail and finish on these wheels. They are like brand new, only better IMHO, plus I get to choose the colour I like.

All I need to do now is source some nice matt black caps for the wheels.