Powdercoating TRD Pro Wheels, Yay or Nay?

Bought a set of '21 TRD Pro wheels off FB marketplace. There are plenty of places around me that do powder coating but only one I could find that advertises wet paint. Got a quote for $700 from a reputable powder coat shop with plenty of reviews, compared to $1400 for paint. Having read mixed stuff online about powder coating forged wheels and compromising the wheels integrity from the additional heat cycle, curious if anyone on here has done it with no ill effects? The powder coater I talked to said he knows BBS says not to powder coat their wheels, but he's done thousands of wheels, a lot of which are Porsche BBS forged wheels for a local clubs track cars and has never had an issue. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

Well, obviously your powder coat shop guy is smarter than the engineers from the manufacturer that tell you not to do it.

It's just like overloading a truck and using the current lack of a catastrophic failure as proof that it's fine. It hasn't been a problem YET. When it is I bet the powder coat guy ghosts you.

 

Fair point. I was surprised that he said "I know BBS will tell you not to powdercoat their wheels" and in the next breath say "yeah we can do em for $700" lol. Probably just have to bite the bullet and find a shop to do wet paint. Hard to find places that advertise that, but I'm wondering if I'm being too specific, in other words, would any old body shop paint em?

 

Be less specific. It's paint. lol

 

Now I'm horribly curious what a set of 3 year old TRD Pro Mama Toyota wheels look like that you want to further treat/finish them. You got a close up (full frame) photo or two?

 

They're in good shape, reason for painting is color change from black to bronze, a la land cruiser heritage edition. I have an SR5 with chrome, got an army green front and rear bumper from a pro, just ordered the TRD pro grille surround/bulge in army green, and last piece of the puzzle is doing these wheels in bronze.

 

There have been a few on the forum a good while ago that did it. It was about the time the land cruiser heritage wheels came out. A Few powdercoated the Tundra TRD wheels for similar look since it was near impossible to get hands on the heritage wheels. There were threads with pics.

 

I tried searching to no avail. The general consensus I've been reading online is that 1) BBS says not to powdercoat and 2) plenty of people have done it, how much the extra heat cycling weakens the wheels is up for debate/it might not ever matter. That said, I'd smack the ever living daylights out of myself if I had them powder coated and then a year later hit a pot hole or drive down a logging road and crack a wheel.

 

just make sure you have a GOOD tire shop lined up. PC will crack and will look like doodoo real quick. Ive also had friends take wheels to lazy shops and they dont cover the lug nut tapered mounting surface....they go to put on the wheels and the lug nuts are cracking the PC or the TPMS wont fit because they didnt plug the holes.

 

The powder coating shop I talked to has a fancy Italian tire machine they claim won't scuff wheels etc. I'm fairly confident in them based on their pics/reviews and the guy being pretty transparent as far as powder coating forged wheels etc., but I'm leaning towards "buy once cry once" and paying someone more to wet paint them.

 

I know that BBS does not recommend heating their wheels for powdercoating. This is not advice from me or a rebuttal, merely a thought. They make forged aluminum cookware that is able to be used at repeated temps up to 500 degrees F. Powdercoating is generally done between 350-400 degrees F.

 

I had these done in Bengal Silver....loved the pc

 

Solid point, I was also just reading about lower temp powders as an option.

 

Wow those don't even look like powder, look like they're just machined. My fear with the pro wheels is that they have kind of thin spokes, although not as thin as a lot of high end 100 spoke or whatever wheels.

 

That pan isn't supporting a vehicle or subjected to the same forces that a wheel is going to see in even basic use, let alone if rough roads or off road travel enter the equation.

 

They did an awesome job...primer, base, clear. What color are you going with?

 

I'm going to get them done in bronze to make a set of faux Land Cruiser Heritage wheels

 

post some pics when they are done!

 

If wet paint, is there a dry paint option?

 

Can't tell if sarcasm or not lol, but I guess dry paint would essentially be powdercoating.

 

Just throwing it out there...low cost DIY option:
https://www.dipyourcar.com/collections/wheel-kits/products/bronze-gold-hyperdip-wheel-kit

PlastiDip is a love it or hate it thing for most people. I've had good luck and lasting results with it.
The "hyperdip" is a newer formulation in the can that comes out looking smooth with zero texture when applied properly.

 

Some interesting reading:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/powder-coating-forged-wheels/185611/page1/

 

ok this is super cool. I may try this on my rock warriors

 

This was the exact thread that sparked my rabbit hole deep dive lol. From that thread I think the best answer I've come across is: "

It seems most powder coating related sources say yes, and all wheel companies say no. Lots of variables based on the original wheels strength, how the original coating is removed, how the new coating is applied, etc. Add that to the unknown history of a used wheel and I don't think there's a definitive yes or no."

 

In addition to that, the takeaway I had from it was, it's more of a CYA for the wheel manufacturers that have no control over the process used.

My personal feelings on the subject: (because we all know feelings matter more than facts)


Can it harm them? Sure, if you go nuts blasting the daylights out of them and then hit them with way too much heat or for too long.
20 minutes at 375*F or less (pretty typical powder cure cycle) isn't enough to alter any structure IMHO.

With that said, I am not a metallurgist, nor do I play one on TV.
Take with a large grain of salt.

 

There's no absolute answer because we don't know the details of their mat'l, nor the processing. But they advertise 6XXX aluminum and we know it's forged. Skipping all of the material science and summarizing, you end up with a very controlled, and orientation specific, grain structure. Elevated temps induce grain growth and will lower the modulus. I'm not going to bother looking thru my texts, so here's what Granite3 has to say:

"The exact temperature at which grain growth begins in 6000 series aluminum after forging can vary depending on the specific alloy composition and processing history. However, generally, grain growth starts to become significant above 300°C (572°F). Please consult with a metallurgist or materials scientist for a more precise answer based on your specific application and process parameters."

PCing aluminum with Prismatic Powders will require an off-gas treatment in the oven at 450degF for 30ish mins and then a cure cycle at 420degF for 20ish mins for most colors.

BBS is covering themselves from liability. It'll likely be ok, but you get the point, getting close to making some stuff happen at the micro level which'll affect its fatigue performance.

 

Appreciate the input! I keep going back and forth and after having called a few body shops none have said they do wheels, which leaves me with the one business that will paint them for $1400 or the powder coater that'll do them for $700. I guess it boils down to "Is the extra $700 worth the peace of mind, or is it $700 wasted when the powder coated wheels likely won't have any issues". Decisions decisions....

 

Con: those rims have a lot of sharper edges and face abutments, which means more locations and likelihood for crack initiation as a result of carrying higher mean stress at the discontinuities.

Pro: fatigue damage accumulates at the surface and *generally* does not fail catastrophically, meaning you could PC and make inspection a part of your wheel rotation schedule. Just need to hope the powder will also crack instead of masking it. I don't have enough experience here to know better but it gets down to needing a thorough prep job for best-case adhesion.

 

One of the other things is that the powdercoater has a phenomenal reputation whereas the other shop that does powdercoating is actually a mobile wheel service and the reputable powder coater said the owner is near retirement age and has a few guys that do mobile repair and powdercoating at their shop, but that they’re not set up for painting and likely send them to a body shop.