Finishishing wheels

[Ian Grace]

Just had a query from Robin Hiscocks:

"My fabric saloon's wire wheels need repainting; the options seem to be stove enamelling, painting, or powder coating. Which is recommended; and is there any risk attached to powder coating which needs alot of heat?"

I had my Semi-sports wheels powder coated last year, but wasn't too happy with the result - the finish tends to crack where the spokes enter thr hubs/rims and rust marks soon appear. I don't have any experience of stoving, or the possible effects of heat. What does the team think? I'll pass on any pearls of wisdom to Robin.

[Ken Martin]

I would advise that Robin contacts a wire wheel specialist to see what they use. The modern method appears to be powder coating. The advantage of this is that the powder penetrates to all exposed areas due to the electrical set up. The quality of finish does vary from smooth to an orange peel effect and it is necessary to make sure you are going to get a smooth finish. Also I have found that some coatings can be abrasively smoothed and polished after application and others will not respond to polishing at all well after the glossy surface has been rubbed down. The wheels must be completely free of rust and this means that blast cleaning is essential. There will inevitably be pitting which will show through the coating. No filling is generally possible with this process. I don't think the degree of heat used is a problem. I had a spare wheel powder coated two years ago and was pleased with the result, but two coats were required at a cost of circa £30.

I had all my original wheels repaired, blasted and coated by the Motor Wheel Services Ltd (still trading) in 1971 but I don’t know whether they used stove enamelling or powder coating in those days. The rims were pitted and unacceptable and so I resorted to hand painting the rims only with Japlac – still available form B&Q. I rubbed down the first coat and after the second coat the result was good. In fact they still rub up well all these years later! However I will follow this topic with interest as I will need to have my wheels trued up and re coated in the next year or two.

[Toby]

I refer you to the story of my loose wheel, covered previously, where overheating caused expansionn and loosened wheel nuts. Don't know if this was due to powder coating compressing but would suggest making sure the countersunk stud holes are left as bare metal to avoid drama!

[Mike Stubbings]

Hi All, I have, over the years tried all types of finishes on wheels with varying results. On artillery wheels I found that powder coating was fine albeit when I collected one lot I had done, from the tyre suppliers they had badly chipped the rims and they had to be done again, you have been warned.The best finish from my experience was stove enamelling and there are firms out there who still do it.Motor Wheel Service I have used over the years with very good results.Most of the finishes are fine if done correctly. Another expert firm going since the 30s is Richard Bros of Cardiff.They will do powder coat or stove enamel.They also have a range of wheels and will rebuild them.Have a look at their web site. They also supply quite a range of tyres. With wheel finish I believe you get what you pay for. Good luck, Mike.